Our favourite knitting books
Showcasing American artisan yarns, this stylish book is filled with beautifully textured patterns with a timeless look
DESIGNER CHRISTINA Danaee set out to celebrate the dedicated, hardworking people keeping America’s fibre industry alive, with her new book of knitting patterns. Taking American-made yarns as the starting point for her designs, Christina has developed 15 sweater and accessory projects for women.
The designs are divided into three sections representing different regions of the United States, based on yarns from these areas and inspired by their climate and terrain. Throughout the book are short profiles of each of the yarn companies featured in the patterns, exploring their stories and their sustainable approaches to yarn production.
In the ‘Northeast’ section, the focus is on beautifully textured and cabled stitches, reflecting the region’s maritime history. Rich textures knitted in worsted-weight Cormo wool feature on the ‘Kinney Shores’ shawl, while super-chunky Quince & Co. Puffin wool is used to make a pair of cosy slippers. The ‘Odiorne Point Pullover’ is a drop-sleeve, striped sweater, with a cowl neck that can be cinched shut with an i-cord; it’s knitted in Green Mountain Spinnery’s Cotton Comfort yarn.
Lace and soft textures take centre stage in the ‘Mid-Atlantic and South’ section. It features gorgeous garments, including a racerback-style sleeveless top. This has lace panels around the hem and between the shoulders. The belted, raglan ‘Celo Cardigan’ has hexagon textures knitted in American alpaca. Other projects in this section include a square wrap worked from the centre out, and lacy trellis socks.
The ‘West Coast’ projects play with colour patterns inspired by the region’s wild landscapes. Geometric motifs feature on the ‘Tygh Cardigan’, an open-fronted, shawl-collar design. The ‘Agate Bay Pullover’ is a yoked, top-down sweater whose colourwork patterns are highlighted by the use of a gradient yarn from Spincycle Yarns.
‘Point Richmond Cap’ is a double-layer hat, with one layer using Nordic-inspired stranded colourwork motifs, and the inner layer kept plain; the result is super-warm and fully reversible. We also love the half-circle shawl in corrugated ribbing which showcases two natural shades of a rambouillet-merino wool blend from Yarn On The House.
Christina offers helpful suggestions for yarn substitutions if you are unable to source the original yarns. The garments are mostly sized to fit busts of 32in to 48in.