Book Review: Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation
March 18th, 2006 | View Comments
Author: Debbie Stoller
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Rating: 
Buy Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation on Amazon.com
This is, of course, the sequel to Stitch ‘N Bitch. I don’t think it quite reaches the bar set by the original book, but it’s definitely worth looking into.
Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation does contain a quick review of basic skills, but is primarily geared towards those that have already gotten a good hold on the skills taught in Stitch ‘N Bitch.
This book goes over more advanced skills like how to recalculate the number of stitches in a pattern after you’ve substituted a yarn of a different gauge, how to adjust a pattern to better suit your body shape and size, and basic sweater design.
The book is also full of helpful tips from knitters all over the country and pages showcasing stitch and bitch groups all over the country.
The patterns in the book follow in the vein of Stitch ‘N Bitch, which is to say that you get a good range of projects from “Who would knit THAT?” (yes, we have Knit Bathing Suit: Part II) to “Oh, that’s nice and classic.”
On the “Who would knit THAT?” range is the Valentine’s hat on p.54. The concept is cute–make a heart-shaped hat–but the execution makes it a little too dunce-cap-like for me to want to wear. On the other end of the spectrum is Lucky, a cotton wrap cardigan knit in a simple clover lace pattern.
Although Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation has an impressive variety of fun hats, scarves, mittens, and other accessories, it’s a little lacking on designs that could be closet staples for years to come. For example, I wish there had been a more conservative sweater patterns. Instead, there are far too many poncho patterns for an avowed poncho-hater like me.
Other than the Lucky wrap cardigan, there is a nice-looking Fairly Easy Fair Isle sweater for those who like the Fair Isle look, and a Flower Power sweater that has a felt flower appliqued onto it.
If I were to knit the Flower Power sweater though, I would have to hem the collar and then the cuffs and waistband to match. Although the picture of the sweater in the book has the collar blocked so that it doesn’t curl, it’s plainly visible from the picture of Debbie Stoller on the back cover that it can turn over and sag in a manner that I don’t like.
All in all, another solid effort. Pattern errata and photos of the projects in the book can be found at Knit Happens.
Buy Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation on Amazon.com
CogKnition posted this on March 18th, 2006 @ 11:11am in Book Reviews | Permalink to "Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation"
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