Book Review: Knit Mitts by Kate Atherley
I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of Kate Atherley's latest publication - Knit Mitts: Your hand-y guide to knitting mittens and gloves. Kate is a highly respected author, designer and tech editor in the handknitting industry. She describes herself as "a mathematician and escapee from the technology industry", and this is reflected by her technical precision and a high degree of knit nerdery!
Knit Mitts follows on from a number of previous publications which include Custom Socks, and The Beginner's Guide to Writing Knitting Patterns (btw I have mentioned this particular book in a previous post) - both of which are bookshelf staples for designers, tech editors or keen knitters seeking to master their craft.
What’s inside Knit Mitts?
To give you a teaser of what is held within, the content on the back cover states:
"Inside, knitting expert Kate Atherley offers solutions to common problem areas: stretchy cast-ons for cuffs, fixes for thumb gaps, tricks for working the tiny circumference of glove fingers. She also addresses yarn choices and knitting techniques for easy care and maximum warmth. Through basic mitten and glove recipes, Kate explains how to measure a hand, assess your yarn selection and gauge, and ultimately customize patterns―including the 10 gorgeous ones inside--to make the best fitting mitts for you and your loved ones. Because the very best mitts are knit to fit!"
The book has 144 pages which include 6 chapters, 5 of which cover in-depth technical and structural guidance, with chapter 6 offering 10 patterns. Kate covers a lot of ground as you can see by her substantial contents list. As she did with Custom Socks and feet, Kate has started with a survey, this time of hand sizes. This provides a great baseline for sizing when you don’t have the intended recipient's full measurements available.
The book is generously packed with hints and tips, and there’s a lot of information covered including:
sizing, fit and gauge (tension)
yarns and knitting for additional warmth
the anatomy of gloves, mitts and mittens
essential techniques and tips specific to knitting hand wear
how to successfully work techniques like fairisle or patt repeats
What I find particularly helpful is, after explaining how you might work out your own numbers, Kate has provided numerous tables and ‘ready reckoners’ to give you a short cut. These include for example: calculations for number of stitches you need; working out your decrease and increase rows; and even approximate yarn requirements needed for each size.
Chapter 6 provides the Patterns section, offering 10 varied designs using a range of techniques. I particularly liked the Twisting Mitts - it's time I knitted something for myself and I need some new mitts.
I was delighted to find this gorgeous hand dyed aran weight yarn by Triskelion Yarn languishing in my stash which is now being put to good use.
Twisted Mitts by Kate Atherley
How was it for me?
Like her other offerings, Knit Mitts provides a comprehensive guide for the keen, detail-minded knitter. It’s written in a clear and accessible style, and brings together a wealth of information on the structure and design of hand wear. Kate clearly knows her mitts, though I'm not sure I agree there needs to be quite the degree of accuracy that she recommends. Knitted fabric is quite forgiving and stretchy, so I'm not entirely convinced mitts really need to be sized in half inch (palm circumference) increments. However I am fully behind not taking the one-size only approach and will be looking to offer mitts in at least 3 'multi sizes' sizes for adults from now on.
I was also curious to see no mention about insetting the thumb or not (so it is placed a few sts in on the palm side). As far as I can see her patterns place the thumb square on the side. I guess that tells us where Kate stands on this issue, however I'd love to have known her thoughts on this.
Overall, this is another stellar techy offering from Kate, very deserving of a place on my heaving bookshelf, and a book I know I'll be referring to time and time again.
Who is this book for?
Knit designers & tech editorsfor sure - I’d go so far as to say Knit Mitts is an essential addition to your knitting library.
Knitters with some experience who enjoy technical accuracy and understanding the structure of what they are knitting and how it all ‘works’.
Those who knit mitts for folk with unusual shaped hands, or hands that don't ‘match’. This enables them to have great custom fitting mitts/gloves that just can't be bought from conventional shops.
Where can I get a copy?
Kate doesn’t seem to sell this directly from her website at the time of writing this post. You can probably find or order it through your local yarn or book shop, and it’s also available online via Amazon.
Here are the book details:
Title: Knit Mitts: Your hand-y guide to knitting mittens and gloves.Published by: Interweave Knits 27 October 2017ISBN: 1632504928
Who is this book not so much for?
Complete beginners, or knitters who think life is too short to worry about such precise accuracy of fit and who simply want to follow a pattern without understanding how it works! If you’re just not a ‘details’ person the technical chapters probably won’t float your boat, though you may still enjoy knitting from the range of stylish and well crafted patterns included. For 10 varied patterns, even at full rrp this still represents good value if you only want it for the patterns.
Now, back to knitting those mitts.......
Disclaimer:These opinions are my own, I bought this book myself, and I wanted to share my thoughts on it with you.