When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters

Call them knitting nanas, call them knitting fairy godmothers, authors Marion Edmonds and Ahza Moore are here to hold your hand and tell you everything is going to be all right. Whether your knitting pattern appears to have been written in Aramaic, you've dropped a stitch (or a whole bag full of stitches), you've forgotten to increase, you've been knitting in the wrong pattern sequence for 4 rows, or you can't get your head through the neck hole of your newly knit sweater, Marion and Ahza will give you level-headed advice on what to fix, how to fix it, and when you can just fudge it.

With 119 years of knitting experience between them, they've seen it all and fixed it all. For beginners and more experienced knitters alike (the more experienced you are, the more elaborate the mistake), When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters should be in every knitter's yarn bag.

When things take a turn for the worse, When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters gets you back on track in no time.

Emergency Prevention. A Stitch in Time

Pattern Emergencies

Knitting Emergencies

Finishing Emergencies. Putting it all together, the Moment of Truth

Work is over. The dog is walked. The dishes are done. Finally, it's your knitting time. You settle into your favorite chair and take up your needles. And then you see it: a stitch that has fallen off one needle and is rapidly unraveling. You watch with fascinated horror as it slips down, row after row. What do you do? You don't know how to fix this disaster and, until you do, you can't continue. It's much too late to call a fellow knitter or expect your friendly neighborhood yarn store to be open. Where to look for an answer?

Right here. We have written this book for you. Turn to "Ohmygawd, I've Dropped a Stitch," and your troubles (at least your knitting troubles) will be over. Our first advice, to any level knitter, is not to panic- this is not the end of the world as you know it. Take several deep breaths, read through the possible solutions, choose one that works for you, apply it, and knit on.

Perhaps you already know how to pick up dropped stitches- but that doesn't mean you're emergency free. Maybe you're having trouble decoding a pattern or figuring out what's gone wrong with the neckline you just put in. Perhaps you've mislaid your cable needle. This book is written for you, too.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters is for both the beginning and the more advanced knitter. Its purpose is to help you, and its written in plain English in case you are not yet fluent in the language of knitting. We've made the headings very clear so that you can easily match your emergency with a solution. We also tell you when mistakes can successfully be fudged and when they can't. Most important, we give you full permission not to correct an error. Most of us knit for relaxation; and if just the thought of ripping out six 30-in. rows to fix a misplaced cable gives you palpitations, then let it be- think of it as knitting wabi-sabi. After all, do you really care about the opinion of the total stranger who is inspecting your sweater with a magnifying glass? Many of our favorite knitted creations contain problem spots that we've decided not to fix.

The book begins with "Emergency Prevention or, A Stitch In Time," which will help you assemble your Knitter's Tool Kit and choose yarns and needles that will make your knitting pleasurable. There, you'll find suggestions for good knitting habits you can adopt to help keep your crises to the barest minimum. Chapter 2, "The Secret Language of Knitting Patterns," will help you choose the pattern that's right for you and provides guidance on how to read and follow it. We've also included a section on altering patterns for different sizes and different gauge. "Good Knitting Gone Wrong," includes the most common emergencies we've encountered in our years of knitting and teaching and gives you the skills needed to fix them. In the final chapter, "Don't Let Finishing Finish You Off," we guide you through the finishing process, including how to fix a piece that doesn't fit right. We even have a few ideas for what to do if you end up absolutely hating the fiber fruit of your labors.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters is written to help you out of jam. Because we don't think that you should have to decide in the wee hours of the morning which of several techniques to use, we've tried to give you only one solution. If you discover others that suit you better, use them. What you knit is yours and yours alone. Sometimes it's hard to remember this when several people are giving you advice and telling you the "right" way to do things. Trust us, no way is the right way for everyone; and since it's your knitting, you can do what you please.

We believe that knitting is more than a system for manipulating needles and yarn- it is a path to self-knowledge. The things we learn about ourselves as we knit often have interesting applications in our non-knitting life. Observing how you go about your knitting reveals, for example, whether you are result oriented or process oriented. Do you knit things just because you think they are interesting, without an intended recipient in mind, or do you plan a use for each project before you knit it? How much uncertainty is comfortable for you? Can you imagine starting a sweater and ending up with a pillow for the couch, or do you want every stitch exactly where the pattern says it should be? Can you live with your mistakes or will you be forever haunted by those extra stitches or that lumpy seam? Fortunately, our craft is wonderfully idiosyncratic (did you know that the knit stitch can be formed four different ways?) and remarkably diverse: There is room for all sorts of knitters, from the most exacting to the most carefree.

You and your knitting are in very good hands- ours. We have each been knitting since the age of four and between us we have 119 years of experience. In fact, yarn brought us together. We saw each other knitting in a coffee shop in New York City and introduced ourselves. Soon we were spending more and more time knitting together, sharing our yarn stashes and trade secrets, and we realized that after long and varied careers, each of us was at a professional loose end (so to speak). That's when we had the idea of starting a business that would allow us to do what we love best, and that's how our company, KnittingTogetherNYC, was born.

Now, four years later, we've taught hundreds of people to knit, and we hope they've all taught hundreds more. Our dream is for everyone on the island of Manhattan and beyond to experience the benefits of knitting- stress reduction, self-knowledge, the pleasure of creating something with your hands, the continuation of an age-old craft, and a short vacation from our everyday lives. Our worst fear is that when practitioners hit a snag, they become so aggravated that they give up on knitting altogether, and that's why we've written this book.

To guarantee that you get all the pleasure and satisfaction knitting can give, and none of the frustration it can inflict, we have provided you with a safety net- When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters. Don't cast on without it! Yours in wool, Marion and Ahza