A handy reference book to have for knitters. While many terms and techniques can be looked up online, it isn’t always convenient to stop your project, head to a computer and search for the solution. Having a printed copy if helpful and this book fits the bill.

Thank you for a review copy. This was a good resource for knitters it’s always helpful to have a knitters dictionary to help with textured pattern and give ideas. What I use them for. Anyway, this was a good book.

A nice reference guide to have on hand for new and experienced knitters alike. Sometimes you don't have time to stop and google and want a printed reference copy

I honestly didn’t get the purpose of this book. We live in the age of the internet where I can Google any of these terms and get much more info...

Good book that gives a lot of help with learning different stitches. Full of illustrations. This book is so full that it just isn't for beginners, but the more advanced too. Every knitter needs this book, even if it is just for jogging the memory of stitches you once learned but since forgot due to not doing them every day. If you buy one book for knitting stitches, then this should be it.

This book is definitely a must have for reference. I went through it front to back and find myself constantly going back and looking stuff up. I am a new knitter so it is very helpful to know what a SSK is or M1L very easily and quickly.

Everything is listed A-Z and has great pictures and charts to help you figure out everything. I think It would be a great book even for an advanced knitter. Who doesn't forget how to do something even though we do it all the time. The explanations are very well worded.

This is a good resource for those just learning to knit or those who need a refresher or are interested in learning new skills. It's a good book to carry in your knitting bag--just in case!

Very useful book for a knitting fanatic like myself. This could be a great source of information for many. Very useful

So I thought The Knitter's Dictionary might be a bit dry reading because it's a dictionary, right? Wrong. The Knitter's Dictionary is filled with so much useful information, even for me, and I've been knitting for 15 years since picking it up again as an adult.

Not only is there what you would expect, definitions, but there are examples and instructions, all discussed in plain, easy-to-understand language. And, it's not without a sense of humor; if one wants to use fingering yarn, it is best to know the different between fingering and fingerling or you'll end up roasting potatoes instead of knitting a shawl.

The Knitter's Dictionary is an indispensable aid for knitters at every end of the spectrum.  You will want to keep it handy. I just wish it had existed earlier.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Useful and informative reference guide. This is basically all info you can find elsewhere, but it's really nice to have it all in one place instead of searching around for it.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars, A fantastic little resource.

Know how to knit? Want to go beyond knit and purl? Then you need to learn how to read those patterns! From k2tog to PSSO, this is the perfect little book to demystify knitting patterns. It's a sweet little reference book to have on hand when you're stumped by an abbreviation. It also has some handy techniques for things such as joining a new ball of yarn.

This is not the book for you if you're trying to learn how to knit, but if you're ready to tackle something harder than a hat or scarf, this book is for you. Intermediate and experienced knitters should still find this handy as well.

This is a great reference guide for knitters with terms A-Z, techniques, patterns, and abbreviations. This is a great book for a person like me who used to knit but is out of practice and needs help reading patterns and relearning all the stitches, patterns, best yarns, and what all those abbreviations stand for. The book has very good illustrations to help the reader, it so nice to have everything in one reference book.

This book is an amazingly awesome reference for a new or experienced knitter. One of the hardest parts of knitting is reading and deciphering the pattern. With this wonderful reference, you can look up the terms alphabetically, making it easy . There are well drawn pictures that help with several stitches that can be tricky, and I love that this is a concise reference where I can easily look up terms without having to search the internet. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knitting.

A help but not enough

Ms Atherley has written a guide to help knitters understand the vocabulary of yarn, garments, and the written instructions that accompany a knitted design. Is it useful? Yes. Is it useful enough? I don't think so.

"The Knitter's Dictionary" is a short book, expanded by lots of micro entries and some largish drawings that I thought might not have been needed. It includes a handful of knitters slang words that I did not know because I do not frequent knitting websites.

While I think some of the drawings are unneeded, I wanted some drawings of techniques that I did not understand from the entry – W&T for example. Wrap and Turn is used to close the gap in short rows. I don't remember ever needing such a technique and when trying to picture it in my head, I didn't get it at all. Drawing please.

Bottom line here is that while I think you will learn from this book, I don't really think you need it. The same information is available in the patterns them selves supplemented by online research.

I grew interested in learning to knit early in my college years. I would regularly gather at a coffee shop with some friends equally fledgling in their skills. We were all learning from the same book because it promised to teach us without abbreviating into terms that might be incomprehensible to newbies (for example: *K3, m1, p11, k2tog*).

That book delivered for me, and I gave away copies to other friends I would teach in the coming years. It gently held by hand as I tackled increasingly difficult patterns within its pages. I finally branched out when I came across an online Knitty pattern I could not resist, even though it was difficult. I knew how to do the first couple steps, so I waded in, figuring the time I would have already invested in it would give me the drive to figure out the rest, and I did eventually end up with my first stuffed animal, along with an impressive growth in my knitting abilities. After 15 years of increasingly complex projects, I now count myself an accomplished knitter.

When I came across The Knitter's Dictionary, I couldn't help but think repeatedly how useful this would have been in my early years. I did still pick up on a couple tidbits, and all the information included is clearly described, with visuals where necessary (the long-tail cast-on has simple illustrations to walk a reader through the steps, for instance). When you may wonder what LYS means (or any common abbreviations), there is an entry explaining it (for the curious, LYS is short-hand for local yarn shop/store).

I was pleased to see how well entries are cross-listed. If you look up M1, it will direct you to the entry on increases, where several options for adding stitches are explained. There can be multiple words for the same technique, and The Knitter's Dictionary appears to cover all their bases (I didn't see any oversights). I tend to prefer hard copies of such reference books, but the digital copy I read helped navigation with the hyperlinked entries.

My oldest daughter has asked a couple times recently for a knitting lesson. While she doesn't yet know it, she will be getting starting supplies under the Christmas tree. A copy of this might not be given to her just yet, at 8 years old, but I envision gifting this to her in a few short years as her skills expand and she doesn't need to look to me for guidance. It's certainly one I will begin recommending to new knitting friends who need that burst of confidence as they tackle increasingly complex patterns and techniques.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

This is an excellent dictionary/encyclopedia of knitting terms and techniques. It covers the simplest techniques (yarnovers, knit, purl) and more advanced techniques (Kitchener stitch, mattress stitch). Many of the definitions are accompanied by illustrations, which should be very useful.

My only criticism would be that this dictionary covers acronyms that are obvious (approx = approximate) in some cases, but then treats other terms (ayo = afterthought yarnover) in the same manner, without any additional information. (To be fair, I looked up afterthought yarnover and it looks somewhat involved, but it might have been useful to include a bit of information about what this type of yarnover would be used for, even if a how-to would not be possible.)

Overall, though, this seems to be a very handy dictionary and I think that it would be appreciated by most new or longterm knitters.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This book is really good to use for reference. I've been knitting for 15+ years & sometimes I forget the abbreviations. I wish I would have had this book sooner!

Definitely a good book for learning how to read a pattern. A great quick reference for various knitting terms, stitches, etc. Valuable.

One of the best knitting companions I have found to date. It actually does read/is formatted similar to a dictionary so it is easy to find things. Aesthetically, it is both pleasing to the eye and easy to follow with many terms being accompanied by easy to understand images. Everything is straightforward and to the point so the reader doesn’t waste time trying to interpret the author's meaning.

Handsdown a must have companion for any knitter. I wish there were guides this great for other crafts.

Its hard to imagine Kate Atherley being ignorant of *anything* having to do with knitting or yarns, but she claims in her introduction that she learned to knit from a grandmother, and had to learn to read patterns later. I think “The Knitter’s Dictionary” is ideal for the knitter, beginner or experienced, who has mastered a set of usable techniques, but wants to have a quick reference guide to alternatives that don’t necessarily come to mind immediately. A true, (if slightly embarrassing) example for me is the Kitchener Stitch. I’ve used it in untold numbers of socks, but I always need a quick reminder of how to get it started (purl or knit on the front or back???). The Dictionary provides a quick answer in an easy to reference form.

Atherley gives clear and well-illustrated directions for a variety of cast-ons, increases, decreases, cable patterns, etc. I wouldn’t necessarily want to learn the Brioche stitch from her terse description, but once learned, the description serves as an excellent reminder.