Description of Knitting in the Old Way

Knitting in the Old Way: Designs & Techniques from Ethnic Sweaters
by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts & Deborah Robson
February 2004
Nomad Press
ISBN 0-9668289-2-5
312 pages, 619 b/w illustrations, hardcover, $39.95

“Knitters rejoice! . . . Knitting in the Old Way is back—bigger and better. This extensively revised edition deserves a prominent spot on every knitter’s bookshelf.”
—Ann Budd, author of The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns and The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns, and managing editor of Interweave Knits

Knitting in the Old Way brings the power of independent, creative garment-making to knitters who have basic skills. Each section of the book could support years of fascinating discovery in the craft. It’s a lifetime resource.

“Knitting in the old way” means knitting by thinking, not by following instructions. Knitting in the Old Way unfolds a process that connects today’s knitters with deep textile wisdom from around the globe. For centuries, folk knitters created unique, well-fitted sweaters without using line-by-line patterns. So can twenty-first-century knitters! The component skills are within reach of anyone who has the ability to knit, purl, read, and experiment a bit.

Knitting in the Old Way begins by demonstrating how sweaters evolved from their origins as undergarments to their current status, as both everyday wear and heirloom clothing. The fifteen basic shapes can be combined and modified in limitless ways, the fabric embellished with color, texture, or both.

The pages of this book are packed with ideas, designs, and techniques from around the world, along with commentary on what we do—and don’t—know about the migration of knitting across space and time, about its quiet passage from one person’s hands to another.

Summary table of contents:

Description and summary of table of contents for Simple Socks