Treasuring Stitch Dictionaries

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Thanks for taking Treasuring Stitch Dictionaries! I hope you left class all fired up and ready to use those stitch patterns in all kinds of projects!

Here are some of the resources we talked about in class, plus perhaps some other information you might find helpful. If you know of others than I have not mentioned here, please email me and tell me about them, so I can share the information with others.

Stitch Maps is an awesome website that functions as a stitch dictionary, with a unique twist. Stitch maps are a way of drawing a chart without grids so you can see how the pattern flows. It’s especially wonderful for lace patterns, and the collection is growing all the time. It’s well worth checking out.

Parts of Stitch Maps are free, but there are additional levels of membership which give you access to additional benefits. There may be a coupon code available from class; check your post-class note from me for details.

The following books are ones I have seen (both knit and crochet). I own a lot of them, and others are ones that people have brought to class. Try to take a look at stitch dictionaries before buying, if possible, because there is a wide range of quality available. Some are not well edited and some are very hard to read.

Besides the ones pictured below, I strongly recommend just about any Japanese stitch dictionary you can get your hands on. Remember that Japanese uses “knitting” to mean both knitting and crochet, so you are like to get a mix of both in one volume. Nihon Vogue is one of the publishers. You can find them online and at Kinokuniya Bookstores (locations in the US in New York City, San Jose, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and several other cities). Tuttle Publishing has been publishing translations of some of the Japanese dictionaries, which is exciting!

Clear & Simple Japanese Knitting Symbols and Clear & Simple Crochet Symbols are great little books, but I don’t think they are still in print. Snag one if you can get it.

Also any of the “old” Harmony Guides; the newer ones are somewhat disappointing. Note that there are about six Vogue Knitting Stitchionaries. I’ve only included one below, but the others are also worth a look.

These books are usually available from your local yarn shop, independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon. The first dozen or so of the following books are the ones I go to again and again (yes, I refer to my own books!).

The others are in no particular order. Start with the first part of the list below, then fill in with the others are your need and interest and budget allows.