The Knitter's Guide to Combining Yarns

The Knitter's Guide to Combining Yarns: 300 Foolproof Pairings * 8 Cool Projects

Kathleen and Nick Greco

C&T Publishing: 96 Pages

This book may make you want to start knitting.

It contains flowing words and eye-catching photos of numerous types, textures, and colors in yarns and fibers.

This is a review I did for the Armchair Interviews website and that was provided to Amazon.com.

Kathleen and Nick Greco present a colorful book filled with projects and swatches that teach us how to combine yarns of different fibers and types into eye-catching art pieces we can use and wear. Using clear language and brilliant photographic images, the Grecos illustrate harmony among shapes, colors, and textures using a Color Wheel tool that is easy to master.

The authors explain how to mix colors, shades, and textures of different yarns for the best possible look among five fibers and five textures. The fibers include cotton, wool, an innovative bamboo, silk, and mohair, while the textures are ribbon, bouclé, chenille, slubbed, and multi-strand. It was particularly interesting to read about slubbed yarns and to see accomplishments in bamboo fibers.

The color relationships, or harmonies, that the Grecos explain make sense and are visually attractive. Colors are arranged according to seasons of the solar year and this seems logical. From nine basic yarns, Kathleen and Nick create some 300 color pairing possibilities, all unusual and all good to look at in the color swatches presented. The combination of text and graphics appear as a scientific yarn manual that is fun to read.

In addition to all this, the Grecos have included eight separate knitting projects arranged by Color Seasons, including two handbags, two scarves, a sleeveless top, a summer sarong, a fall wrap, and a winter sweater. All of the patterns are readily understandable and designated as Beginner, Easy, or Intermediate. Each pattern includes a graphic block illustration of the project pieces as they look before they go together, a very helpful tool. The book also includes a chapter on substituting yarns one for another when a particular yarn is not available or beyond reach in price.

The Grecos work through Dimensional Illustrators and have produced nearly two dozen craft and graphic arts books, such as Beyond the Scarf. Living scenic Pennsylvania with Nick, Kathleen also owns Jellyyarns.com and has applied for patents on yarns of her own creation from plastics.

Armchair Interviews says: This book is a winner that will encourage more people to try needle arts.