Lace Star; a review

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When Jody, the editor of Knotions, asked me if I would like to preview, and review, the newest Knotions E-Book; Lace Star, I couldn't say yes fast enough!

Photo Credit Knotions.com Lace Star cover

As you know, I am a big fan of Shawl Star, where Elizabeth Felgate goes into detail of how to create over 40 different shapes for shawl knitting, in recipe form, so you can design your own. I was sure that her writing about lace would be just as educational and fun to read and knit along to!

I wasn't disappointed!

So, let's dive in!

The book is broken into 4 major sections :

Section 1: The theory and practice of lace knitting - how it works, how to make it easier and get better results


It's not a secret that I am a bit of a knitting "geek".  I love the tech talk of how/why/when/where things work and on the flip side, when they don't!  Liz walks the knitter through everything from picking yarn; which materials and colors work best; and needle size...but goes on to say the words that make my heart sing " Once you know what you like, I trust that you will ignore these guidelines with impunity."

Section 2: Lace knitting exercises - from first yarnovers to advanced skills





This is probably my favorite part of the book...The exercises include several dishcloth sized swatches, presented in both charted and fully written line by line instructions, with specific call outs for what to look for when reading not just the instructions but your own knitting!

Here I worked up Exercise 3: Right and wrong side patterning and have to say that the pattern stitch choice for this is the ideal place to start learning (or get additional practice)  working that wrong side patterning. (Really, it isn't as hard as you think...I know knitters get tied up in knots thinking about it, but if you have ever done any flat knitting that is more than garter stitch you have done wrong side patterning without any trouble!)

And Exercise 4: Breaking New Ground swatch...I stopped long before it became a shawl!

This exercise is a great tutorial for how to incorporate a stitch pattern into the increases needed to create a shawl that starts from just a very few stitches and grows into a much larger piece.

Finally I knit Exercise 9: A mini project for a lace bookmark.

This piece pulls together all the things that you will have learned working through the other exercises...worked in a finer yarn that the dishcloth sized swatches at the beginning of the section, it incorporates right and wrong side patterning, pattern repeats, and...a difference of opinion on how it should be blocked!  :)

This is how it looks in the book..

Photo Credit: Knotions.com Lace Star e-book

and this is mine.

As you can see, in Lace Star the pattern itself was worked one and a half times before binding off...mine was worked twice.  I also blocked it a little differently and then decided I liked the beginning better as the "top" of my bookmark.  Is either way wrong?  Nope!  That is the beauty of knitting and lace knitting in particular...you can make those choices!  (Remember, you can ignore the guidelines with impunity!)

Section 3: Finishing lace knits


I have said it before, I will say it again...blocking lace, like heel turns in socks, is knitters magic! This section goes over the common methods of blocking, from wet blocking wool to steam blocking synthetic fibers, with photo tutorials for each method.

Section 4: Fixing mistakes

Missed a yarn over?  Knit instead of purled?  Lace Star has you covered with photo tutorials for fixing the inevitable mistakes that manage to creep in. (Even expert knitters make mistakes, knowing that you made them and how to fix them is what makes an expert knitter!)

My Conclusion:

I had an awful lot of fun knitting the swatches I picked, and I by no means knit all of them, there are several more fun ones...but to see those you will have to get your own copy of the book!  And if you haven't already, get a copy of Shawl Star to go with it!  Paired these two e-books are probably the most comprehensive guide for designing and knitting your own lace shawls I have seen.

Until next time...

~M