Knit by Alice Hoyle,
£22
“The structure of a stitch and the way it was knitted formed the basis of an idea.” So begins Alice Hoyle in her new book, Knit. This radical pattern collection plays with the knitted stitch to deliver designs that totally shake up our sense of tried-and-tested. With deconstructed sweaters and disrupted stitches, Hoyle’s patterns land like popping-candy on our needles. But this isn’t just about her design prowess. Her chapters on stash, re-using yarn and a stitch library that holds its own against much weightier tomes, makes this a book that takes your knitting of the patterns as seriously as her design, making this as much a knitting reference book as it is a riotously original collection.

The Sock Project by Summer Lee, £18.99
There’s something about Summer Lee. We’ve known it since long before this book came out – it’s in the colours she knits with and the patterns she creates, but it’s also in the generosity of care she takes as she guides you through from getting the right fit, to turning heels and grafting toes. All of this takes Lee’s socks into a zone where you can, and crucially want, to make them. And when you add in the accompaniment of her lyrical and witty writing.. well, Brontë sums it up perfectly: “I’m not gonna lie. It’s probably the best sock book out there.“

Rag Manifesto by Rachael Matthews, £21
From legendary east London knitting shop proprietress, fibre-fundi, and stitch philosopher, this is Rachael Matthews’ “Call to arms for the overlooked fabric detritus in our world.” The condition that we’ve got planet earth into may be grave, but the Rag Manifesto gives us a creative, playful and often hilarious way to address it. Matthews’ writing is a joy – often also a hoot, but it’s her thinking which we all need more of. For anyone everywhere with an interest in textiles, creating, surviving and making things better.

Intarsia Knits by Anna Husemann, £18
It’s taken the best part of 40 years for intarsia to shake off the bad taste reputation it earned from the single-use picture knits of the 1980s. But with Anna Husemann’s help, I think we’ve finally arrived. She describes her work simply: “colourful knitwear designs inspired by paper collages“, but this belies a complex thoughtfulness – about the interaction of colour, shape, material and texture – that runs through all her work. With the aid of thoroughly illustrated and clearly written how-tos, Intarsia knitting is now out there for everyone. I loved this book so much, I wrote a whole post about it!

Elena: A Hand Made Life by Miriam Gold, £25
Elena Zadik was a refugee twice over, a doctor and a life-long knitter & maker. She was also Miriam Gold’s granny. In this imaginatively told graphic memoir, Gold recounts her granny’s extraordinary story with the help of found photographs, letters, maps and sketches. For all its dislocation, trauma and loss, Elena’s life is rich with the funny and impossible details that make her as relateable as she is remarkable and throughout it all Elena knitted: “She would not do cartoon characters, and she would not do spaceships or fashionable colours. Instead, skilled intarsia, cables, and ribs all thick, warm and sensible in browns and blues would emerge magically from her clacking needles and crochet hook.“

Lakeside Stitches by Ronja Hakalehto, £27
It may be a new collection but it already has the feeling of a knitting classic, like a cookbook that you rely on for the recipes that you know will always work: Hakalehto’s patterns have a foundational year-round, fits-the-whole-family quality – all beautifully photographed in the the landscape and colours of her northern Finnish lakeside home. The designs include stranded colourwork yokes, richly cabled sweaters, cosy boot socks, fairisle slippers and beanies: these are knits that call for outside adventures and that will go on being worn and worn for years and years. Hakalehto covers unfamiliar techniques with helpful step by step photo guides plus she’s gives help with choosing yarns and taking care of your finished work.

The Journal of Scottish Yarn Issue 5, £24
Strictly speaking this one is a periodical but it’s got a heft that we think more than qualifies it for a listing here. More importantly, Issue 5 is just a rollickingly fascinating read for anyone interested in the heritage and fututre of Scottish textiles: farm-to-yarn production on the islands of Uist and Fair Isle, the transcription of Gansey patterns using old photographs, the revival of kilt hose production in Angus, plus a patterns section of 10 brand new designs, at least 5 of which I’d happily knit. WIth production values that knock spots off most of the rest of the knitting mag scene, we’re already super excited to see what The Journal serves up next year. This is definitely a collector’s series and one to watch.

Making Memories by Claudia Quintanilla, £18.99
Whilst it’s true that the baby knits space has always been a bit over-crowded, it’s surprising how few good patterns there are for kids that have grown and are doing there own thing. So Quintanilla’s now-in-paperback newborn-10 year-olds collection was especially welcome on our shelves. The designs feature colourwork and texture as seriously as any full-sized collection, but Quintanilla has managed to scale things so that the patterns have an appropriateness in these small forms. Yes, you’ll need to have your stitchy wits about you, but she also helps you along the way with clearly explained technique guides and illustrations.

All you Knit is Love: the Official Beatles Knitting Book, £27.99
Knitted Moomin Socks, £15.99
Shaun the Sheep: Baa-rilliant Knits, £14.99

What do the Beatles, Wallace & Grommit and The Moomins all have in common?
They’ve all had their own knitting books come out this year! We’ve cheekily snuck in this trio of tribute-band knitting books under one roof, because well, we just couldn’t not. The Beatles’ surprisingly wearable knitted wardrobe includes a Paperback Writer sweater, Blue Meanie Socks, Yellow Submarine Onesie, and even A Day Tripper backpack. It’s is old-school intarsia, but done in a really good way.
The Moomins book had me at socks with Hemuelen picking flowers, but if that doesn’t float your boat you can also choose to keep your toes company with Snufkin, the Snork Maiden and the rest of the Moomin family.
And for knitters who can’t face the long-distance of a wearable, or just love to make diddly things, there’s really no need to explain. We get it. That’s where Shaun comes in. Absurdly adorable characters with proper pattern direction and clear technique explanations, you could even pretend you’re making them as a skills development project.