I have recently become a pretty crafty person, at least in my opinion. I have a lot of hobbies, and most of them are crafty. I like to knit, sew, bake and decorate cakes, and make scrapbooks, among other things. (If you’re curious, you can find pictures of my hobbies at my Flickr account.) This month’s challenge was kind of hard for me, actually, because I couldn’t think of a single book I wanted to read cover-to-cover on any of my crafts. Then I realized that I had *already* read at least one knitting book cover to cover. So, for this month’s challenge, I present my favorite knitting book.

Written by Bust founder Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook provides a wonderful introduction to knitting that also has an excellent essay on being a feminist and a knitter. There are 40 patterns that are suitable for beginners, but the best part is the actual instruction sections. There are very clear, basic instructions for all of the knitting basics – casting on, binding off, knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing – everything you need to know to do the patterns in the book. Or nearly any other pattern you can find. I’ve been knitting for several years now, and this is *still* my go-to book for trying to figure out how to increase or decrease a certain way. The instructions are clearly written, but they still have a sense of humor, which pervades the entire book.

I normally check out knitting books from the library, but this book (and its sequel, Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation) are the first two books that I bought when I was learning to knit. Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation has the same sense of humor and feminism throughout, but it goes more in depth on how to change patterns so that they fit your body and your style.

I have recommended both of these books to every new knitter who has asked what books to buy. I know there are a *lot* of knitting books available, but these two are the ones that made the most sense to me and have helped me the most as I continue to knit.