Knit Fix

by Lisa Kartus

Dropped and twisted stitches, too small button holes and miss-crossed cables are only a few of the knitting dilemmas tackled in this humorous and useful guide. Beginners and seasoned knitters alike are promised that learning from mistakes improves the technique and inspires personal style and that sometimes the best solution is to let the mistake stand. This sturdy, spiral bound book explains the correct way to cast on and bind off, decipher charts, choose fibers, and more.

Genres: Knitting, Reference, Crafts, Nonfiction

112 pages, Spiral-bound

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kartus may offer awkward beginning knitters the cure for the common dropped stitch (also twisted stitch, badly crossed cable, mis-sized sweater and more) but you have to love the way she simultaneously encourages even proficient, perfectionist types to see so-called mistakes as openings for creativity. Maybe you don't have to unravel (or even unknit) every time. Maybe it's okay to deviate from the pattern. Maybe your alleged mistake can even turn into a motif. Her sense of humor and empathy establish an appealing dynamic and makes what could have easily turned into a catalog of shame into a very proactive empowering guide. Her instruction is clear and concise and more often than not paired with crisp close-up photos of common knitting misses as well as swatches showing proper form. The spiral binding and stiff pages are ideal for propping up in those moments where the botched knitting is right there and on-the-spot instruction may be needed. Although there is likely some good advice for all sorts of knitters, beginners especially are bound to find this book not only well worth reading, but worth owning as a handy reference. Kartus tells a story about a fellow knitter who felt that it wasn't until she learned to troubleshoot and fix her knitting mistakes that she was doing real knitting. Thanks to this helpful book, more fledgling knitters will be helped down this road.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of many yarn craft-related books I received for Christmas, this was the first I delved into. So that's what I'm doing to cause those funky trailing stitches! And look -- here's how to fix it!

You've got to love any book on correcting errors that recommends you decide whether the problem's really worth the bother of fixing, or whether you're the only one who's going to notice. Kartus is no didactic task mistress, but rather a zen-like guide who will teach you not to panic when your knitting inevitably goes awry.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I get ready to cast on my first really big project that will get tons of use and be in the public eye constantly, I realized I needed a really great resource to turn to for the inevitable problems and mistakes that will come up. This has clear directions and pictures of what things look like when they've gone completely balls up, which is incredibly useful. Hopefully I won't need it much, but I'm glad I have it.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many knitting problems solved!

Sadly not the more advanced problems many experienced knitters encounter. I could not find the how to pick up yarn overs .

[Anne Hawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one the best books out there for fixing knitting problems. Lisa Kartus goes over the most common mistakes and how to fix them and then goes on to more complicated mistakes and what to do to fix them, or at least less noticeable. The directions are easy to understand and given with humor. Part of hating a mistake is the idea that if we were better knitters, we wouldn't make mistakes and Lisa puts that little philosophy to rest immediately. She does have sections that describe how to do some techniques the right way so that a few potential mistakes are nipped in the bud, but mistakes are a part of knitting and sometimes the best thing is to just leave the mistake and admit that you are part of the club of imperfect knitters.

[Lain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was thrilled to get this book, hoping it would reveal the secrets of fixing my own work WITHOUT having to rip out row after row. And while the pictorial guides and explanations of what can go wrong are invaluable, in fact the advice the author offers, more often than not, is to "rip back to the mistake." Bah!

All the same, while this guide has not saved me from frogging, it is a great addition to my knitting library. Now when something goes wrong, I can at least diagnose what it was, with the hopes I can avoid it the next time around.

A great volume to include in any knitting book collection.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a helpful book. It really had a lot of good tips, really nicely illustrated. Not all of them were helpful all the time (like recrossing cables, I wouldn't use that tip every day), but things like pictures of how it looks when you drop a stitch or twist a stitch were very well done. Very good book, highly recommended.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book that deals with common mistakes - this is an excellent choice. It has photos of potential mistakes as well as a discription of how to recognize them. Great for any knitting library.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just started knitting a few months ago and I found the majority of this book to be extremely useful in helping me see what I have on my needles. Some of the fixes I had figured out for myself but it was really nice to have confirmation that I was doing things right.

[Tonileg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this about five years ago and only used it in the first month when I was self teaching myself knitting. It has lots of photos to fix the usual dropped stitches, etc.
I haven't used it in years so I might have to pass it down to the next beginner knitter that I meet.
3 stars

[Jan Gaffney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I had gotten this book 10 years ago! I don't know how many times I had to wait days before I could access the knowledge of my knitter friends and ask, "what the heck have I done"? This book answers those questions and tells you how to fix it! Excellent resource for every knitter.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear instructions for simple techniques (and some more complex ones) and instructions on how to identify and fix mistakes. The book also has a good attitude in that it knows when to actually correct a mistake and when to ignore it or "fix" it by hiding it.

[Nancy Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best explanation for grafting EVER. And easy-to-understand ways to fix errors. Every knitter should own this one.

[Margarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is a bit less than what is promised - it doesn't go into the depth I was hoping for, but still pretty handy nontheless.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are very clear as well as the text. A good book to have.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book for beginners. I've knit for several years and have already figured out pretty much everything in this book so it wasn't useful for me.

[Sabra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A keeper for sure!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy book to read with lots of helpful tips and helps with pitfalls encountered when knitting. Great little reference.

[Christine Stanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that I lend out to knitting group members when they are having a problem.

[Fangirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows how to fix mistakes you made in your knitting. The explanations are clear and shown with graphics and pictures.

[Martine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best. I get better answers online in ravelry

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. Good compilation of how to fix mistakes, but probably not something I'll be purchasing.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great explanations with good pictures

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, but probably not as good as a YouTube series with the same concept would have been.

There is a bit of guidance for sweater tailoring near the end that I found interesting, but it is VERY rudimentary.

[Mckinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent help with lots of examples and photos.