Garter Stitch Revival Review

Our Weekly Wednesday Review continues this week with “Garter Stitch Revival” from Interweave. Including 20 stunning patterns that incorporate the garter stitch you might be amazed at how you can use garter stitch in your next project.

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Garter Stitch Revival:

Garter stitch can sometimes get a bad name in knitting. For those of you that are new to the craft, garter stitch is the tell tale ridge stitch pattern in knitting. To accomplish garter stitch you will knit each row of a project worked flat. When worked in the round you will switch between knit rounds and purl rounds.

Included in the book are 20 beautiful patterns that all incorporate garter stitch. The use of garter stitch ranges from the main focus of a pattern to a small detail of the pattern. Paging through the book you will see how beautiful garter stitch really when used as a feature and a detail.

After reading through the book I had the opportunity to talk to Kerry from Interweave about the book. Since this is a compilation of designers there wasn’t just one who make the book. Kerry was the lead on this project in selecting what went into the book and what the feel was going to be.

Q & A with Interweave:

How was the title of the book selected?

Kerry: The title for Garter Stitch Revival was a team effort. We wanted a word that was a heavy lifter, one that could speak to the content as well as the visual feel we were going for. We felt the word “revival” worked on a few different levels. To me a revival is a throw back, a reminder of another time. Reminding experienced knitters (and showing newbies possibilities beyond the basic gather stitch scarf) was one of the main goals of this book and I think revival was the perfect term to us. It says, “Welcome back friend, it’s good to see you.” We wanted the same tone to the photography for the book. We weren’t going for straight out retro, but something that felt classic and timeless, like the word revival. I hope people agree, I don’t think there’s a better word for the collection.

Why do you think garter stitch gets a bad name?

Kerry: I really don’t know! It can’t only be because knitters don’t like purling in the round, right? With this collection, we really wanted to show what a wonderful stitch it is and how perfect it can be in the right situations. We share how it works as a subtle detail, how it combines with other stitches like lace and cables, even how it looks in a beautiful  garter stitch and mosaic colorwork yoke, and how it can really shine in an allover garter stitch design.

How were the designers selected for the book?

Kerry: I did a call for submissions on Ravelry and we had one of the biggest responses to a call ever for our book department. I reviewed all the submissions personally, selected what I thought was a the cream of the crop (it was seriously difficult to choose), and then our content editor and I narrowed it down to the final selections.

Which is your favorite project in the book?

Kerry: Yep. I know I probably shouldn’t have favorites, but I do! There’s always a project take works its way into my heart in every book I work on. In Garter Stitch Revival it’s Annie Rowden’s Venice Beach Wrap. Oh how I love that project. 

The pattern that I was most intrigued by was the Asymmetrical Cropped Jacket. Is the shaping accomplished through the garter stitch panel?

Kerry: Yes! It’s clever, isn’t it? Toby Roxane Barna did a fantastic job with this project. I think it’s incredibly unique.

Purchase your Copy of Garter Stitch Revival:

You can purchase your own copy of Garter Stitch Revival through the link below on Amazon.

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