GIVEAWAY: Modernize Your Colorwork with the Alterknit Stitch Dictionary!

As I've been exploring colorwork and learning to combine strange random yarns into colorful scrapbusting projects, I've been craving some mind-blowing stitch patterns.

Andrea Rangel to the rescue! Andrea is a knitwear designer based out of British Columbia, and you might know her from her book Rugged Knits. How I know her? The ONLY way to dress up your family in matching sweaters: Big Lebowski-esque cardis!!

(The little one is called Little Dude and the big one is called The Knitter's Dude.)  You know I love Cowichan-style sweaters, especially for little ones. Here's my take on one from Phildar.

You'll seriously need some Post-Its while you peruse Andrea's new stranded/fair-isle stitch dictionary Alterknit.

I guarantee you've never have seen most of the 200 patterns she has in there. They range from Turkish to Tudor to Trippy to... Tongue in Cheek. 😏

The book starts with some really helpful information on creating stranded colorwork:

1. Choosing colors
2. How to hold the yarns in one or two hands
3. How many stitches to leave between floats
4. How to catch floats while holding yarn in 1 or 2 hands
5. VERY INFORMATIVE: How to catch floats to control color dominance

Then come the swatches!

Here are just some of the ones that got me -- but I'm curious to see other reviews of this book because I'm sure no two people would ever pick the same ones.

This simpler one ended up being my favorite actually!

Love the complexity here, needs a small gauge though.

A knitted meme.

Such thin lines, love it!

My second favorite, Imperfect is symmetrical yet off somehow.

For shroomy fun!

Carve is amazing.

Would be gorgeous with a self-striping yarn.

For those of you who love the patterns but would have no idea how to use them -- DO NOT FEAR. If you use her yarn weights and gauge, many of those 200 stitch patterns can be integrated into 5 patterns she includes at the end of the book. A cardigan, a yoke sweater, a cowl, mittens and a hat.

The drawback of this is gauge. I think that many of us would not knit colorwork at such a small gauge (these are 30 sts by 29 rows). This might be a herculean task for the designer, but at least one of the patterns would have been more helpful if written for a variety of yarn weights and gauges.

How cool would these patterns look in a super-bulky?!

If you do want to integrate these stitch patterns into other garment patterns you like, just remember that stranded gauges are SQUARE, while stockinette gauges are RECTANGULAR. In other words: don't replace a stockinette sweater with these stitch patterns, replace colorwork only.

I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with this book and the gigantic amount of work that must have went into it! The book is available from Interweave Press.

Interweave was kind enough to send me this book to review -- and LUCKY YOU, they are giving away one copy to anyone in the US or Canada!

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

To enter, please leave a comment below with your Ravelry, Facebook or Instagram username. You'll get more entries if you:

1. Facebook: Like this post and MAKE SURE you've liked the page Dayana Knits (you will be sorted differently if you have not, so please please check)
2. Instagram: Follow @dayanaknits and leave a comment on my post. Extra entries for every friend you tag!
3. Instagram: Repost by tagging me (not just mentioning me, I don't want to miss it) 

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