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Treasury of Knitting Patterns #1
A Treasury of Knitting Patterns
G/G, 301 PAGES
301 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
11 people are currently reading
912 people want to read
About the author
Barbara G. Walker
34Ìýbooks122ÌýfollowersBarbara Walker studied journalism at the University of Pennsylvania and then took a reporting job at the Washington Star in DC. During her work as a reporter, she became increasingly interested in feminism and women's issues.
Her writing career has been split between knitting instruction books, produced in the late 1960s through the mid-80s; and women's studies and mythology books, produced from the 1980s through the early 21st C.
Her writing career has been split between knitting instruction books, produced in the late 1960s through the mid-80s; and women's studies and mythology books, produced from the 1980s through the early 21st C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
July 29, 2007
Knitting porn, pure and simple. Hundreds of patterns, grouped thematically, with pictures, techical info, and the inimitable Walker commentary. You WANT this book.
November 3, 2021
Even though this is an older book, I think it is wonderful and hope to be able to purchase it!!! It is very plain with black and white photos, but the instructions are very clear and simple. Someday I want to practice every stitch mentioned in this book!!! :) Well over 200 different stitches to learn. :)
September 19, 2017
If you knit, and cannot afford many books, "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns," by Barbara G. Walker would be one that I would recommend buying. There are hundreds of knitting patterns and if you want to make a knitted item look different changing the pattern from stockinette stitch to something less familiar is one of the easiest ways to personalize your knitting. If you have a large budget, you could buy all of Barbara Walker's knitting and knitting pattern books. I in particular enjoy "Knitting From the Top."
October 18, 2019
This book will not teach you to knit, but once you know the basics (Go to Elizabeth Zimmerman books for that), it opens up infinite beautiful possibilities. I am a little obsessed right now with the wealth of knowledge and instruction these knitting masters provided.
September 6, 2012
Awesome book! I got it from the library, but I am adding it to my amazon wish list because it is a great reference for fun pattern ideas.
January 11, 2022
Lots of patterns I want to try. Specifically, I can’t wait to try the combination of Single Eyelet Rib and Double Eyelet Rib on the machine (from Chapter 3 Ribbings). Mainly I bought this book to find new patterns I can translate to the knitting machine. (Although some of the patterns have tempted me to hand knit them into the hats I make.) When translating hand to machine, time spent manipulating stitches can be a deal breaker. I hope to find some patterns here that will translate without a lot of that extra work and time.
March 28, 2013
This book is wonderful. I still have a scarf-length swatch I knit from it in the early 1980s, a few inches of each pattern that caught my eye. My comments about the pattern (i.e. "boring", "works up easy, lots of vertical stretch," and such) are scribbled in next to the pictures. This book - and any in the series - are a great resource, and I come back to them again and again.
PS: While Barbara G. Walker was working on her knitting books, and knitting in general, she read while she knit, with research materials propped open in front of her.* All that research - years of it - ultimately became . That book is as important a resource in my feminist spiritual studies as this book is in my knitting.
* I remember reading an interview in which Walker described using a cookbook holder - a plexiglas frame designed to hold a large cookbook open but also protect its pages from splashes - to hold books open as she knit. Lately I read downloaded books on my computer screen as I knit.
PS: While Barbara G. Walker was working on her knitting books, and knitting in general, she read while she knit, with research materials propped open in front of her.* All that research - years of it - ultimately became . That book is as important a resource in my feminist spiritual studies as this book is in my knitting.
* I remember reading an interview in which Walker described using a cookbook holder - a plexiglas frame designed to hold a large cookbook open but also protect its pages from splashes - to hold books open as she knit. Lately I read downloaded books on my computer screen as I knit.
January 19, 2019
Llega un dÃa en la vida de toda persona que teje en el que quiere hacer algo más original o experimental y no seguir patrones de tejido, sino crear sus propios diseños o modificar algunos. Para ese dÃa, está hecho este libro y los otros tres de la serie. Hay tantas puntadas que seguro encuentras alguna para tu próximo proyecto.
September 25, 2017
A fantastic book about knitting! Well laid out with a delightful, wide array of patterns & styles catering to all knitting levels. Barbara Walker has done an incredible service with these Treasuries and they should be in every knitters' collection.
July 4, 2020
A great reference book for knitters with a huge assortment of patterns. Includes how many stitches needed for a repeat plus the necessary edges so you can adapt them for your sweater, afghan, os shawl.
January 2, 2023
Some may think it cheating to list a reference book as “read,� but I really did read every one of the 290 pages of this classic. It’s going into my knitting bookshelf as a volume I will use every time I contemplate an original design of adaptation of a pattern. So happy to have this in my library.
June 19, 2017
Great reference book
October 12, 2017
Love it!! Now I just have to find the rest of the books!
March 12, 2018
All of her Treasuries are important stitch reference books, and no knitting library is complete without them.
May 27, 2021
This has a few good patterns in it. Pattern likes and preferences are subjective. The ones I liked may not be the favorites of other knitters, but there's enough here to make most knitters happy.
November 30, 2022
Excellent book. A must read.
October 6, 2016
Virginia Woolf has said “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.�
Nevermind Aphra Behn and her noble savage bullshit--that's for another review, but Barbara Walker is to knitters what Virginia Woolf claims Aphra Behn is to womankind!
Thanks to her we have 4-4! beautiful encyclopedias of patterns, us knitters can design and knit whatever is on our minds, and all the more easily thanks to her other ingenious contributions--charted design and knitting top-down.
I love you Barbara, even though after moving to Florida you've hung up your needles, and collect rocks instead (see Vogue Knitting Anniversary issue from Summer 2007).
Nevermind Aphra Behn and her noble savage bullshit--that's for another review, but Barbara Walker is to knitters what Virginia Woolf claims Aphra Behn is to womankind!
Thanks to her we have 4-4! beautiful encyclopedias of patterns, us knitters can design and knit whatever is on our minds, and all the more easily thanks to her other ingenious contributions--charted design and knitting top-down.
I love you Barbara, even though after moving to Florida you've hung up your needles, and collect rocks instead (see Vogue Knitting Anniversary issue from Summer 2007).
August 6, 2014
Excellent! THE stitch dictionary. Consisting of the pattern written out, with a photo of an example. Patterns are grouped by type, though you may spend a long time browsing through if you're looking for a particular one. It is rather large, so not one for carrying around. Great reference book at home. There are more in the series if you want them. There are more modern, prettier, more colourful books available now, but this gets right to the point and gives you all the information you need to put your own take on dull knitting patterns.
April 5, 2014
I have many favorite knitting books. This one is right near the top. It's a book of knitting patterns, just as the title says.
The only negative is that the photos are in black and white. But, if you like knitting samples, you're bound to find lots of gems here. I've been surprised many times by knitting samples I've done where the photo hasn't done it justice.
This book is the first of four total. In my opinion, it's the best of the four.
The only negative is that the photos are in black and white. But, if you like knitting samples, you're bound to find lots of gems here. I've been surprised many times by knitting samples I've done where the photo hasn't done it justice.
This book is the first of four total. In my opinion, it's the best of the four.
May 25, 2016
Just bought this book from my LYS and now I'm wondering why I waited so long! It truly is a treasure chest of knitting patterns. So many patterns I've never seen before and want to incorporate into current and future projects. I love the little write-ups that introduce each pattern - advice on when and where to use the pattern, tidbits of history, or how to vary it to get different looking/feeling fabrics. A Treasure of Knitting Patterns is a must for every knitting enthusiast.
January 21, 2009
I reserved all four books from my library, not knowing what to expect. When I picked them up I was completely overwhelmed! They were not not booklets or readers, but detailed reference books every knitter should have.
I was, and am, still overwhelmed. The information included is amazing, and I can't wait to start adding what I learned to my knitting.
I was, and am, still overwhelmed. The information included is amazing, and I can't wait to start adding what I learned to my knitting.
Read
September 7, 2007The three volumes comprising Walker's knitting treasuries, published in 1968-72 by Scribner, have long been out of print. They have recently been reissued by Schoolhouse Press and should be seriously considered for purchase by large public libraries and textile collections.
December 17, 2007
I don't know how you can rate this book as "read" or not. It's a stitch glossary and a wonderful one. There are a ton others. But for knitters, I think Walker's four treasuries are the backbone of their projects. A definite shelf must-have.
February 23, 2010
Supposedly this is the woman who revived knitting back in the 1960s as a craft medium in America. Her stitch patterns are legendary. I just wished the pictures didn't look xeroxed. I'd give it 5 stars if the book were updated with clean color photos.
May 28, 2008
Loads of beautiful stitch patterns presented in the written-out format (rather than the vastly inferior charted format). I have the newest edition and the pictures and text are clear and not at all blurry or 'photocopied' looking like some of the other reviewers have said.
June 4, 2009
A basic book that every knitter should have. I have it in hardcover and I THINK I had it in the seventies, but not sure. I use Barbara Walker's books more than any others in my library. They were the only four I had for a long time, and the only four I needed.
October 1, 2012
Simply the Bible for knitting stitches. It was published in the 1960's, so the photos are black and white, but it's nonetheless an amazing reference for the stunning variety of stitches possible in knitting.
December 22, 2016
I love this book for its great variety. I only wish it had charts along with line-by-line instructions. Walker goes beyond most stich dictionaries by giving a little history of the patterns and giving suggestions for their use.
March 28, 2015
This book and the two companion books have been in my knitting library since I first discovered them. Anytime I want to take a plain sweater pattern and make it interesting I pull them out and find the perfect texture or pattern. A must have for anyone who knits!
January 23, 2008
My Grandmother handed this down to me (a 1965 edition). I must refer to this book at least once a week. Endless possibilities within, someday I hope to have the entire collection on my shelf
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
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