Interweave Knits Workshop: 45+ Knitted Cast Ons and Bind Offs
by Ann Budd
reviewed by Sue Lambert
Longtime knitting author and designer Ann Budd has taped a new digital knitting book Interweave Knits Workshop 45+ Knitted Cast Ons and Bind Offs. Ann is a book editor, the former senior editor at Interweave Knits, and has published a number of other traditional knitting books. She resides in Boulder, CO.
This Knitting Daily workshop does not include any cast on or bind off techniques which are not available in the previous books we reviewed but the format is definitely different. If you are a visual learner or have difficulty following illustrated instructions then this dvd is worth the investment. I personally find to be much easier to learn a technique by watching it being executed as opposed to reading about it while looking at little pictures or drawings.
Ann begins the video by demonstrating standard cast on techniques then moves on to more advanced and specialized techniques which can be used with ribbing or as decorative edges. She also includes circular and provisional cast on instructions. The bind off techniques are similarly listed in the same categories and sequence as the cast on techniques. She also includes assorted applied I-cord edgings.
The gem in this video is the Kitchener stitch. While most Kitchener resources include instructions for stockinette stitch, garter stitch, and ribbing, Ann includes reverse stockinette. All of the Kitchener techniques are much easier to learn and understand when you watch someone actually working them on video.
Make no mistake; this is not like watching a YouTube video. It is professionally produced and edited as are all of the Interweave Knits videos. Of course that means it is priced comparably to their other digital books which to me seems a little bit high. But for the price you do get over 4 hours of viewing time.
The dvd and downloadable format is somewhat limited in terms of portability. The dvd option isn't very portable unless you carry a laptop. The download format works great for tablets though not everyone owns a tablet. But this format is definitely the future of publishing and we will see many more digital publications in the future.
I have not purchased this workshop yet but after previewing a portion of it I'm seriously considering purchasing it. It just might be worth the price.
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