Book Review

I just finished reading Finishing Techniques by Sharon Brant. It's laid out nicely - hard cover, lots of color pictures. It has a lot of information about planning the project so the finishing goes well - like not slipping the first (or last) stitch if you're going to using those edges for seams or picking up stitches.



There's a chapter on knitting techniques, including short-rows, and converting a pattern from 'stepped' bind-off shoulders to using short-rows to get a smoother shoulder seam and installing zippers.



Lots of pictures on seaming - selvedge to selvedge, grafting live stitches to each other, etc. She shows different seam stitches (overcast, backstitch, etc) and talks about inserting a set-in sleeve. There's also a section on linings, pressing, and general care of the sweater.



I like the adjustments chapter - there's explainations of how to adjust the neckline and collars without major changes to the neckline shaping instructions.



Other chapters include embellishments and edgings, and there's patterns for the sweaters shown in the book.



While the techniques could be used on anything that needs to be finished, (a hat knit flat needs to be seamed closed, or a baby blanket needs to be edged), the book assumes you're working on a sweater and doesn't hint at other uses for the techniques (like the grafting section doesn't mention it could be used to close toes on a sock worked cuff-down).



Overall though, I think it's definitely a good book.