Book For Studying Knitwear Design

I received a review copy of this book called Basics Fashion Design Knitwear, by Juliana Sissons. It's from a series of books published by AVA Academics. I am familiar with this series of books from my many visits to the local Borders book shop in Brighton (it's gone, I think?). There was one that I used to look at called Textiles and Fashion. It has many interesting and inspiring photos. So when I received this new one for knitwear, I was thrilled!

I want to stress that this book is meant for those who wish to study knitwear design using a knitting machine (no hand kitting in this one), or for a design professional who wishes to keep a reference book handy. There are no patterns in this book, but some design ideas that could be inspiring.

When I received this book, there was an air of familiarity about it. It was like, where have I seen this, why do I feel like I know the author. I read the author bio and realized, Ms. Sissions, I had met twice through my time at Knit-1! She came to the Knit-1 studio to do a presentation about her work. She trained at University of Brighton, and interned at Knit-1. In turn, she became a lecturer at many design schools, freelanced for many designers (including McQueen), and currently works for the V&A in London. She was a lecturer at University of Brighton when I met her. She also features in her book Sue Enticknap, designer and foudner of Knit1, in a section about industry.

This is the first well-rounded publication on knitwear design, that I have ever seen. Not only is it current, contemporary, comprehensive, it is packed full of information that you rarely find anywhere else (it even covers yarn counts, a concept that I never quite properly grasped). The books covers topics from knitting machine parts, how to knit on a machine, how to create a pattern for knitting, design process, design methods, sources for purchasing equipment and materials, a glossary, and many, many inspiring photographs that inspire.

I highly recommend this book for students of knitwear design, who want to study at their own pace, there are design briefs and exercises in the books that one can follow along with. Also excellent for those studying knitwear in design school, an excellent supplement and reference. This is as good as it gets if you can't get Ms. Sissions as your tutor! I also want to recommend this book to those who want to study at Knit-1, but maybe don't have the time or resources to do so.

Basics Fashion Design: Knitwear is available through Amazon.