Michael Pearson's Traditional Knitting: Aran, Fair Isle and Fisher Ganseys, New & Expanded Edition (Dover Crafts: Knitting)

MICHAEL PEARSON'S TRADITIONAL KNITTING has long been one of my favorite "historical knitting" books, because of the many old photographs of Scottish, Cornish, and Welsh fishermen wearing their hand-knitted working gansey sweaters. The book is made even more wonderful by its charts of the stitch patterns seen in the photographs, which make it into a stitch treasury for Aran, Fair Isle, and fisherman's gansey (textured knit-purl) patterns. The text is interesting to read; and the book is a superb resource for all knitters (intermediate and beyond) who are ready to design their own fisherman's ganseys, using specific patterns of their own choosing. My treasured hard-cover copy of Michael Pearson's TRADITIONAL KNITTING came from a used-book store (before eBay took over the used knitting book market). I've always considered it a remarkable find, because the original book was, and still is, quite scarce. But thanks to Dover, this excellent book is available to all knitters again, and it is a much better book than before!After comparing my hardcover (published 1984) with this paperback (published 2015), I've concluded that the 2015 edition is one that all serious knitting history buffs will want to own, even if they already own the original book. In the new edition, many of the photographs have been rearranged (and often enlarged so that the stitch patterns are more visible than before). At the beginning, the section on designing and constructing a basic fisherman's gansey has been reorganized and expanded to make it easier for today's knitters to understand and implement the instructions. Much of the text describing the geographical areas and fishing cultures from which the traditional designs emerged has been expanded.Some of the original photographs are gone, presumably because the rights weren't available, but similar new photographs have been added. There are fewer historical photographs of women knitting ganseys, but there are new photos of still-living knitters who were mentioned in the original text (e.g., Mrs. Stephenson). I'm sorry to see that the page with the engraving of an 1880s "working gansey" from "Weldon's Practical Mirror" has been omitted. But I'm delighted that detailed instructions on how to knit each of Mrs. Cath McMillan's six different ganseys have been added. The original book has color photographs in the Fair Isle and Aran sections, and most (if not all) of these have been carried over (often enlarged) into the new edition. This new edition also has some new color photos (e.g., photos of covers of Paton's booklets containing Fair Isle knitting patterns).I highly recommend this book for all knitters who are interested in knitting history. It belongs on the same shelf with Richard Rutt's  A History of Hand Knitting , Anne Macdonald's  No Idle Hands , Gladys Thompson's  Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys, and Arans , Mary Wright's  Cornish Guernseys and Knit-frocks , and all of Sheila McGregor's excellent "traditional" knitting books (e.g.,  Traditional Scandinavian Knitting ).

I used this book to help me understand construction and techniques for knitting traditional ‘fisherman’s’ sweaters . Is a wonderful resource and includes history of how these sweaters evolved

I really dislike the fact that they show you a book cover and when you get the book the cover looks just like the old one so you immediately think they scammed you and you are so mad because it looks like you didn’t get a “new” book.What I like about it is there are actually patterns in the book not just vague descriptions of how to knit one. This book I love.

Great book BUT if you are a newbie thinking you can just jump into it wrongo. This book is great for the history aspect and has great explinations but the way the patterns are written ( though simple for the writer) you have to have some previous knowledge of how to read patterns and how stitches interact with eachother.

Primarily, this is a history book. It has some traditional patterns charted with black and white photos.

such a good overview, lovely story

Covers all the traditional knitting styles of the British isles. It begins with the gansey, which really provides the structure for all traditional, knitted garments. Then the book continues on to Fair Isle and briefly Aran. It provides well researched history for each tradition. Pearson gives a framework for each garment, but provides copious patterns as well. Wonderful black and white---and color photos! Great for the adventurous knitter or knit wear designer.

Service-wise, the book was delivered quickly and in good condition.As mentioned in other reviews, this is NOT a book solely of patterns, nor are the patterns that are included for a beginner. But the text is a good read, even if you can't follow the patterns.An overview of the contents include: Historical aids; Introduction to pattern structure; How to read the patterns; Traditional Knitting-the Fisher Gansey; Fisher Gansy Patterns of Norfolk; of NE England; of Scottish Fishing Fleet; Knitting of Shetland and Fair Isle; Knitting of Aran. There ARE about 25 patterns written in full according to the table of contents. Shetland and Aran are briefer sections of the book.Photographs are predominantly b&w, though there are color photos. I found the majority of them clear. In some cases, with the photographs being old ones, or taken at a distance, sweater details are a little lost. But it doesn't take away anything, for me. There is also an abundance of clear charts. I look forward to working my way up to following the patterns. Until then, it will be an interesting read.

What an interesting read. Would recommend this book.

表紙はフェアアイルのカラー写真ですが内容的には3分の2がモノクロでフィッシャーマンセーターの歴史についての文章と模様などです。表紙しか見られない状態で購入したので期待はずれでした。

Very easy to follow very easy to understand and a very good book

will probably inspire me to attempt more traditional knitting.

Wer auf der Suche nach Fair Isle Strickmustern ist, sollte sich woanders umschauen und nicht dieses Buch kaufen. Bis auf einige wenige Anleitungen beschäftigt sich dieses Werk fast nur mit der Geschichte der traditionellen Strickkunst - das mag unter historischen Gesichtspunkten interessant sein, aber für nicht mich als passionierte Strickerin. Schade, von 240 Seiten sind nur einige wenige wirklich nützlich. Da wäre bei der Produktbeschreibung vielleicht ein Hinweis hilfreich gewesen, daß es sich mehr um eine historische Abhandlung als ein Anleitungsbuch handelt , zumal der "Blick ins Buch" hier nicht möglich war.