The Colorwork Bible

The Colorwork Bible is a new tutorial and style guide for planning and using color in knitting projects written by Jesie Ostermiller. Due out 6th Oct 2020 from Penguin Random House on their Interweave Press imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The excerpt provided for review included a chapter selection from chapters 1 (understanding color) and 3 (stripes). Each of the excerpts included good basic instruction in the form of short tutorials, for example the use of color wheels to select and plan color as well as the use of greyscale to determine color dominance and contrast.

Interweave has a 45 year record of excellence in fiber-arts instruction and history. The two chapters which were included aren't comprehensive in terms of a review of the entire book, but they -are- well written and accessible, and the publisher's longstanding excellence allow me to say that the entire book will very likely be similarly well written and high quality and full of useful information. Note: the chapters which were provided did not contain any actual patterns, but the table of contents provided indicate that there are 11 project patterns in the book - including small projects: hat, socks, mittens as well as larger pieces: sweaters, shawl, cowl and jacket.

Four stars for the chapters with which I was provided, probably five for the book overall.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

**For this title the Introduction, Chapter 1: The Color Wheel, and Chapter 3: Stripes, were provided for review.**

This promises to be a beautiful and instructive book. The chapter on color theory via the color wheel was engaging, well illustrated and served as a color “workbook” for exploring color combinations. The chapter on stripes started exploring color contrast, stripe size and knitting technique. The guides included solid instructions, with helpful pictorial guides, for a range of striping methods that will be helpful to knitter at all skill levels.

I look forward to seeing the rest of this book, if the rest meets the standard of these sample chapters, this will be a must-have for one’s knitting library.

Of the short preview, I saw, all I can say is "ooh!" Like all Interweave publications, the design is very appealing with rich color and beautiful photos. The few pages I saw were also full of very informative tutorials and I can't wait to see what patterns come in the rest of this book. A must have for colorwork beginners.

Love the extensive explanation of the color wheel. Thorough enough that I can use it not only for knitting but also for my other crafts (painting, etc).

I was provided with the introduction and Chapters 1 and 3 to preview.

<i>The Colorwork Bible</i> appears to be an excellent introduction to colorwork. I consider myself an experienced knitter, though I haven't attempted every technique that exists. The introduction to color theory was well demonstrated with images that illustrated the text.

Chapter Three explores stripes. Stripes may seem simple, but they are a form of colorwork. The author explains how they work and provides a "leveling up" way of learning them - begin by swatching simple and swatching small, then add to the techniques, trying things she's described earlier in the text. Making the swatches only 19 stitches across is smart - too many stitches and a person might feel less willing to rip out and try again.

I can see this approach working well for many knitters. Many people feel more confident when they can scaffold their skills. I think this approach will be especially successful for them. For more advanced knitters, or folks like me who sometimes throw caution to the wind, there's still excellent information and the chance for guided practice when something is out of our usual comfort zone.

This book will be an especially good match for newer or less confident knitters who want to branch out into colorwork.

I voluntarily read and reviewed advanced excepts of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Colorwork Bible by Jessie Ostermiller, covering six key colorwork techniques, is a reference book that should be in the library of every knitter. The descriptions are logical and straightforward in easy-to-understand language. The illustrations and photographs are crisp and clear, allowing the reader to easily see the details necessary to replicate each technique.

I especially liked the way the author described options for each technique then explained the effect on the colorwork. The variations and effects are also illustrated with photographs, making it easy understand the impact of decisions that knitters make for each and every project.

After previewing several chapters, I immediately purchased this book and can already see that I will use it often.

I see colorwork - a knitting term that scares me, yet I admire all the more - and I want to read everything about it.

Thus why I applied to NetGalley for a review copy of this book (and why it took me over a year to review it). Short version: even experienced knitters like myself find colorwork terrifying. But if this excerpt is any sign, they shouldn't.

While I only received 16 pages of the book to review, it was more than enough for me to realize I need to have a copy of this book in my knitting reference section. Yes, the bits and pieces I could read were simplistic - like how to knit rows of different colors - but even for an advanced level knitter like myself, I learned something new. I wanted to click on other reference pages to learn more about 'weaving' a color' up a seam while you work another color, and how on earth multi-colored garments don't turn into a tangled kitty mess of yarn.

While I cannot say if the other sections were as clearly and simply explained as the ones I read, I'll hazard that since it's from Interweave, the book's a gem throughout.

I'd personally buy this for my own reference, and can see it as an excellent addition to any library reference section that doesn't already have a knitting colorwork tome.

There were only 3 chapters given for review. But from those 3 chapters, I induced that it can be a resourceful book for colorworks.

This is an absolutely stunning book! Love the photos and the colour combinations. There are many ideas and tips for combining colours as well as photos of specific techniques. A must have for any knitter.

Based on the limited number of review pages I received, I believe this will be a great resource.

The table of contents indicates six types of techniques will be taught and that 11 patterns are provided.

The Understanding Color chapter was excellent.

However, based on the limited amount of review pages, I cannot publish a review outside of NetGalley, as it would be pointless.

I have been knitting since I was 8 years old (nearly 50 years), and my very first knitting project was a striped scarf (made up of all of my grandma’s leftover yarn). So I have a very long history with knitting colorwork. I have already tried all of the techniques described in this book (and taught classes about a few of them), so I wasn’t sure that there would be much of value for me in this book. I decided to review this excerpt just to see if there was anything new to me. And I have to say that, even within this limited sample, I learned some new techniques that I will carry forward in my knitting.

I felt that the section on color theory was well presented and not too intimidating (although as a graphic artist, I already know much of this information, so I am not the best gauge). And as obvious as it seems in retrospect, I never thought to use the b&w camera feature on my phone to help judge value. Genius!!

And the author’s explanation about odd numbered stripes and jogless stripes in circular knitting all presented new information that I had not known. If even this short sample provides this much new information, I can only imagine how much I could learn from the entire book. This one is definitely going to be added to my knitting library in the near future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

As a beginner when it comes to knitting, I found this guide both helpful and easy to understand. Great for learning more about color and how to make your work vibrant.