DomiKNITrix: Whip Your Knitting Into Shape

By Jennifer Stafford

Turtleback (November), $19.99

This is not your grandma's knitting book. This how-to by San Francisco author, knitter, and blogger Jennifer Stafford is in a class by itself. But strapped inside its black pleather cover, underneath all the double-entendres, is a surprisingly practical and straightforward guide for the novice andthe badass. Like many knitters, Stafford came to the hobby after years of inflicting crafty horrors on the unsuspecting. She found liberation in ripping apart failures and using "discipline to create cool clothes and accessories you'll want to wear, use and give away with pride." Like any good mistress, she lays down the law. The book includes a section on choosing needles and yarn, rules of thumb, easy-to-follow pictures, and a useful glossary. Sure, she's bossy — commanding the lazy to knit a gauge swatch and "quit your sniveling." And at least one of her patterns has bugs she's still working out. But she's right in her approach. Much of her advice (before knitting a sweater for your man, "make sure he's into you") is hard-won and smart. Best of all, the 20 patterns (some available on her Web site, www. domiknitrix.com) are unwaveringly stylish. The projects start with a gentle scarf, move to a green mohawk, heart-shaped pillows, and her signature skull sweater, and climax in a punishing gothlet sweater (the one with the bugs: check online for updates). — Amy Dalton