Loom knitting, I know, doesn’t get terribly good press (if it gets any!) and I guess that if you are a master hand knitter, the very idea of a knitting loom might be anathema. If, however, like me, you have never really quite got off the ground level with hand knitting (being a crocheter myself), you might find loom knitting to be your ‘way in’.This book looks so very pretty and promising on the front cover, and the sweet little shawlette on the fresh-faced model hints at the possibility of producing items that are genuinely desirable and interesting to make. A quick flick through the beautiful images serves to whet the appetite further. I’d had a little bit of experience, using standard, brightly coloured plastic looms from the big craft store chain (you know the one I mean!) and run off a few scarves, hats and the odd sock in my time, so I was keen to perhaps move to the next level – to try my hand at some more textures, maybe even a bit of fair isle.I quickly realised, however, that one of the reasons the lovely patterns in this book look so sophisticated is that they are mainly worked on a much finer-gauge loom than any in my collection. Undaunted, I went online to purchase myself a ‘grown-up’ loom. This, as it turned out, was the only real stumbling block to becoming a British intermediate-level loomer – the UK is a bit short of fine-gauge looms. I ended up ordering one from the US, and when it came, sometime later, I had to pay another £15 in tax. This hobby takes commitment and investment! I thought I’d give the Autumn Welted Toque a test run, and ordered exactly the yarn specified. I hoped I’d look as good in my own version as the model did in hers. My two balls of Lion brand Landscape arrived well before the loom did, but as soon as I had all the bits and pieces I was off!The book has some fairly comprehensive illustrated instructions at the back, and the patterns follow a beautifully succinct and clear format. It made it easy to work out which equipment was required for each project, and therefore to eliminate those for which I was lacking the loom. I was a bit of a slowcoach at first – which was difficult to square, since it would have taken me about half the time to crochet a hat of this type – but I soldiered on, and soon began to perceive the meditative ‘flow’ effect that is the best-kept secret of knitters everywhere. I quickly found I had use for a row and sequence counter I’d been sitting on since it arrived free with a crochet magazine some months ago: it finally came into its own and was invaluable for this project.I really did enjoy working in this way, on my posh new loom, with the sumptuously soft and beautifully coloured yarn that the designer had specified. My knitting technique smoothed out and speeded up, of course, as the hat grew, making the job increasingly enjoyable, and I began to peruse the book once more, looking for my next project, which I can hardly wait to get started. I completed the hat one day on the train home from work, and wore it the next day after adding the pompom. Within half an hour, a perfect stranger approached me on the platform and told me what a very beautiful hat it was! There you go - that’s testament to the designer and author of this lovely looming book, which I highly recommend.
