When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters is a handy little book to have around for beginning needle art crafters and for knitting emergencies. It is also useful when you just can’t remember something about your knitting basics and need a fast reference. At 136 pages in length, it is packed with good information and attractive pictures and drawings.

In the pictures of knit swatches used to illustrate remedies for yarn catastrophes, you can see exactly where the strands of yarn are going. The text and graphics are similar to the “How To Knit” booklets circa WWII and afterward, but clearer and with more information.

The Knitter’s Basic Tool Kit graphics page is particularly nice, because sometimes one cannot recall the name of a specific knitting instrument; all the basic tools are listed on this page beside their pictures. For the beginning, this page tells one exactly what to purchase in order to start a knitting practice – hobby or career.

The Table of Contents of this helpful book includes:

1. Emergency Prevention, or A Stitch in Time
2. Pattern Emergencies
3. Knitting Emergencies
4. Finishing Emergencies

On the other hand, decoding a pattern can give a knitter an absolute fit, but Marion Edmunds and Ahza Moore supply a ready answer to that tragedy, as well as to fixing horrible neckline gaffs. Besides, some small errors don’t even really need fixing, and the authors tell you when to forget about it without wondering if people will notice.

I know a couple of folks who knit all the pieces of a project and then take them elsewhere to have them assembled and finished. With the practical tips in When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters, I believe that they will be able to do at least some of those jobs themselves.

The authors have both been knitting since age four and have come to know themselves as well as their craft through knitting. Needle arts can serve as a moving medication and a time for relaxation and contemplation. Now disasters in the fiber weave needn’t destroy the moment. Edmonds and Moore have taught many people to knit in Manhattan, and if they can help folks in such a fast-paced town, then they can surely help the rest of us.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters is a great book for knitting beginners, veteran needle arts people who can benefit from a handy reference, the knitting curious, and those needing a gift for their favorite knitter.