Jamie Lomax of Pacific Knit Co. has consolidated all her doodle knitting concepts and basic patterns into a book, and I am here for it! I pre-ordered it from the author, and got the bonus items you see here – a tote bag and a little limited edition set of knitting related doodles – a yarn chicken, sleeve island, and things like that.

Above is a doodle cowl I made last year!

If you are not already familiar with doodle knitting, it is a modular system for knitting colorwork. There are basic patterns – socks, mittens, cowls, etc. – and then the doodles. The doodles are smallish design elements that you can mix and match to create your own personalized colorwork knitted items.

The designer has been putting out doodles and basic patterns for a couple of years now, and I, like a lot of other knitters, have accumulated quite a few of her pattern sets. However, I am still thrilled with this book. It includes all the basic patterns, and quite a few doodles. About half of the doodles in the book are existing fan favorites, and about half are newly published in the book. In addition to the patterns and doodles, there is a chapter about making the accessories (socks, hats, mittens) fit your measurements, and also a chapter of knitting basics. It is a well designed book, with clear charts and graphs, and lots of lovely photos.

The doodles are very flexible. You can knit the designs all in one color on the background, you can fancy them up by using more colors, and you can even duplicate stitch more detail on them if you want.

Even beyond the book, she continues to publish more doodle sets. They are addictive, and as they are not expensive, it is very tempting to collect them. The design sets come either as digital downloads, or as doodle decks – card sets that you can use to visualize how the designs will look together. Most of her designs are not on Ravelry, because doodle expansions (design sets) aren’t “full patterns” so can’t be listed there. However, her website has everything doodle you could ever want!

This system is a great way to do some low-stress colorwork knitting design, although you can also just knit straight from one of her patterns and call it good. I recommend this book for anyone interested in colorwork knitting, or trying out some basic design. It is available on Amazon or directly from Pacific Knit Co. Highly recommend!