Tips for Picking a Knitting Magazine to Subscribe To

There are a lot of knitting magazines out in print these days ranging from those that contain just patterns to magazines full of knitting articles and ads with few or no patterns. When you are trying to decide which magazine is going to be the most helpful it can be tough to pick between all the different options. Here are some tips for picking a knitting magazine to subscribe to that can help you be sure you are getting the most appropriate magazine for you.

What Do You Want?

The first thing you need to decide is what you want out of a knitting magazine. This is going to help you narrow your choices down significantly. Are you looking primarily for patterns? Do you want how-to articles and knitting news? Shopping guides and info on new products? Or maybe a combination of all of these. Decide what is most important to you and then narrow down your knitting magazine choices to those that fit within that framework.

What is Your Skill Level

Articles and patterns that are complicated or intricate won't be helpful to a beginner. Likewise, beginner patterns and tutorials will just bore an experienced knitter. Be sure to look for magazines that match your current skills and still give you some room to grow.

What Size are You?

Many magazines only cater their patterns to specific sizes. For instance if you are a plus size knitter you may find that some magazines don't publish patterns in plus sizes. Do your homework on the patterns in a knitting magazines before you subscribe to be sure that you will be able to use them.

Check Them Out at the Bookstore

Probably the best way to narrow down which knitting magazine is best for you is to browse through a bunch at your local bookstore. Take notice of how many ads each one has, how well written any articles are, what kinds and styles of patterns they offer, whether the patterns come in your size and any other helpful information.

Also be sure to look at how often the magazine is published. Some come out just 4 times a year, some are monthly and some follow other schedules.

Pick two or three favorites and buy a copy of each to take home. Try knitting a pattern out of each to see if the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Or, if they teach new techniques try learning from their articles to see how well written they are. This should help you to decide which magazine is going to give you the most bang for your buck and keep you happy with fun new projects and ideas each month.