When I first heard about this book, I was thrilled since Bordhi's first book in this series, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, revolutionized how I thought about and knit socks. Once I heard more about the book though, my excitement started to wane. Usually, I knit the toe, figure out gauge, and make the rest of the pattern fit. This new method would add in a few more rules. Also, in regards to sock knitting, DPN's are my one true love and I wasn't pleased about having to switch to circular needles even temporarily. These annoyances aside, I decided to buy the book and try it out anyway because I don't want to be so stubborn that I keep myself from learning anything new.
Now that I'm on the cuffs of both socks, I can give a better review of the book. The first part of the book is full of clear, detailed instructions and illustrations for all of steps neccessary to make a pair of socks with this method. The second part is a collection of different patterns, of which the first socks you knit form the base, that range from basic ribbing to complicated lace. There's even a question and answer section at the back of the book which details how make a few modifications for a better fit. Even better is that the process is pretty fun and that includes snipping a stitch to open the leg.
While fun,Personal Footprints does have a few downsides. One, it's almost impossible to make socks for other people using this method if you don't get a trace of their foot first and then have them try on the sock-in-progress to make all the measurements. Second, if you don't get the same gauge on every pair of socks you knit, you're going to have to make more footprints. I miss the freedom of finding out my gauge and going from there without trying to match it to a preexisting pattern. Third, the star toe is the only toe used in this book because it echoes the heel and determines when the heel starts. This takes a bit of the guess work out of knitting a sock but what if the star toe doesn't fit your foot well? The standard toe fits me much better and I think I've figured out how to substitute it for the star toe without mucking up the rest of the pattern. More on that later.
Despite the downsides, I'm happy I bought this book and tried out something new. At this point, I'm well into the cuff on both socks and they fit wonderfully, aside from that toe. I doubt that this will ever become my default way of knitting socks but I will definitely use this method again.
P.S. The sushi stitch markers are part of a set from The Opalescence. She also blogs as The Akamai Knitter.
P.S.S. I recently won the Snow Cat Hat pattern from Cozy. I can't wait to cast on. Thanks Cozy!
