If you've always dreamed of designing your own knitted sweaters, take a look at this book. First published in 1983, and revised in 2002, The Sweater Workshop, by Jacqueline Fee, is a very valuable resource. In it, Fee provides detailed and comprehensible explanations of how sweaters are constructed, and instructions on how to design and create your own.
You needn't be an experienced knitter to learn from this book. Start by making a sweater sampler, a funny looking sleeve-like piece that will help you learn a multitude of techniques, from casting on, ribbing, knitting in the round, increasing and decreasing, to two-colour knitting, pockets, and several cast-off methods. Once you've learned the various techniques, read her explanations of how many different styles of sweaters -- cardigan, hooded, v-neck and more -- are constructed, and learn to execute your own designs.
Fee is an excellent designer and teacher, and a great admirer of the wonderful Elizabeth Zimmermann. Her book is one of the best on the topic, and I recommend it to all knitters.
