:: November 2002 
Review
Knit the Christmas Story
Knit the Christmas Story, by Jan Messent is a gem of a book. It is a slim hardback, intelligently designed with detailed line diagrams and color fibre samples for each nativity figure. There are also lovely photos of the finished figures.
Instructions are provided by chapters for the figures of Mary, Joseph, the Infant Jesus and manger, three shepherds, three wisemen, an angel, a little boy, a little girl, and animals, including an ox, a donkey, and sheep.
Jan Messent uses cardboard as inside support for the figures. If stuffed figures are preferred, CyberFibres suggests knitting small gussets where needed to achieve this end. A nice touch for the reader is the inclusion of the nativity and epiphany passages from the gospels of Luke and Matthew.
Various leaflets with knitting or crocheting directions for nativity figures are available at yarn shops. In fact, the nativity figures photographed for this issue were made from such patterns, and they are quite satisfactory. All the same, CyberFibres recommends that you treat yourself to a copy of Jan Messent's Knit the Christmas Story because you will experience through the creativity of its narrative and the charm of its photographs an enhancement of your own Christmas spirit