If you really can't stand the idea of letting your baby cry you can try No Cry Sleep Solutions by Elizabeth Pantley. However, by her own admission, it took a month.
I did pick up/put down method by Baby Wisperer Solves All Your Problems at around 8.5 months. It does take a lot of resolve. However as Baby Wisperer says it's one thing to cry alone and another thing to cry on someone's shoulder.
With Baby Wisperer method you put your baby down they start to cry. You wait until they become hysterical and pick them up. If they stop crying on the way to your shoulder- you picked up too soon. You calm them down on your shoulder then put them down. They start crying on the way down- you still put them down and wait for a hysterical note. Repeat.
The idea is to ignore the cries of frustration and only pick up on cries on distress. Baby Wisperer has different methods for different ages. She passed away age 54 and her book could do with a bit of revision for clarity hence my explanation.
The first time I tried it took 1.5 hours. I thought my baby would never forgive me However I had been a walking zombie for the previous 7 months so I couldn't carry on.
He woke up all smiles and actually was less grumpy since we mastered this method. I think he was chronically overtired just as I was (used to wake up every hour at night).
Baby Wisperer used to work as a neonatal nurse, she knows a lot about babies and young children and there are lots of good tips in her book. Ignore her breastfeeding advice, times were different, the rest of her book is excellent. Second edition with yellow cover is better. She literally saved me from a nervous breakdown. I continued to breastfeed till 13 months.
Baby Wisperer also says day and night sleep are related, overtired babies don't sleep well at night. She suggests following the baby's body language for naps, rather than the clock. Watch for signs of tiredness and promtply use pick up/put down technique during the day first, then carry on into the night for continuity (I suspect you breasfeed to sleep during the day too).
I can't remember what the signs are at 1 year, you might need to consult the book. I vaguely remember her saying 1.5 hour naps are better than 45 minutes ones, corresponds with my experience.
Baby Whisperer's method does take a lot of resolve, you must be truly desperate to try it. What attacted me to her method is that she clearly loves babies and young children. I couldn't trust someone like Ferber with his method. He came across as a very cold man in his book.
Once I cracked to pick up/put down technique, it was over in 3 days. The main mistake I made at the beginning was not waiting long enough for that high-pitch distress cry. It's quite distinct. With BW method, you pick up on the cry on distress, you let the child cry out the cries of frustration.
As I have said Baby Wisperer used to work as a paediatric nurse with babies and young children. I swear by her advice. I used her other technique with my other child- he was doing 5-6 hours at 2 months whist being exclusively breastfed and despite being a much more difficult baby to start with. She has different techniques for different ages, you might need to consult the book. 2nd edition with yellow cover is much better than the 1st