51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A complete design course for the price of the book!, May 4, 2006
This review is from: Aran Sweater Design (Paperback)
This book is instructional. It is not a collection of cute patterns with glamorous pictures. It is rather a workshop. If you read this book and practice every different part, by the end you will master Aran Sweater Design like a profesional. The book is black and white for the most part with easy, detailed explanations and drawings. At the end there are 3 or 4 patterns, one Aran Vest, two different types of pullovers and a cardigan.(There is a color picture of each project) I personally can't wait to start knitting one of the pullovers which is very elegant. The author is also the editor of a Pattern Newsletter for Aran Knitting by subscription called Twist and Turns. You can learn more about how to subscribe in her website. I highly recommend that you laminate this book with transparent adesive plastic as the paper cover gets easily scratched in that way it is going to keep looking like new through the years. And believe me, you are going to want to keep it that long.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For experienced knitters who want to desing their own, December 30, 2008
This review is from: Aran Sweater Design (Paperback)
I love this book because it's one of the relatively few on the market that help me make my OWN sweater - instead of forcing me to follow somebody else's pattern. It contains a wealth of technical information, starting with yarn construction and other materials needed, continuing with a classification of the stitches used for Arans (without describing them in detail - this book is NOT a stitch dictionary.) The next chapter is about "Creating a Design" - how to use the cables - which ones work well together and why and how to put them together. Then there's some useful tips (for better bobbles, for example). This general technical part (most of which is useful for any Aran design, not just sweaters) takes 65 pages.
The second part is about sweater construction methods - bottom-up (in the round and flat), top-down (body first, neckband first) - general and for each of the following sleeve types: dropped-shoulder, peasant sleeves, set-in sleeves, raglan sleeves, vests, t-sleeves, and finally wide-saddle Arans. This part takes 58 pages.
Finally, there's four written-out patterns (vest, peasant-sleeve pullover, set-in sleeve pullover and raglan cardigan) on 20 pages (cable patterns are charted and written out). A list of recommended books and software, a measurement sheet, a key of symbols to the charts and an index complete the book.
If you are looking for sweater patterns to follow, this is not the book for you. But if you have some experience (if you've never knitted a sweater before, get Jacqueline Fee's "Sweater Workshop" first), want to do your own Aran but don't quite know how, then this book is perfect.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes, It Really *Is* That Good, January 3, 2008
This review is from: Aran Sweater Design (Paperback)
I asked myself how many knitting books a person needs. As it turns out, probably not all that many. But if you have even the most cursory interest in sweater design, you do need this book. I've been knitting for 25 years, and I'm astonished at how much this book has taught me. Helpful close-up photos and the author's light, conversational tone will make you feel like you have her sitting right next to you. As the author is the one selling the book on Amazon, it arrived autographed, which I thought was a nice touch, and would make it a particularly nice gift for any knitters you know.
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