Arans & Celtics: The Best of Knitter's Magazine (Best of Knitter's Magazine series) [Paperback]

Rick Mondragon (Editor), Elaine Rowley (Editor), Alexis Xenakis (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Best of Knitter's Magazine series | Publication Date: November 1, 2003

After over 18 years of quality publishing and numerous sold-out issues, 'Knitter's Magazine' has compiled the best Aran and Celtic projects to meet the demands of their readers. The sweaters, jackets, and vests included in this book are designed by a group of the best-known designers in the knitting field. Knitters are introduced to cable techniques with clearly illustrated patterns for knitting updated versions of traditional Aran and Celtic designs. Women's, men's, children's, and unisex sizing and styles are included. These fabulous pieces are made in a variety of fibres, including soft wools, cotton blends, shiny ribbons, and luxury threads.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Mondragon is the editor of Knitter's Magazine. He also teaches specialized knitting techniques across the country. Elaine Rowley is the former editor of Knitter's Magazine and is the current managing editor for XRX Books. They both live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Alexis Xenakis lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Xrx Books (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189376205X
• ISBN-13: 978-1893762053
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great classic looks collected under one cover, January 30, 2004

By 

Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arans & Celtics: The Best of Knitter's Magazine (Best of Knitter's Magazine series) (Paperback)

The decision for many buyers on whether to buy this lovely trade paperback may well rest on how long you've subscribed to Knitters Magazine and just organized you are. This book is another in their series of "best of" books and it includes over 30 beautiful sweaters. However, they only took patterns out of eight issues (16, 40,44,46,48,51,56,and 60). So, if you've subscribed since the mid-90's (as I have) you probably own most of the patterns already. Still, I plan to keep my copy for the sheer convenience of having so many patterns in one place and the knowledge that all the quirks should be fixed for these often complex patterns.

If redundancy isn't an issue for you, A&C is a very appealing collection of patterns. The format is similiar to the magazine including charts rather than line by line written instructions. There are numerous sidebars with very handy instructions. The look of the sweaters is essentially equally divided between the traditional and modern takes on traditional techniques.

While probably half the sweaters are basically unisex, the breakdown based on the gender of the models is as follows: women - 2 turtlenecks, 8 crew necks, 7 cardigans, 2 vests and 2 looks I can only describe as "other." Men are featured in 3 crewnecks and 3 vests. Children's looks are 3 crewnecks, 1 cardigan and 1 vest.

This isn't a book for beginners. Only 1 pattern is described as "easy+." The vast majority are described as intermediate with 5 advanced/expert sweaters.

21 sweaters call for medium weight (worsted) yarns with 7 light weight yarn sweaters and 6 bulky yarn sweaters. Needle sizes reflect this distribution with all but 4 of the sweaters being knit on needles within the US size 4 to 8 range.

Bottom line: Not a must have book for every knitter, but a worthy addition to your shelf if you like cables and texture knitting

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, a collection from the back issues of Knitters, March 18, 2004

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Arans & Celtics: The Best of Knitter's Magazine (Best of Knitter's Magazine series) (Paperback)

These patterns were so popular that back issues of "Knitters Magazine" were going for quite high sums on Ebay. Now, after a lot of begging on the part of knitters around the world, Knitters Magazine and XRX Press have collected patterns by type from those hot issues and released them in book form. THANK YOU! Now I don't have to sift through back issues or beg copies of friends to find certain patterns I like.

There are a number of children's sweaters in the thickly-knit Aran style that are especially appealing, and many other knits including for MEN, who are sadly neglected in many other publications. If you longed to get your hands on some of the back issues for the Aran style knitting, this is a great resource. Note: Aran knitting is by nature complex though not impossible. This is probably best for middling-experienced knitters who have tried patterns with crossed, cabled and twisted patterns before. But not impossible even for a beginner who is determined. Hint: Swatches of the patterns help, and it helps to visualize the layout of the different stitches from a "top down" viewpoint as well as row-by-row.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very appealing designs and clear directions, May 6, 2006

By 

Julie "book-aholic" (Manhattan Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arans & Celtics: The Best of Knitter's Magazine (Best of Knitter's Magazine series) (Paperback)

I just finished knitting the "Sensational Shirttail" from this book, a v-neck aran cardigan. The design appears complicated and is rated intermediate, but it was truly easy to follow the very clear instructions. Everyone who has seen it loves it and is astonished that I, a novice knitter, actually did it all myself, and in less than three weeks! I am ready to begin others sweaters from this book, just trying to decide what colors and types of yarn to use. Oh, another great thing about this book is that it gives you the yarn weight used in the original pattern and the yardage, as well as the needle sizes, so you can adapt to your choice of fiber. I knitted my sweater in a chunky weight cotton, and I couldn't be happier with it. There are so many other beautiful patterns in this book, I'm sure it will appeal to just about every knitter.