Celebrity Scarves [Hardcover]

Abra Edelman (Author), Trisha Malcolm (Editor), David Jakle (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

What do celebrity actresses and performers Julianna Margolies, Daryl Hannah, Rosie Perez, Eartha Kitt, Laura Leighton, Portia de Rossi, Courtney Thorne Smith, Jennifer Beals, Ricki Lake, Vanna White, and Jennie Garth have in common? They love to knit. And the easiest and quickest garments for them to work on while they're waiting to get called for their close-ups is a scarf. Here are their favourites. Exquisite, evocative, full-colour photographs showcase the celebrities wearing their handiwork, and make this lavish volume a sumptuous visual feast, as well as a stunning project collection. Complete instructions, along with information on knitting basics, enable even beginners to recreate the high-fashion scarves. More than 25 celebrity knitters share their favourite scarf patterns, and offer thoughts on their favourite pastime - knitting.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

One of the reasons knitting is so big lately is its celebrity glow. Edelman takes advantage of the news that stars have discovered knitting in a handsome book that gives an age-old craft twenty-first-century glamour. The oversize volume features Daryl Hannah on the cover, a scarf in shades of coffee and cream draped over her outfit of hip-huggers and a T-shirt. Many of the actresses inside are lesser lights, but Eartha Kitt, Julianna Margulies, Rosie Perez, and Rikki Lake are among the celebs who appear with scarves of their own design and making. Well, design may be pushing it. Most of the pieces are executed in the basic garter stitch, so there's not much here for the more experienced knitter. However, even those who have left the garter stitch behind years ago will enjoy looking at the beautiful photos and even reading celebrity musings on the zen of knitting. Designer Isaac Mizrahi writes the introduction. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Sixth & Spring Books; 1 edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931543275
• ISBN-13: 978-1931543279
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lovely photographs, very basic patterns, October 13, 2003

By 

Lori Hinkle "Emerald" (Dongola, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Celebrity Scarves (Hardcover)

If you are interested in looking at celebrity photos only, and are not looking for scarf patterns, then this is the book for you. 90% of the patterns are garter stitch or knit every row. The only difference in any of the patterns is the yarn used. I rate it as 1 star for the patterns, but 4 stars for the celebrity photos and stories.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding inspiration on more than one plane, October 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Celebrity Scarves (Hardcover)

I do love knitting and admit I did have reservations about the book. Though I'm not a huge fan of celebrities, the fact that someone created a book which combined Hollywood with the art of knitting certainly piqued my interest. Why not? The concept seemed to be a complete paradox.

When I first flipped through the pages, I was instantly drawn to the stunning photography. Daryl Hannah, Parker Posey and a few other actresses I had never heard of before, looked absolutely gorgeous. However, when I brought it home and began to look at the pages more carefully, I was almost instantly drawn to the quotes by the celebrities of how or why they learned to knit. Some of the quotes were hilarious (Julianna Margulies mentions that she gave her father her first knitted scarf and once it began to unravel, he eventually framed it and hung it up on his office wall and people thought it was African Art). Others were touching (Portia De Rossi admits that the most important aspect of knitting for her is to think about the person whom she is knitting for). To make modest insights into knitting, whether you're a celebrity or not, can be completely inspiring.

Sure the scarf patterns are basic and may come too easy for advanced knitters, but I've come to realize that Celebrity Scarves is not just a collection of patterns, but a book which celebrates the art of knitting as a whole. The term "celebrity knitters" obviously proves that knitting is no longer a pastime for grandmothers, but a flourishing craft that can be appreciated by people of all ages, race and social class. Everyone has their own reason as to why they knit and it's always interesting to hear about the experiences of others--and this is what the book offers.

Overall, i thought this book was done tastefully and photographed beautifully.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save yourself time and money, July 26, 2004

By 

DF "czchm8" (Pensacola, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celebrity Scarves (Hardcover)

To make it short and sweet: Most of the scarves in the book are simple garter stitch in gorgeous yarn. So, save yourself time and money. Instead of buying the book, going to the yarn shop and making one of the scarves in the book, I'd suggest you just go to the yarn shop, pick out some exquisite yarn, and make your own one-of-a-kind designer scarf.