Customer Reviews

Celebrity Scarves

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Sure, if you have some really neat yarn, cast on stitches and knit and knit, you'll have a scarf. Nothing challenging about any of these scarves, so the book is great if you are a beginner but boring for anyone else.

Nice pictures, but I don't buy my knitting books for nice pictures. I buy them for useful patterns, challenging designs and inspiration. Not much of that here!

I agree that this book is a total waste. Even a beginner would find this boring! As the others said, there really are no patterns here - just knitting rows back and forth using different yarns. We mastered that in my first night of knitting class - these celebrities need to challenge themselves more! I'm no expert knitter, but even I found these "patterns" to be really, really dumb. Total waste of a book.

I thought this book was great! I have read all the negative reveiws below and realize they are probably from advanced knitters. If you are a beginner, like me, this is a GREAT book. It's nice to see all the different looks you can get with just the basic knit stitch. This book shows beautiful, luxurious yarns that really make a simple project look very rich. I have ordered several of the yarns shown. Most of the beginning knitter books show the same old, tacky yarn. This is refreshing!

If you want photos of movie stars, buy PEOPLE, it's cheaper. If you want creative scarf patterns, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. Seventeen of the 25 scarves in this book are done in garter stitch (knit every row for the non-knitters). There are five scarves done in Stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row), one done in a rib pattern, and two that are crocheted. If you're looking for scarf patterns, there are magazines and books with more creative and unique patterns. Better yet, go to your local yarn shop and have them show you all the yarns you can use to knit a garter stitch scarf--the possibilities are endless. Spend your money on yarn, not on this book. No publisher would have published this book if these scarves were done by anyone else! I'm returning my copy thanks to Amazon's generous return policy.

The celebrities are not all well know, but the book is fun. More information on the personalities would have been welcome. The photos are well done and are colorful, and the scarves are interesting. For example, the scarves are knit with very basic knitting skills, but that's the beauty: anyone can knit an awesome, personal, quirky or traditional scarf by using basic skills and choosing beautiful yarn with texture and color or by combining yarns of different weight and texture and knitting with two together, or by whipping up a leftover scarf with all kinds of variety...Scarves are always on the fashion horizon in one form or another. The book is fun for inspiration and ideas that won't overwhelm a beginner and will inspire all. Sometimes knitting without thinking (or trying to follow a pattern) is the best kind of knitting there is! Inspires me to make a whole collection of scarves.

This book is exactly what I thought it was. I didn't buy this book for cutting edge knitting patters. I bought it because I love to knit and love reading about celebrities, I mean, come on, who doesn't? This book combined two things that I get a kick out of and it was done beautifully. I thought the photography was exceptional and reminded me of something Annie Liebowitz would do. Bottom line is, this book is sitting on my coffee table as we speak.

This book is the worst value for the money that I've seen in a long time. I purchased the book based on Vogue's reputation and expected to find an interesting selection of patterns and styles. Big mistake! With only a few exceptions, almost all the scarves in this book are done in garter stitch, and the only difference between them is the number of stitches used and the variety of yarns selected. If you can choose yarn you like, cast on 20 stitches, and then knit every row for 48" or so, you've got the pattern for almost every scarf in this book. What a superlative waste of money!! Don't bother.