Customer Reviews

Classic Knits for Real Women: Versatile Knitwear Designs for Plus Sizes

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If you consider a size 12 plus size and have $200+ dollars to drop on yarn for unflattering sweaters, then this is the book for you. If you are a hip pleasantly plump size 18+ knitter looking for great current designs, do not get this book.

From the title, I thought this would be a great book - classic sweaters designed for larger women. Um, not as such.

The vast majority of the models for the book? Apparently sizes 8-12. There's one, count it, *one* model who looks like she might wear a plus size.

I wasn't overly impressed with the garments themselves, but that pales beside the fact that I can't trust them to be sized correctly for plus sizes because their models are not plus-sized.

I am so disappointed. I was hoping for sleek and stylish patterns for size 12 and higher. So many of the patterns in this book have oversized fringe and bobbles. Yuck! Real women and plus size women are not necessarily frumpy grannies.

Although at first I was pleased to find a book devoted to patterns for larger sizes, I was ultimately disappointed. There are a couple of patterns that are kind of cute, most are nothing special, and there's very little variety here. More importantly, though, little thought seems to have been given as to what actually looks good on plus size women. The sweaters are almost all boxy, many with strange fringes. How many larger women look good with a bunch of bobbles hanging off their sweater hems? There are also a few patterns for not very exciting accessories like scarves (and a truly hideous hat that would make a wonderful clown wig done up in rainbow-colored yarn). There are also a couple of crocheted items, which are pretty much just taking up space in this book.

I give the publishers credit for using models who aren't all anorexic 12-year-olds. However, none of the models even approaches the larger sizes touted by this book, which helps add to the misleading idea that these patterns will look good on larger women.

This book especially suffers in comparison with "Big Girl Knits." Unlike this book, BGK has lots of information about customizing items for various body shapes. BGK also has a wide variety of patterns that make use of shaping, resulting in more flattering fits. My advice--borrow a copy of this book and see whether there's really anything here that interests you. And then go buy a copy of BGK.

The sizing in this book is a joke. As noted in another review, the largest finished size is a 46" bust, which I would describe as, at most, an XL. Perhaps they are using extended misses sizes instead of women's (plus) sizing. The styles are also uninspired, frumpy and shapeless. This book was a big disappointment and demostrates again how little the knitwear and fashion industry knows or cares about the needs of plus size women.

I was very excited to learn awhile back that Rowan would be publishing a book of plus-size patterns. I love Rowan yarns, and wow--the beautiful designs found in the pages of Rowan magazine in my size!

But, alas, I was bitterly disappointed.

First of all, plus-size does not mean over 65. Make that 85. My 67yo mother wouldn't be caught dead in most of this stuff.

Second, plus-size does not mean ugly, shapeless, and/or boring.

This book is an insult to plus-size knitters. I have a feeling these designers were forced at gunpoint to produce this work. It's too bad they didn't seize the opportunity to create something useful and beautiful. It's too bad Rowan chose designers who simply weren't up to the challenge.

I thought this book was for large size women. To help in increasing the size of the different patterns a person would want to knit. It was not.

I was very surprise. Not a good book. For me it wasn't worth buying.

I like this book and do reommend it highly. Great photos, clear directions, lovely designs that are classics., models that look real..no size 2's!

But the book has a HUGE mistake in it...they yarn amounts are given in gms..no yardage amounts and this to me is a biggy. TO me and every knitter I have ever met. It means comparing charts and it means rethinking gauge. Knitters usually have a stash of yarn and want to use other than what is listed. Also not everyone has access to Rowan or Jaeger yarns.

As a personal aside. I really do not like knitting with size 1,2,3 sized needles. So I grimmaced at that.Then redid stitch, gauge etc for myself.

I was also disappointed in this book -- nice idea, but the sizing and shaping didn't go far enough to meet my needs and those of many of my fellow knitters. I love Rowan yarns, but frequently their designs (including those in this book) are not upsized and updated for fuller-figured gals like myself. If you're a US size 22 or so, this book may work for you. If, like me, you're more plush than a 22, get out your calculator and a sketch pad to retool these patterns for your needs.

If you want flattering styles in large sizes, don't waste your money buying this book.

The sizes are not generous, and if I'm going to have to resize a pattern, I'll start with something that actually suits my shape, thank you.

Bobbles on bulges? Get real!

I passed my copy along to the library where some frumpy size 14 may get some use out of it.