Customer Reviews

Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting Illustrated, 2ndEdition (The Complete Idiot's Guide)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book when I decided to learn how to knit. I already knew some basics in crochet so I thought it would be nice to have a reference for both.I was sadly mistaken and now regret spending money on this guide.

I suppose I should have known better. Crocheting and knitting are such multi-faceted and versatile crafts that there is no way one book under 300 pages can address BOTH adequately. I found the book frustrating because it would spend many pages talking about things that were quite easy. (like yarn and the different types.) But when it actually comes to the stitches, I thought it did a poor job. Especially explaining the Purl stitch. With the description and the illustration, it was hard to actually see what they are trying to do.

I breifly glanced at the crochet section but realized that even with my rather sparse knowledge of crochet, I knew almost everything that the book had to offer. (Which was not much.)

If you do want to geta good guide for knitting, I suggest the Dummies Guide to Knitting. If you want a good guide to crocheting, I suggest Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia for crochet. They cost more, but are well worth it. If you are still set on getting this guide, I suggest you get it from the library first or at least browse through the pages at your local book store before you take the plunge.

I bought this book because I wanted to learn how to knit, and I did succeed in learning the basics from it. I really like that the book covers both the Continental and English styles of knitting, and found the illustrations to be helpful and clear. It covers a wide range of subjects, so whether you want to know how to make the basic knit stitch or how to block your finished work, the information you need is probably included.

However, I think this book would be greatly improved if it contained more detailed information. For example, I'm not sure it's possible to cover Intarsia knitting adequately in 3/4 of a page. While I did understand the idea after reading about it in this book, some additional illustrations would have been helpful, along with additional tips and tricks. There's also an entire chapter on fixing common knitting mistakes, which never mentions that it's possible to correct a stitch that was incorrectly knitted when it should have been purled, or vice versa, without ripping out rows back to the error.

In summary, while I did find this book helpful in learning how to knit, I suspect there are probably other books available that would provide more details to the novice knitter, thus reducing the amount of trial and error in the learning process.

This book is okay but if you are looking for a good how to knit or reference book I highly recommend: The Knitters's Companion or Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Reference

I had hear good things about this book. Unfortunately. they were mistaken. By trying to cover both knitting & crocheting, the author doesn't give adequate coverage to either one. The instructions are not nearly detailed enough. The patterns are the same as any other how-to book and could easily be found online for free. This book should have been split into separate books for each craft so more detail could be given for each one.

I purchased this and Crocheting for Dummies. The Idiot's version arrived AFTER the Dummies book. They are comparable but I have a preference for the Dummies style. Either would be a great tool for someone teaching themselves (like me) and as a continued reference book as your skills progress.

The first tiime I picked up this book and tried to teach myself to knit I decided I would NEVER learn. I put the book aside for a few years and gave up the thought of knitting. Then I bought "Knit Wit" and gave it another try. The full color illustrations in that volume actually taught me to cast on, knit, purl and bind-off. Althoug "Knit Wit" has very fine illustrations, the text is a bit skimpy. After practising all I learned from KW I dug this book out of my stash of craft books and re-read it. Bingo! Everything made perfect sense. What had seemed like greek the first time I read it was clear as crystal. This is an excellent resource for begginer knitters, but it should NOT be the only one unless you have dsomeone who can show you the stitches step by step.

I am a new knitter and a fairly inexperienced crocheter. I was looking for a book to help me learn both skills, and this one delivered. It is quite a bargain for those looking for books that cover both knitting and crocheting.

I love that it has specific tips and problem-solvers spread throughout the text. It helped me learn what I was doing wrong. It shows illustrations of all new techniques being described and photos of what different stitch patterns should look like which is really helpful for a beginner. It has a glossary and an abbreviations list. It includes a resource list for websites, magazines and yarn companies.

I love this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn to knit and/or crochet. I think that if you have this book and a pattern book for beginners you'll be able to create some great items!

I have always been a fan of Ms. Barbara's via the [...] website and I was thrilled beyond words when I found out she was going to be putting her never ending knowledge about knitting in a book. If you want to learn to knit, grab this one.

I learned how to knit when I was little. However, I have forgotten a lot of things since then. So I purchased this book to get some reviews. This book is extremely helpful along with a two hour class I took on knitting. The two hour class got me started again, and this book refreshed me on the more detailed things such as increase and decrease. This book is very basic, it doesn't teach much else beyond the basic types stitches. So if you want patterns, either look online or get another book. And if you have never knitted before and want to learn how to knit, I suggest either look for videos online or take a two hour knitting class. This book however, will be helpful in terms of after you have already learned how to cast on, knit, purl, and cast off. The book is in black and white if I remember correctly.

Was not helpful in starting, had to have someone show me. Wouldn't recommend the book.