Customer Reviews

The Complete Knitting Set

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

 

 

More than just a book on knitting this is a complete kit to learn knitting. It includes a book on techniques, a book of 19 projects, some yarn, two 4mm knitting needles, stitch holder, yarn bobbin, cable needle, and 12 stitch library cards for quick reference. The techniques book includes information on equipment and materials as well as the expected techniques of casting on, knit and purl stitches, twisting, binding off, how to hold the working piece, and several different stitch patterns. It also gets into more complex items such as paired shapings, the double decrease, using four or more needles at the same time, knitting in the round, cable stitches, bobbles, bead knitting, and fastenings. The projects book includes a knitted bag, a colorful toddler's cardigan, man's Guernsey-style sweater, lacy scarf, woman's chunky sweater, baby's jacket, girl's jacket, and even hats, scarves, and socks. For someone wanting to learn how to knit or just getting started "The Complete Knitting Set" is highly recommended.

I bought this kit with the hopes of learning how to knit--but alas, the instructions were difficult to understand and I ended up searching online to find out how to knit and purl. The nice part of the kit is that you have needles and yarn to start out with so you don't have to wander into a yarn store and stare cluelessly at the shelves. If you want to learn how to knit, get size 7 needles, a skein of cheap 100% acrylic, and "The Knit Stitch" and "The Purl Stitch" by Sally Melville. The website http://www.stitchguide.com/ has great video demonstrations of stitches as well, and was a great deal more helpful than the Reader's Digest booklet that came with the kit.

As a beginning knitter, I found this kit completely frustrating. While the kit has lots of great projects and is nicely packaged, the instructions are nothing less than awful. The written instructions are vague and don't even correspond to the accompanying photos. (The knitter in the photo is usually several steps ahead of you, so it's impossible to tell how your own needles and yarn should be arranged.) Incredibly aggravating.

Ok first off, I am truly a self-taught beginner. I just thought 1 day, OK I want to learn to knit. So I went to the store and bought 10-20-30 Minutes Learn to knit. It had enough in it to get me on the right track. Then I wanted to learn more, like adding another color, and not at the end of a row either. Well there is ABSOLUTELY nothing on the market with instructions that were not totally confusing, or more than like 5 words. I was getting really really frustrated!! Well I happened to come across this at a bookstore, after I had been in there for 6 hours, going through EVERY knitting book they had. This has great pictures, awesome reference cards, and projects too. Plus supplies to get you started, which I didn't really need but were a plus anyhow. Readers Digest also has the complete guide to needlework, along with a few other titles too. All of their books have the best pictures and instructions I have ever found.
The vogue book, HA.... What a joke!! That book is pointless unless you have been an avid knitter for 20+ years. It was like reading baby scribble, nothing made sense.
Not knowing someone who knits and can show you or help you out when you are stuck, is kind of frustrating, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that. So I buy books and look online for info, its really sad the lack of information out there, guess people just assume that everyone knows everything... :(
I have read every page and every word on every card in this kit and I love it. It is by far the best for any knitter, beginning or advanced. I HIGHLY suggest that if you are a true beginner, you start here! I wonder if the people who left the other reviews actually read this or just thumbed through it.. If they in-fact would have read it, they would give a better review.
SO BUY IT, you have nothing to lose, it is cheaper than a skein of yarn, cable needle, yarn bobbs, knitting needles and a stitch holder, if all purchased separately. Heck, if you don't like it, you at least have a nice box to keep stuff in.
I am pretty sure you will not be disappointed though!!

I wanted to learn how to knit and fell for this one by the pretty cover. I discovered this was the worst kit for beginners! The instructions are very frusterating and unclear! I found more help on learning how to knit on yarn co's website which is FREE! I would NOT recommend this kit to any beginner!

I received this as a gift from my mother after I told her that someday I wanted to learn to knit. That was just 2 months ago. Truth be told, I had learned to knit and purl (only) when I was 8 or so, but being 20+ years later, nothing was really sticking enough for me to accomplish anything on my own. So going through these books and kit really have helped me to figure out what I'm doing and now I am actually making the toddler cardigan that is in the project book! (I've already finished the little bag that is supposed to be the first project...)

Some of the earlier reviewers expressed their frustrations about the pictures of the techniques. I can understand their frustrations, but honestly, I think that they did a very good job on the description that is right next to the pictures. I think that maybe more visual - learning people might do better with a video. Although I found learning through the descriptions a bit more difficult, it was not impossible and I actually picked it up quicker than expected - I just needed to calm myself down and take it one step at a time.

The reference cards for different types of stitches and different knitting techniques are going to be a GREAT resource to have. If nothing else for now, so that I can keep garter stitch and stockinette stitch straight. ;D There are wonderful explanations about how to do different more advanced knitting as well (stripes, intarsia, fair-isle, lace, types of cabling, finishing embroidery, etc.) which I think will be invaluable in the future.

I don't think that this would be particularly valuable to an experienced knitter, however. Most of the patterns are pretty basic, so anyone who already knows intarsia or fair isle knitting probably wouldn't enjoy this as much as I have so far.

As a beginning knitter, I also loved that I didn't have to go out and buy stitch holders, cabling needles, etc. to start knitting. It was nice to be able to just go through the materials supplied and start to learn!

Granted, it's a nice set, if you already learned to knit elsewhere.

It comes with enough tools to get you started and some cheap wool to make one project. The packaging is nice and I found the stitch-pattern cards and project booklet to be the best part of this set.

The instructions are written as if meant to give you a quick "review" of basic skills, not as if they were trying to teach you. I had knit before in my childhood but for the most part, I was learning from scratch. The lack of detailed diagrams or pictures coupled with the very brief explanations made it impossible for me to learn to knit from this set. There -are- pictures, showing you the result of what they're trying to teach you, without showing you how to get there.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I found the "first" project (a little bag) they expect you to make to be much too complicated for someone who has never held a pair of knitting needles before. I didn't know where to begin to make the cable design on the front of the bag and the instructions didn't help. At all.

The Project booklet was nice, but I suspect if that's what you're looking for, you can find much better elsewhere, so there's not much point on buying it just for that.

All in all, it's a good little set of reference materials and tools, however, it fails miserably at its main purpose: Teaching how to knit.

I found this other set to be much more useful to me: Knitting: Learn to Knit Six Great Projects. The book is full of diagrams and easy-to-understand explanations that even a child could follow, and I liked the materials included much better. Still kept "The Complete Knitting Set" for its reference cards and Project booklet.

Though the set is beautifully packaged the instructions (which are what counts) are s@#t. Minimal and unclear. Three short sentences accompanied by one picture was suppose to be enough to teach me how to cast on and that's pretty much their formula for everything-and it just does not cut it. I gave this one star because at least you get yarn and needles...but you'll definitely have to buy a better book to use them with!

It said misc. supplies. The only thing that came with it was the book itself. I did not expect all the stuff, but I expected more than the book. I am severely dissappointed.