Customer Reviews

The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting: *All You Need to Know to Knit *The Essential Reference for Novice and Expert Knitters *Packed with Hundreds of ... and Photos for 200 Stitch Patterns

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Margaret Hubert's newest book is a must have for anyone who knits or wants to learn how to knit! Packed with page after page of beautifully well lit photos, it's a pleasure to refer to the stitch guide and actually be able to see the individual stitches for each pattern. I especially love slip stitch knitting. It's very difficult to find stitch patterns in multi colors and this book has a tons including many I've never seen before. Along with essential info about every kind of knitting you can think of, Margaret has included wonderful projects and tips that only an expert teacher would think to include. This is a great addition to any knitting library with something for everyone!

This book is fabulous! As a fairly new knitter, the close-up shots for knitting techniques (ribbing, short-rows, etc.), stitch patterns, cast-ons, etc. are the BEST. I've bought several books, searching, in particular, for a clear explanation and up-close photography for the different techniques, and this book, by far is the best! Thank you Margaret Hubert for your excellent work.

I purchased this book because it was recommended to me by members of Project Linus (we make blankets for infants through teens). The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting far exceeded my expectations; it has numerous tips along with well-written, color-coded instructions and photos for many patterns. I enjoy this book so much I purchased a second copy for my daughter!

Contains excellent color photos. Heavy stock paper. Nicely organized. Could be much more useful for all knitters if charts for stitch patterns had been included. Many pages are at least half white space, where charts could easily have been placed. [Only a few welcome charts are found for the sampler scarf pattern].

Comments, other than skill level, about each stitch are always helpful, e.g. 'looks dense but is quite stretchy; suitable for socks, mittens.' The author and test knitters could have easily added a few keywords as useful guides in choosing stitches.

Mostly reference, but includes a few actual patterns. Beginners may profit from the instructional pages, but expert knitters [referred to on cover] will most likely skip these 44 pages.

Difficult to photocopy for working copy without breaking spine.

Glad to have previewed the book from my local library, as I long ago converted to charts from written instructions. Most knitting books include both these days, which is helpful for all knitters.

After about 25 years away from knitting, in the last year I decided to conquer my fears (of making enormous trapezoids) and start to knit again. Perhaps my motor skills are better now, or I understand yarn and needlecrafts better, or I'm just more patient, but this time it "stuck." An invaluable tool that I picked up along the way was Margaret Hubert's The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting. I recommend it to my beginner knitting students and think it is a great resource for your knitting library for several reasons.

The book is organized into three major sections: Knitting Basics, Stitch Patterns, and Specialty Knitting Methods. As the title suggests, the book is heavy on photographs and light on illustrations. (Sidenote: I personally find it impossible to learn anything new from an illustration, but can use illustrations as reminders for techniques I'm already familiar with.) Margaret opens with a brief history of knitting, and then jumps into the Knitting Basics section. This section includes a review of tools, pattern abbreviations, and provides an explanation of how to read patterns in addition to the abbreviations. At this point, the book jumps into various techniques for casting on (5 options), forming the knit and purl stitches (2 methods each), and binding off (3 options). Each technique includes multiple, large photographs which are clearly lit. Margaret then goes on to display several shaping methods. This is followed by knitting in the round, again including photographs with double-pointed needles, one circular, and then two circular needles. Margaret also emphasizes gauge. There is also a nice piece on finishing. This section has many photographs, but the text is rather brief. If you are a visual learner, this is probably an ideal reference book for you. If you learn best from reading descriptions of the process, this section is lacking some detail that you might need. For example, there is no discussion about choosing yarn, or how to hold the needles, or the usual debate between the continental and the English knitting methods.

The next section, Stitch Patterns, is like having a stitch guide embedded in the book. There are 185 stitch patterns, arranged by type:

* Basic stitches,
* Light textures,
* Medium and heavy textures,
* Laces,
* Ribs,
* Honeycomb and brioche stitches,
* Eyelets,
* Ripples and chevrons,
* Slip stitches,
* Color combos,
* Motifs, and
* Cables.

I love the way the stitch patterns are organized - like most knitters/crocheters, I hate seeing a wonderful stitch and then never being able to find it again. There is also a difficulty rating for each stitch (using the Craft Yarn Council standard skill levels). The swatches are beautifully photographed and are quite large, so you can see the detail. The colors Margaret uses for her yarns are also lovely. There are several project patterns in this section, generally following the type of stitch that is used in the pattern. This section is worth the price of admission alone for me, since it is a great stitch guide. However, if you are looking for stitch symbols, there are very few in this book - most patterns use abbreviations only. (The cable stitches in this section all include symbols though.)

The final section, Specialty Knitting Methods, introduces (or reminds!) the reader to (of) various techniques and includes at least one pattern along with a description of the method. The methods included are:

* One-Piece Knitting,
* Entrelac Knitting,
* Freeform Knitting,
* Crazy Lace Knitting (pattern by Myra Wood),
* Knitting with Beads (pattern by Judy Pascale),
* Intarsia Knitting (pattern by Sasha Kagen),
* Twined Knitting (pattern by Beth Brown-Reinsel), and
* Ouroborus Kntting (pattern by Debbie New)

The Crazy Lace, Intarsia, and Twined projects include charts in addition to pattern abbreviations. As with the rest of the book, the projects are beautifully photographed and the colors and layout really bring the projects to life. In the last section, the photographs are of the projects, not the methods for creating the projects.

Overall, I recommend the Complete Photo Guide to Knitting to a beginner knitter looking for a book to "grow" into an intermediate knitter with. I also recommend it as a stitch guide - it doesn't have as many stitches as some guides, but the organization, skill levels, photographs, and yarn colors are superior to most on the market. There are also projects included so you can try the stitches on something other than swatches if you aren't at the stage of designing your own creations yet. The photographs are great for visual learners. On the other hand, there are few stitch symbols in the book, which didn't bother me since I prefer pattern abbreviations, but I know that many knitters prefer symbols. This is really a comprehensive visual reference rather than a thorough written treatise on knitting. If you are looking for a wordy text, go for the Knitter's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting. Because of the visual cues, it is also a great book for a more advanced knitter who needs a quick photographic reminder ("Oh, right, that's how to do the provisional cast on!") before starting or while working a project.

I really love Hubert's Complete Photo Guide to Crochet so I was hoping for more of the same in this book. I was sorely disappointed in the photos. Some of them are so saturated you can't distinguish the stitches. I am a visual person so I am probably skipping a lot of stitch patterns because it's either in a drab color or an off-putting almost neon color.

As another reviewer mentioned it would also have been nice to include comments on the stitch patterns. Some patterns looks like they are partly made up of stockinette stitches. Are these going to curl?

All in all, not a bad book, but I wish I had seen this in person first and had a chance to flip through the pages.

I was trying to figure out the instructions for a stitch I had never done before. This book was my answer to the problem. I had already purchased the pattern, special yarn and had everything ready. I had been so excited to begin, there was one problem yet to cover--the stitch. Just couldn't get it in my mind. With this book, I looked, studied it and the instruction was so good, I never had any more trouble. There are so many stitches in the book, it is the answer to so many problems any one would have. I highly recommend it.
Sandy R.

Let me start by saying that I am a long-time crocheter, but this book is my first foray into knitting. Overall, it is an excellent book, but it does have a few cons.

The pictures that are in this book are excellent! It's very clear to see where the needles and yarn are in relation to each other. Also, the photos of the patterns (of which there is a great selection) include the side edge of the pattern.

There were three main problems for me, however. The first was that there is NOTHING in this book about holding the needles and yarn while knitting. The only thing she has in here is a few ways to hold the yarn when using your hands to cast on stitches. Some of the pictures of other basic stitches depict the working yarn going off to the left, and some to the right. It was very confusing. On a related note, she neglects to say anything about English vs. Continental knitting.

The second issue is that the projects are scattered throughout the book. They're not in the table of contents, and the index only lists them by specific name, so if you don't remember the name of the one you're looking for, you have to guess or flip through the 200 or so pages where the project might be located.

Lastly, some of the patterns were hard to read when some of the rows were the same.
Good example (page 70):
"Row 8: purl.
Row 9: same as row 5.
Row 10: purl.
Row 11: knit."

Bad example (page 113):
"Rows 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11 and 12: [pattern details]
Rows 3 and 9: [pattern details]
Rows 4 and 10: [pattern details]
Row 7: [pattern details]"

It was already tricky enough keeping track of what row I'm working. It was made even more confusing trying to bounce up and down the instruction list like that.

All things considered, the selection of patterns and the clear pictures make this book definitely worth the money. However, I would recommend it to someone who already knows the basics.

I love this photo guide to knitting. I have been knitting for 2 years and found so many useful tips and stitch explinations in this book. It allows the reader to see various stitches and choose which might work best when creating their own patterns or when wanting to try something new. The pictures are wonderful, the instructions are clear, and I am inspired everytime I open it!

I am struggling to find reasons to recommend this book - there are so many stitch books out there. I did not find this to be an essential reference. Yes the tips are useful and beginners might benefit from the book. The projects are a real let down and look like they were produced eons ago. It would be far easier to use as a spiral bound book. I love the freeform knitting section but again the pattern for the vest lets it down. This review first appeared on Karen Platt's book review website.