Customer Reviews

Country Weekend Knits: 25 Classic Patterns for Timeless Knitwear

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have just received this book, and have only looked through it at this point. I preordered this, and had no idea what patterns it may contain.
I am happily anxious to start some of the items I see here.
There are many patterns, 25 in all, consisting of ganseys, arans,fairisle and Shetland Lace, and includes men's and women's garments: pullovers, cardigans, vests, and many short sleeved summery items, which are particularly nice and wearable. The first item I will make is a beautiful gansey called Eriskay, just gorgeous. A large variety of yarns are used, and I think there is something special in here for anyone interested in hand knits.
I classify most of the patterns as classic, functional, and as pretty/handsome garments. The book is a softcover with photography that shows each item well, and everything is modelled by people who look like real people.
Very highly recommended.
One note, though, most of the patterns, except for the Fairisles and a couple of rudimentary stitch charts, have written rather than graphed directions, which suits me well, but will not please some. There are also no illustrations of pattern pieces with dimensions given, so these look more like patterns of years ago. There are some basic techniques given in the back of the book, but these are minimal.

If you already own Classic British Knits by Weston, don't buy this book! It re-presents 25 patterns from that older book in new colors and photographed in new settings. (The older book has about 40 patterns.)

If you don't have the older book, this one is great if you love traditional knitting -- Fair Isle, Arans, ganseys, and Shetland lace.

This book is full of beautiful patterns, but they were previously published in Classic British Knits/ The Traditional Sweater Book. Don't buy this book if you already own the others.

As a previous customer review points out, the designs in this book are not new--they are selected from Madeline Weston's 1986 book, CLASSIC BRITISH KNITS (40 patterns). However, the 25 patterns have been updated to specify currently available yarns, and the designs have been rephotographed so beautifully, in outdoor settings on living persons, that knitting book collectors may want to purchase the book just for the photos. The patterns themselves have withstood the test of time, and at least some of them have been reknit in modern yarns.

Another fabulous cable book. A must have for every cable loving knitter. Have knitted 2 items and found easy to follow instructions. Very happy with purchase.

While the sweaters in this book are undoubtedly lovely, I cannot help but be severely annoyed. I had bought Weston's 'Traditional Sweater' book not long ago and found, to my great disappointment, that most of the sweaters in the Country Weekend Knits are taken from the other book (or vice versa). So now I have two books, different titles, different format, and the same sweaters.

This book is full of beautiful gansey and aran patterns for sweaters. I love this kind of knitting and so I really appreciate one book that has so many lovely ideas.
I do not have the older book(s?) mentioned in the other reviews so I was not influenced by that factor. There are three sweaters that I am knitting as soon as I can. Buy it now.

The book is beautifully styled, and the traditional British style knits follow a very "Rowan aesthetic" with outdoor photography, lovely clothes to match the woolens in a set color palette, and the natural look of the models and their surroundings. Lots of ganseys and fishermen motifs, Fair Isle, Arans, and some lace thrown in for good measure. The styles are pretty and classic, and several of them caught my eye.

I am very pleased with this book. The instructions are well written and the photography is great. I do not buy many knitting books, but I am happy I got this one. Every item has at least one full page picture of it. Good book.

The book is divided into four sections: ganseys, fair isle, aran, and shetland lace. The ganseys and aran section reminds me of Alice Starmore's book, Fisherman's Sweaters. I'd give it 3.5 stars. Patterns are generally written out line by line rather than charted with the exception of the fair isle section.

On the plus side, if you like knitting sweaters, this book has 25 of them in a variety of styles. Most of the patterns are nice, but none of them really speak to me. Given the time, effort and cost (of wool) that goes into making a sweater, I think one should really love a pattern before making the commitment. There's a huge wealth of patterns available out there. The ones in this book just didn't pass that bar for me.

The sweaters in the ganseys section are nice but unspectacular. There is a nice range of complexity and needle sizes. Some are knitted in the round, others not. Needle sizes range from 2 to 11. These sweaters are my favorite in the book. No single one stands out, but there are two or three that are stylish and intricate. Still, in comparing them to the sweaters in Starmore's book, I don't like these as much.

The second section is fair isle. I just did not like the color schemes in this section. There is one man's sweater that is fairly nice. Otherwise, I think there are far better fair isle options out there.

The sweaters in the Aran section are also unspectacular. The chevron aran crewneck is the nicest in my opinion. Otherwise, the sweaters don't have anything truly unique or special that makes them stand out as hand-knit. I feel you could knit one of these, and it could be mistaken as one of the "machine-made" sweaters.

The last section is the shetland lace section. In my opinion, probably the nicest pattern in the book is found in this section, the lace cardigan. The other patterns in this section are marked by color combinations I find very off-putting.