Most Helpful Customer Reviews
103 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like a little black dress..., February 15, 2007
This review is from: Fitted Knits: 25 Designs for the Fashionable Knitter (Paperback)
...this book is simple, elegant and gives you some great jumping-off points for evolving your own designs from the patterns given to get a look that's truly "you." Stefanie Japel designs beautiful, well-constructed garments with easy yet effective techniques that knitters of any level can put to use right away. Are you a scarf knitter? Want to expand your range? Try a raglan-style sweater. Are you a sweater-in-a-week knitter? Japel will give you new inspiration.
Attention handspinners and those who like to use handspun yarn: many of the projects in this book would work perfectly with handspun! Seamless sweaters tend to accommodate handspun's quirks much better than pieced-and-seamed ones, and Japel has you covered with designs to suit any figure.
If you've ever knit her patterns from Knitty or the ones she sells on her website Glampyre, you know that Japel's designs are not only beautiful, but rock-solid. They work every time, they size up well (plus-sized knitters take note) and they are easily modified to suit your personal taste. I loved this book, from the designs themselves to the overall layout, and will be gifting it to a few of my sweater-anxious knitting friends.
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71 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it, February 25, 2007
This review is from: Fitted Knits: 25 Designs for the Fashionable Knitter (Paperback)
Wow, what a great book. Loads of cool and flattering knits here. I like everything, which puts this book in an elite group of perhaps 3..... When you consider I buy practically every new knitting book, that sure is something. I immediately frogged some gorgeous suri alpaca I just started using an Interweave Knits pattern, and started her ribbed vneck sweater. I've never knitted a top down sweater, or one totally in the round, and I must say it is really liberating, and the instructions are very clear. I started with this pattern firstly because I like it, and secondly because it's marked easy. Her patterns are graded into varying levels of difficulty, which is a plus. I already know what my next project is going to be, and it will be the next step up in difficulty. Now it's just a matter of finding the right yarn in my stash.....
This is also one of the few books I have which doesn't rely on expensive yarns to do the work. Most of the yarns here are reasonably priced, and would be easy to sub if you wish.
It's true that the majority of patterns are for raglan sweaters. However there are a few that aren't. Besides, altho I could be way off here, I don't see any other way you can knit a top down sweater. Unless it's a round yoke, and personally I find raglan more flattering than round yokes.
Contrary to another reviewer, I don't see any shapeless knits in here. There are a couple of knits which are not knit in the round - a very cute sleeveless lace tank which gets its shapeliness from clever use of stitch patterns, for instance, and a tube top which uses a lace panel for the same effect. These are both in my project list for summer....
There's only one problem with this book. I can't use my usual method of marking with sticky notes, as I would mark practically all of them!
I hope she publishes more books soon, as this is one designer I will always buy sight unseen!
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Book, Beautiful Projects!, March 1, 2007
This review is from: Fitted Knits: 25 Designs for the Fashionable Knitter (Paperback)
Now, I am a decidedly NON-funky dresser, and yet I'm dying to cast on quite a good number of these garments. For her first book, Ms. Glampyre has delivered a stunner, and I'm so excited to hear that another one is in the works.
So, a few major plusses for the book:
1) The projects are ALL garments, with no filler accessory patterns.
2) They use budget-friendly yarns (we love you, Cascade 220!).
3) There are a WIDE array of sizes for each project.
4) The patterns span the seasons, also.
Stefanie has a very distinct design aesthetic, which helps her blend old-age and new-age influences beautifully in "Fitted Knits". I'm so glad I purchased this!
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