Customer Reviews

Folk Vests: 25 Knitting Patterns & Tales From Around the World (Folk Knitting series)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Cheryl Oberle returns with another book in her series of internationally flavored knitting patterns. This book is all about vests. 25 separate patterns for less than a dollar a pattern - a great value. I've had the pleasure of learning vest construction from Cheryl and know that these patterns contain the little details that will make the vests work - i.e. armholes that don't gap and such.

For those of you thinking of buying the book sight unseen here are some details that might be helpful:
---three traditional fair isle designs (2 pullovers and one button front)
---eight single color designs - bavarian twists, the many buttoned vest (cute!); irish with the vertical x's and o's; a celtic lattice pullover; a tunic length 'bookworm' button-front; a mandarin collared texured button front; a traditional v-neck men's pullover with four columns of cables; a casual, all garter vest with a shawl collar; and a fine yarn, v-neck button front.
---three vests with wide vertical bands and a single button - done in African, Peruvian and Korean colorwork patterns.
---one vest with vertical stripes designed for the Nepalese recycled silk yarn.
---three vests knit fair isle style but with bold varigated yarns on a black background.
---two Japanese inspired panel designs.
---two traditional Scandanavian looks - a pullover and a button-front.
---a side to side vest with Navajo patterning (but easy to adapt to other looks).
---a traditional vest with a big lace collar.

Even as a person who rarely wears vests, I enjoy having this book on my shelf. The photography is crisp and the the text is clear. If you like to wear vests, that this book would be a treasure trove of projects.

I really like this book. I am an intermediate knitter who's love affair with the wildly popular chunky knits ended with my last sweater knitted on size 19 needles (it was like knitting with pvc pipes!) Anyhow, the vests in this book are beautifully shaped and patterned using needle sizes 3 to 8, with sizing accomplished by going either up or down a size needle. Many of the designs are worked in the round using circular needles to the underarm and then the back and front are worked on regular needles: Speedy and less seaming! The vests incorporate many interesting techniques for all levels of knitting skills including stocking, garter, cables, two-color pattern, Fair Isle, lace and steeks. This is not just one vest 47 ways!

I especially love the Japanese and African designs, but all of the vests are lovely and I would venture the opinion that there is something for everybody in this book. The photographs are good, showing color and design details. I was disappointed, however, not to have any schematics included. The yarns used are pretty much speciality yarns, so schematics would have been helpful in making sizing changes and yarn substitutions easier.

I would recommend this book for providing good instruction, design and inspiration to the knitter who is looking for a bit of a challenge and some good designs. I am looking forward to working my way through this book and having some great vests in the process!

I loved Oberle's "Folk Shawls" and I was even more impressed with "Folk Vests." Her first volume "Folk Shawls" had patterns for traditional shawls and stoles based on ethnic designs from around the world. In "Folk Vests" not only are the vest shapes re-created, but the textiles of the various lands are cleverly worked out.

In particular, the Japanese vests look like Ikat dyed handloomed cotton, both a single direction dyed ikat and a double-dyed check pattern (Kasuri) in the traditional indigo color. The random striped vest versions could also be knit in handpainted wool--a nice use for this popular technique of dyeing.

The shape of many of the vests uses the same construction as would be used with woven cloth. Some of the vests have a long version, which is a good thing because most of the vests are short. This is a problem if you are short-waisted or thick on top, as short vests are not as flattering a shape.

There are other wonderful patterns that take a twist on the traditional. The Tyrolean twisted stitch vest is similar to those knit garments found in the Alpine regions of Austria and Germany but Oberle incorporates a stocking "clock" pattern on the vest back that makes an interesting "v"--not just a replica of Tyrolean style knitting but a clever play.

There are several fairisle vests that are of interest to handspinners. One is done in sheep's colors (cream, gray, brown and black) and could be knit of handspun undyed colored wool. Another recalls the use of lichen dye from parmellia which gives golden tones. While the vest pattern is knit from commercially available Shetland yarn, you could, as a spinner and dyer, make your own genuine lichen dye or onion skin dyed yarn to knit this vest. The Prince of Wales' famous fairisle is also here, with a note that the colors of the vest in the portrait of the Prince were probably not those on the actual vest. My favorites, however, are an African vest in a mudcloth-like black and white pattern, and a Peruvian llama vest with a gorgeous patterned band on a rich brown plain knit vest.

As in "Folk Shawls" there is a also a plain black model and notes on how to modify the various models. And husband Gary Oberle contributes his attractive linocuts to ornament each chapter.

A lovely book. Highly recommended.

....... and incredible design enlightenment!

I love vests. They are so versatile. And this book has 25. I plan to knit every one! With every vest the knitter has the opportunity to not only do color-knitting or work beautiful textures, but also learn about the area the vest is from, the history, the culture and it's folklore. It's a knitting world tour.

I have always been a fan of Cheryl's work. And especially I love all the different styles featured in this book. Designs span everything from Aran to Fair Isle to garter-stitch. The patterns enable the newer knitter to learn and grow as they grow using the different techniques. Most of the patterns are shown in 3 basic sizes, but can be adjusted up or down as needed easily. The only thing about the book that I would add to my wish list, is for the yarn *sizes* to be mentioned in addition to the recommended yarns. Unless you are familiar with the yarn recommended, you might not be able to easily substitute from your stash or use handspun. The charts are easy to read and all the diagrams are clear and easy to follow.

And I have to mention the block prints throughout the book. They are beautiful! They really add ambiance that makes this book unique and special.

This is a unique gem of a book among the current glut of new knitting books. It is lovely to look at (wouldn't be out of place as a coffee table book for non-knitter perusal) as well as tempting one to pick up those knitting needles. Yarn weight used for the projects varies from sport to chunky, so whether you like skinny needles or thick ones there is something for you here.

This book is ok. Once you realize the same basic shape is in all of the vests you start looking at the shoulder shaping instead. I did not care for her gauge example on several vests, same number of cast on stitches just change needle size! Also, doesn't really address sizes out of the "normal" ranges. Nor does it explain how to knit a vest with your gauge, pattern etc. to fit your size.

This book is a design library and Folk Vests are frequently seen being proudly worn at the big knitting shows. The wide variety of stitch and construction techniques makes Folk Vests a great learning guide for the newer knitter, and experienced knitters will find designs that showcase their skills. The photos of the vests give good stitch detail. All the patterns give clear instruction and finished measurements. Minor errata have been corrected in the new printings and are also available from the publisher on the web. Highly recommended for avid knitters and students of knitting alike.

I have been knitting for four decades now, and there are not many books left on the market where I think "Hafta have it!". Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Vests" is one of those books!
Versatile, unique designs.
Accurate, easy to follow instructions.
Great photographs and clear illustrations.
Nice little stories.

For me, one thing is missing, and that's the reason for 4 stars:
I am missing a separate drawing/sketch, listing the actual measurements of each design for each size. Many times, I do not use the recommended yarn weight and/or adapt the pattern to my bodily features, then I have to plow through the entire instructions, in order to find the appropriate measurements and adjust the different gauge/feature to the pattern. Not hard, but time consuming and annoying.

25 little drawings which tell me how long and wide the body is, how tall and wide the armhole is, and the book would be perfect.

Nevertheless, the book is a well of inspiration.

Photographs of the vests are beautiful, only wish the gauges worked. I tried the Bookworm vest and ended up searching the internet for corrections. I recommend, before knitting patterns, search for corrections.

ALL the vests pictured in the book are absolutely beautiful. This book made me dreamt of wearing vests for all the days of the week. I cannot wait to start and finish each one. Regarding the gauge problems that other reviewers mentioned; I've learned that they can be different according to tension and needles used. For example, straight versus circular. In my opinion, this book is one of the most favourite I own to date. (And I have the whole library full) ^_^