Hand Knits for the Home: 20+ Designs for Stylish Interiors (Paperback)

by Caroline Birkett (Author) "One of the joys of knitting is that relatively little equipment is needed, even at advanced levels, and what is required is inexpensive and portable..." (more)
Key Phrases: bobble row, second back piece, bobble repeat, Fair Isle, Stripes Striped, Basic Stitches Knit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A handsome volume . . . You don’t have to be a pro to dive into these patterns." -- Family Circle Home Crafts

"A how-to knit book, pattern book, and coffee-table book rolled into one... These are not your granny's afghans." -- Creative Knitting

"Close-up photographs illustrating the different stitch techniques are excellent for the beginning knitter." -- INKnitters magazine

"The pictures...are yummy. This has eye candy as well as knowledge." -- The Shuttle Scuttle

"Twenty-plus stylish projects are featured . . . along with primers on completing the various stitches required." -- Vogue Knitting International

Product Description
Beginning knitters and veterans alike will enjoy creating stylish home accents from the series of beautiful, contemporary projects detailed in this book. The art of knitting is introduced in chapters on tools, equipment, types of yarn, and a variety of basic stitches. Each stitch is presented with photographs and step-by-step instructions followed by a project using that stitch. Using a contemporary color palette, the projects call for soft lamb’s wool, mohair, cool cotton, or chunky unspun wool to fashion a wonderful range of decorative items including cushions for chairs and beds, throws for sofas and beds, a baby’s blanket, and a table runner. For a professional finishing touch, instructions on how to add decorative details such as edgings, fastenings, pom-poms, and cords are also provided.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931499586
• ISBN-13: 978-1931499583
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #716,017 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice projects, but layout is potentially frustrating, August 19, 2004

By	digikat "digikat" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

The arrangement of this book is pretty interesting. Like many knitting books featuring projects for a specific purpose, this book includes basic knitting instructions so that potentially you can make the projects presented without any previous experience. Other books just put a chapter in the very beginning for this purpose. What makes this book different is that the most basic of the basics are presented first, and then as you move through the projects, other techniques are presented as necessary. Although the instructions featured here are good and the photographs clear, I think this isn't the best approach. For the beginner knitter, you have to work your way through each and every single project to collect a repertoire of techniques. For the intermediate knitter who needs no instruction, you don't want interspersed tutorials distracting you from the patterns. On the plus side, the designs which are featured are simple, elegant and practical. There are several square cushions, a cube-like ottoman, a baby blanket, a bath mat, a shoulder bag, a round cushion, a hot-water bottle cover, four throws, and a table runner. What's pretty amazing is that if you complete all the projects, you will learn all the basic knitting techniques - cables, colors (stripes, slip, Fair Isle, intarsia), textures (bobbles, beads), smocking, and ruching. Overall, I'm impressed with the projects, and how all the basic knitting skills are incorporated into them, but I still think this isn't the best way to arrange a knitting book.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple, stylish, sophisticated knitted, April 10, 2004

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

The projects in "Hand Knits for the Home" are not on the leading edge of difficulty for the average knitter, and many projects use thick wools. These pillows, throws, table scarves and rug mats are nicely designed to maximize effect with a minimum of effort.

The wools used are pricey in many cases, but they are definitely ones you can substitute with not much problem--and, don't forget, these projects needn't fit anyone but a pile of polyfill for the pillow form. Among the many models, there is a particularly comfy looking cylindrical bolster with cables, a "pillar cable" pillow with offset cables and wide, wider ribs like columns, a lovely ecru baby blanket, a knitted hassock cube, and a lush, blue chenille bed throw. Also rag type mats, more pillows and a beaded table scarf that looked as if it could be modified rather easily.

If you like home knitting, this is a varied and useful collection. It's suited to urban neutrals, country textures and classical furniture, and most of the projects are in neutrals or soft colors. Lovely.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good basic read -similar to other books though, April 11, 2004

By	sfknitter (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This is a good book put out by a consistently good publisher (Interweave Press) but I found it too similar to other "basic" or "simple" knitting type of books. The pillows, blankets and miscellaneous items (knit bottle cover) don't have enough of a difference or "twist" to really stand out from other similar books. Good if you are looking for a basic knit book.