Customer Reviews

Hollywood Knits: Thirty Original Suss Designs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

After knitting several patterns from this book, I'm a bit frustrated. I purchased the book because I loved the designs and the majority of the patterns I would either make for myself or make as gifts. There are hip, mod and sometimes quirky patterns and very wearable and stylish. If you're big into designer clothing, these would appeal to you. Suss has a knack for picking great colors, stripe patterns and texture and incorporating them into her designs. Everything seems to be knit on big needles with either bulky yarn or double strands, so it's great for instant gratification (I can complete a sweater in under 2 weeks) or last-minute gifts.

Now, for the gripes and source of my frustration.

The mistakes are numerous in the patterns and the corrections are confusing. There were 4 pages of corrections I printed off the Suss website. Some of the corrections are redundant with the information already in the book- maybe I have a later edition?- but sometimes the corrections themselves were wrong or I couldn't figure out where they belonged in the pattern. I'm a fairly experienced knitter, so if I get stuck halfway through a pattern, I can usually work things out or adjust the pattern. Sometimes instructions are given just for the small size, so you have to stop and think and figure out what to do if you aren't making a small. So I find little things like this to be annoying and perhaps something that a beginner would not pick up on and have a tragic end result. I would really have liked this book more if time was spent on editing and correcting the patterns- it seems like it was rushed to publication with no time to check these things. I don't want to be stressed out when starting a pattern hoping that everything will turn out alright.

Another gripe I have would be the pictures. Yes, I find it interesting to know who she designed the piece for, and in which movie, but the incessant name dropping is annoying and pompous, while the photographs reflect this. The focus is not on the garments, but on the celebrity wearers of the garments. In some pictures, sweaters are downright blurry, while the focal point of the picture is a beautifully illuminated face of a highly-paid model or actor. Please. I am a knitter. I know I like the sweater when someone that beautiful is wearing it and posing artfully and unrealistically. I really like the Yarn Girl's Guide to Simple Knits because the sweaters and garments are all displayed on a mannequin. No distractions and you can figure out by looking at a garment if it would actually look good on you or if it would make you look like you're wearing a fat suit. We're not all waif-like Hollywood types, you know.

One last thing...Suss uses, in many patterns, her own brand of yarn in which you can order on her website. It can be a little daunting to find replacements if you don't want to use her yarn, but it can be done.

Overall, I have mixed feeling about this book. I would only recommend it if you are up for a challenge (even though the patterns themselves are all fairly easy) and don't mind comparing yourself to stick figure with perfect features.

Incessent name dropping and unoriginal patterns loaded with mistake after mistake that only be made using "suss" yarn -- give me a break...don't bother with this one and save your money.

I purchased this book, after reviewing it in the library. I found the Hollywood schmooze-fest annoying, but figured Suss thought it would sell books to celebrity lovers. I bought it, because there were a few designs I liked, and I wanted to be fair and not copy them from the library book. Silly me.

I noticed the sizes seem off. But I began knitting the two-tone halter anyway. I wear a size 6/8. I started the MEDIUM for the halter. I am now going to frog the whole thing. It looks like something for a Barbie doll. My size 12 stepdaughter realized that there is nothing in there she could knit for herself, other than a blanket or hat. I like the patterns, though they're embarrassingly easy (if you go to the Suss correction page first, of course). I can't understand why so much of the pattern selection is coded for "HOT KNITTERS". When it's so basic for even a beginner.

Bottom line? The photos are intersting. The patterns look cool (and I think that's mostly because of great yarn choices). But.. unless you have the body of a 12 year old boy, it's best to avoid this book. What a disappointment. Oh, and an earlier review mentioned that Suss's employee blamed the errors on the pattern maker, when on their websites' correction page, they blame the printer. I thought Suss designed her own patterns. What a disappointment this book was.

The patterns are all so simplistic that it seems to imply that Hollywood types are all ADD-afflicted. There is a difference between a simple, timeless pattern that lets the beauty of the yarn shine, and a crude, poorly written one. Unfortunately the patterns of this book falls into the latter category.

Too bad that I gave one of the patterns, the leather tie cardigan, the benefit of the doubt and started knitting it. The instructions omitted several rows at the top of the sleeve so that the finished piece measures 13" rather than the specified 17"! I looked for corrections on her website. Even on the corrections page, this glaring error was not corrected. How poorly written and edited can a book get?!

The copy I use is a library copy. Even then, it is not worth the investment of my time.

I didn't want to like this book (I am getting so tired of the knitting books that try to seem cool)but ended up buying it after looking at a friend's copy. The patterns are really easy -most are for beginners- and, unlike many easy patterns, have style and seem like they would be flattering to wear. However, she does leave out some important info---like blocking, which is not mentioned at all. And some of the patterns have minor errors, so some experience will help you navigate these issues. Absolute beginners may be frustrated.

Also, I have found after trying a pattern, then having to rip it out and start over, that her sizing is TINY. I am a size 8 and usually wear a small or medium sweater (in Vogue Knitting patterns I often make small) but with this I had to make the largest size. The patterns are very simple and easy to translate to larger sizes though. However, Suss' view of the world (I guess everyone in Hollywood is size 2)definitely shows here.

Ignore the constant, annoying name-dropping ...and some of the ridiculously simple patterns, like a stockinette scarf, and there are some very cute, instant gratification projects to be had. Just be ready to translate them to your needs. Again, not sure I'd recommend this to a novice, in spite of the simple patterns.

Demi-celebrities are different from you and me. They're skinnier. How else could they make use of sweater patterns that top out at 36 inches, and tube and halter tops that appear to be sized for prepubescents? The instructions seem to range from mostly clear to inanely detailed (40+ rows of row-by-row instructions for a scarf). The name dropping (all over every page) somewhat impedes the flow of information.

I have to think of this book as something like one of those gourmet cookbooks that assumes that you have a food processer, a stand mixer, a spare oven, and the willingness to measure out four onces of egg white and one third of a cup of chopped onion. It's not so much about cooking (or knitting), but about imagining what it would be like to live that way.

I went to the library last night and checked out several knitting books. Hollywood Knits was among them and I'm glad it was because it totally took away any temptation that I might have had to buy it. From the second paragraph of the introduction where she says, "The beginnings of the current knitting boom seem to have coincided with the the first time Bill Cosby walked onto the set of the The Cosby Show wearing one of my sweaters.", I was completely put off. As if a sweater she knitted in the 80's is responsible for the onslaught of young knitters 20 years later? A majority of these new knitters weren't even born when Cosby was wearing her sweaters. I think that the Stitch N Bitch books had a big hand in the current trend.

The rest of the book continues on in a similiar vein. It made me feel as though she was trying to compensate for a lack of substance by stating over and over again that she's got famous friends who buy her stuff. Unfortunately, celebrities have a lot of money to burn and have been known to show up on the red carpet wearing stuffed swans so I tend to not be too excited about what they buy.

As far as the patterns go, I wasn't very impressed. They are the same basic shapes I've seen over and over again in other knitting books. If I could afford the fabulous fiber that she uses, I might get fabulous results, but since I'll have to substitue pretty much everything I'm sure that my efforts are going to produce items that are pretty ordinary. I actually prefer The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits.

I'm glad that I didn't pay $30 to find this out. I'd really recommend checking it out from the library if you can before you commit to buying it.

I love the designs in this book. They are simple and clean cut, but beware. I've made several and found some issues. Her sizing is super small and I wear a 4. I make her medium to get a comfortable fitted look. Also watch the yarn requirements. I typically buy one or two skeins extra just in case. Well with her book, I have needed every extra skein to finish the project and my gauge is right on. Definately gauge swatch, because everyone I know has had to change needle size. I knit continental like the author, but I had to change as did the American style knitters I know. I would recommend the pattern styles for any young knitter, but you need a few sweaters under your belt to iron out the instruction issues. Overall I like the book, but it annoys me that the sizing is so tiny and un-realistic. It is also frustrating to really have to watch the instructions for content not just patterning information.

I agree with many of the other reviews written. I thought some of the patterns were cute and quick, but now that I've knit up 4 of the patterns, I'd have to say that they are just plain wrong! The baby's cardigan sweater and hat was a disaster. The kids rollneck sweater with fuzzy heart in the middle was not true to size at all. And others were just as bad. I checked my gauge beforehand and followed the instructions to the letter; the directions are simply incorrect. Sloppy work, Suss!

I initially bought Suss Cousin's "Hollywood Knits:Style" and then purchased this, her first book. I was attracted to both of the books patterns and color combinations. The patterns are organized by difficulty level and the 'Cinchy for Starters' patterns really are quite easy to finish while the 'Hot Knitters' patterns definitely require more experience. I think my one of my favorites in this particular book is the Knit Knitting Bag...It's very fun and funky. Okay...so the reasons I only rated it three stars...
I find the commentary and captions for the photos a bit self-aggrandizing for the author. After reading how she came up with this or that pattern for this or that actor or film got old after about the fifth reference. Also, the yarns she utilizes and recommends are, of course, ALL Suss yarns and there is no yarn weight indicated should you not want to use Suss yarns. Finally, there are fantastic knitting books coming out seemingly daily with similar patterns plus some really innovative patterns included that make a lot of the patterns in this book appear kind of commonplace. Overall, I gave it three stars...I like it alot but, the more I progress in my own knitting experience, the more I find myself searching for other sources of inspiration.