Customer Reviews

Knit Wit: 30 Easy and Hip Projects (Hands-Free Step-By-Step Guides)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Need a felted bucket for your kniting/crocheting supplies? Ever thought about making a nose warmer for these cold winter days? Have you or someone you love got a svelte figure that would look good in a knitted skirt? If you can say yes to these questions KNIT WIT by Amy Singer may be the book for you.

Singer says she is horribly allegic to wool, however, several of the projects in this book appear to be constructed from wool fibers (are they synthetic, or did soomeone else knit them?). Several of the projects involve felting, which refers to the process that takes place when you accidently wash your favorite sweater in hot-hot water. Her book looks like a steno pad which you can stand up to read a page. Thus the claim to be a no-hands set of instructions.

For a novice knitter like me, much of the information found in "Stich and Bitch" and other books illustrating the primary knitting steps proved invaluable. I used a combination of the `Dummies" book and S&B to teach myself how to knit and purl. You won't find much elementary information in Singer's book, but it is interesting if you have moved beyond the Dummies book. Singer's projects appear to be created with the more skilled knitter in mind, but even if I claimed to be such a person I would not be interested in making most of them.

This is a good book--the projects are great, hip, and interesting, and they make you really want to get to work. But one problem was that in one of the first projects, an 'easy beginner's' project (the nosewarmer), the whole project depends on the knitter's knowledge of Wrap-and-Turn, or Short Rows. Beginners will not have this knowledge, especially not if the information in the "basics" section is new to them. In addition, nowhere in the book is there an explanation of Wrap-and-Turn, and only after consulting three other how-to books and the internet was I able to get a grasp of what that meant. To do this to a beginner can be quite discouraging. And it's too bad, because the book is overall very good, and the knitty.com site is great.

As a big fan of Amy Singer's knitty.com, I already knew that some of the patterns on the website would be featured in this book. However, there are so many new patterns and some "old" patterns have been, thankfully, upsized so I don't have to do it myself or "tweaked" a little. Also, I have a tendency to lose patterns printed off the internet, but I almost never lose an entire book (almost never!). These are great patterns for beginners and more experienced knitters alike and although I do tend to forget how to get to the next page, the stand-up format is great and sits neatly on my desk while I knit. I highly recommend this book.

I agree with a lot of other reviewers who say tat this book is a mixed bag. As a crocheter trying to teach myself to knit, I bought this book. The format and the patterns really attracted me.

With some difficulty I am now knitting; crochet experience helped a lot. However, in hindsight, I'd like a bookwith more technique, how exactly do you hold the needles? Some of the patterns say they are easy, but as much as I like them, I am going to need much more experience before I attempt them. The patterns are not written with very easy to follow instructions.

Try this book if you are a young, intermediate experienced knitter. Otherwise, try another one.

The patterns are good (regardless of whether they are free or not), but my complaint is the quality of the photos - or rather, lack thereof. For example, check out the pixie hat on the back cover. That photo is the only one you get in the whole book. Ho-hum, boring, boring... but then you come across a picture of the finished object on someone's blog, and you realize that the hat is fabulous, especially from the side. However, had I not seen someone else's photo of this hat, I would not have bothered taking a second look at this book.

(...)

I haven't knit in years. I'm mainly a crochet freak and a cross stitch nut. But I saw this book in the store and went nuts. I had to buy all the needles again and almost bought out Michael's yarn. I love the chullo best just because it's funky and the scarf knitted with tulle is an excellent present for a little girl (who's been pestering me lately to make her something). The only pattern I didn't like was the legwarmers. I remember them from the 80's and never want to see them again ;). Maybe there are a few things that a beginner shouldn't tackle but overall, this book rocks!

I'm a huge knitty.com fan and have made almost everything I've wanted to make from the site. The book has a lot of knitty patterns so I decided to return it :( I was really looking forward to the book and feel horrible that I didn't support Amy's efforts but it didn't serve much of a purpose in my collection. That being said I do love the felted fish pattern. I already had the pattern from Fiber Space and have made a school of fish. If you're into unique knitting and like me don't get into sweaters then this book may be just your thing. Either way, it's definately worth a peek.

I am a huge fan of Knitty, and the book is a lot like the site. There are patterns in the book that are on the site, but they have expanded on the them. The other patterns are easy enough for beginners, but nice for more experienced knitters as well. Has some nice reference material in it, and the hands free standup design is nice. Great book for those just starting out, or those who do not have access to Knitty. Handy book for those who already know how to knit and want to share the skill with others. Patterns are great for getting those who think knitting is "dull" to see how cool and hip knitting can be.

I got this book and at the same time, my sister in Oregon bought it for herself! There are some really neat projects in there, like a guy's sweater I made for my brother (my very first sweater!) and an ice cream pint cozy (I love Ben & Jerry's) and I'm going to make a laptop cover for my computer. The Pixie hat is on my list, as well. I made the Coif from the book and it turned out really nice and wasn't very difficult at all!

This is a great knitting book. Easy instructions, fun materials and things you might actually want to knit! Love the stand up book option, much better than trying to juggle knitting, books and wool. Maybe too much emphasis on double pointed knitting though, not too many options for the straight knitters.

Overall, worth owning.