Customer Reviews

Knitted Shawls, Stoles, and Scarves

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book for knitters who want short projects that teach new and challenging techniques without the added problems of how to make the garment fit. The following techniques are showcased: sideways knitting and shaping, diagonal knitting, textured squares, slip stitch pattern, cables, short rows, lace, garter stitch squares, interlocking diamonds, entrelac and intarsia. The major plus of the book is that before each pattern, the technique to be used is discussed in some detail, boosting the knitter's understanding before attempting to follow the directions. In most of the patterns, the knitter can chose between making a scarf or making a stole or shawl (which would obviously take more time). Line-by-line directions are given, as well as a line drawing of the finished piece. Charts are provided for the more difficult techniques, i.e. textured squares, cables, lace and intarsia. Colored diagrams are provided for the garter stitch squares, the interlocking diamonds and the entrelac. If you are knitter looking for short projects to teach yourself a new technique, this book may be just what you are looking for. For myself, I personally was not interested in making any of the projects because the finished items didn't appeal to me. Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Shawls" was much more my cup of tea. But the knitting world is huge and growing and there is room for all.

The patterns look beautiful on pictures, but some of the pictures are misleading. For example, the picture of Textured Squares Mohair Shawl shows a full-sized shawl draped around the shoulders. I have knit it with the recommended gauge, and found out that the only way the shawl can drape like this is if you wear it sideways. The shawl is very long in the back and too short in the front (barely covered my relatively small chest). Wearing it sideways is impractical in any situation apart from posing for a picture. The pattern did not state finished dimensions, and the picture was misleading. I ended up ripping the whole thing. I wanted to knit the Gossamer Shawl, but then realized that its picture also did not offer a full view of the shawl, so I skipped it. On the positive side, I knit Chenille Diagonal Lace Scarf, and it turned out great.
I would recommend to editors of knitting books to follow the example of Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls, and show each shawl in the clearest way possible.

It's not often that I want to make nearly every item in a book or magazine, but I'll soon be starting my third project from this book. These projects are fast and great for gifts--the Shoulder Warmer Shawl took just three days, and that included time for ripping out and redoing when I paid more attention to the Olympics than to my knitting chart. I'm an experienced knitter (40 years, egads!), but my previous experience with charts was for intarsia patterns, not lace. This book taught me how to read charts (and by the way, there's an error in the line numbering on the Lace Scarf...it's supposed to be odd-numbered rows only, yet there's a row 20 in there...just renumber 'em all after row 19. The chart is fine).

The suggested yarns are (in many cases) expensive, but if you work up some gauge swatches, you can use less-pricey substitutes. Local yarn shops can also help you with substitutions. I found Euroflax's sportweight linen online at a great price, so I'll be making the Linen Lace Shawl using the suggested yarn. (Sometimes, a girl's gotta splurge a little.)

Except for that one minor error, I found the instructions clear, the photographs great, and the chapter introductions were full of helpful hints. This one's a keeper.

I agree with the previous reviewer. The techniques in this book are great. And most of the designs are to my taste -- none of them look as if they are really for old hippies with their hair up in buns, too often the image presented by shawls. The caveat with this book is that all the yarns called for are extemely expensive. I am not sorry I bought this book but I don't think I will be knitting anything in the yarn specified.

Chock full of one beautiful design after another, this book and its presentation make it difficult to decide which shawl to try first. The patterns are inventive but not overly complicated, resulting in professional-looking garments with a designer look. Directions are clear and comprehansible. Yes, the yarns used in the photos are expensive, but there are so many cheaper but still lovely substitutes on the market these days, that cost doesn't have to be prohibitive, and you can still attain great looks. I've even substituted yarns of different weights than those specified, and while the size of the shawl is bigger or smaller, I've been happy with them all. Achievable challenges, never boring - my idea of great knitting.

These shawls and wraps are creative, but some of color combos are awful. If I had picked this book up in a fiber store, I probably would not have bought it because I don't find the items pictured as particularly attractive. However, giving it a second glance (now that I have purchased it sight unseen) I find a number of items I might actually make. I often become chilled right in the middle of my back. Wearing a sweater makes me too warm. And while I like Challi wool scarves, I find they often slip off at inopportune moments. I detest heavy turtle neck sweaters, and pullover weskets that men wear, so I have gone to vests of all sizes and shapes, though the ones that keep me warm in the right spots are often unstylish. Besides, after a while one can become awfully tired of donning a vest for work everyday.

So, I was pleased to discover a great new (to me) item of clothing, a scarf that sits on your shoulders like a small buttoned stole. Nancy Wisemen, author of KNITTED SHAWLS, STOLES, AND SCARVES, has included several diagonal and square scarves that fit over your head and rest on your shoulder. They don't make you feel smothered like a turtleneck, and they don't overheat your arms and lower chest. Made with mohair or a light wool, they are featherweight, so you don't feel as if you are carrying a pack on your back. (Some items are to be constructed with cotton).

By knitting, I am resuming the use of an abandoned skill, so I am fairly rusty. The items in KSSS will stretch me a bit, they are not for beginners.

There are several nice patterns in this book, and pictures for
every project which is nice. Most of the yarns called for are expensive, and hard to find. I'm sure you could use similar yarns for a similar effect. The directions are good.

I would consider myself a beginner, trying a few more complicated patterns as I gain experience. The patterns in this book are beautiful, well presented, but it will be quite a while before I try one. They are not for the "average beginning knitter". If I'd taken the time to look at this book in another store before ordering it from Amazon, I probably would have waited to purchase it. However, I'm glad I do have it....gives me a goal to work towards. I gave 4 stars because I do think it's a wonderfully done book for the right audience.

Nancie is local to my town and a very nice person; I loved her shop. However, even calling on local pride, I've got to say that the color choices and sometimes the yarns chosen make these shawls look dated and dowdy. However, the shapes are interesting and useful, like the deep V shape that really covers the "cold parts" better than an oblong, and made up in a prettier yarn, some of them are beautiful. I made the Textured Squares in a rich violet mohair as a gift for a doctor/friend, and whenever I see it in her office I still think, "Oh, pretty!" before I realize I was once intimately acquainted with it for a month.

Someone mentioned that the shawls don't always fit right, and I agree; some are a pretty skimpy. I was lucky enough to try the abovementioned shawl on a friend before I had reached the "turn" of the V, and a good thing, too: I finally had to expand it by almost a third to make a wrap one could really cuddle into. Fortunately, shawls are fairly easy to resize, but it might be prudent to draw out a mock-up on paper or tissue and try it for size, particularly if you are knitting for a tall or generously-sized person.

The instructions are very clear, which is helpful for some of the techniques like entrelac. All in all, the techniques and shapes make it worth owning if you are good at visualizing things, adapting and recoloring etc. If you tend to buy the yarn and color specified, and follow the pattern obediently, this might not be the best book for you. I'm glad I bought it. : )

This book has some wonderful projects that can be made by beginner or experienced knitters. A fun take on these wraps and some fun yarns make for some fun items!