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255 of 256 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I rate this a MUST-HAVE knitting essential--here's why:, August 19, 2002
This review is from: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns (Interweave) (Spiral-bound)
I have been knitting for 35 years and make everything from socks to afghans. I like to design my own patterns, but when in a hurry I like to follow a pattern "recipe." This book allows me to do both: I can follow the blueprints here to make the basic garments or I can use them as a template for embellishments of my own. Now, that is supremely useful, so right away, "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" got my vote as "most useful knitting book of the year." In particular, this book is great for grabbing any yarn from your (embarrassingly large) yarn stash and knitting a quick gift for someone, making a charity project or replacing yet another hat or set of mittens left on the schoolbus (one author recommends you just knit mittens in sets of three and bow to the inevitable.) The patterns include mittens, gloves, scarves and hats to vests, pullovers and cardigans. They can be knit in yarns ranging from the lightest fingering and baby weight to chunky and bulky. Each pattern has a table, on which the vertical axis shows gauge and the horizontal the size. So it is a simple matter to take a yarn in your stash and use it for any of these patterns. (And that's good for reducing the huge pile of yarn collected over the years you may be hiding in the trunk of the car or the unused fridge in the basement.) There are also helpful technical tip sections on adding embellishments like colorwork, texture or edgings, and nice drawings of the techniques used. And there is a glossary of techniques and terms used. This is a "handy" book, but you would still need some kind of sweater design book that gives a schematic for raglan and yoke style sweater designs. These are NOT included in this book. I believe that may have been a tough choice for the author and project editor in order to hold the size of the book down, or to complete the book on time (which, considering the variations of patterns, gauges and sizes must have been intense.) I wish both the yoke and raglan sweaters were here or at least a schematic of the famous "EZ Percentage System" which was devised to knit yoke and raglans in any gauge and size. However, this book is otherwise so useful that this deficiency, though regrettable, is not a showstopper--many basic books for knitters have these schematics. You probably have one on your bookshelf, as I do. What I also admire about "Handy Patterns" is the choice of binding. This is take-along sized, spiral-bound (lies FLAT!!!) with perfect-bound boards (shiny paper cover, no dust jacket.) The inside back has a pocket for notes and an elastic band for holding the book shut if you put a lot of other loose notations inside. (Good if you attend knitting classes on specialized techniques.) In summary, this is a really useful book, but should be supplemented by other books in a knitter's essential library such as books of color patterns, edgings and embellishments and books on sweater design. I'd rate it somewhat better for small projects (hats, gloves, mittens) than for large projects, but overall, this is a must-have in my library.
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134 of 134 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Happy Knitter, August 3, 2002
This review is from: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns (Interweave) (Spiral-bound)
I have been knitting for a year and a half and consider myself to be intermediate. How I wish this book had been available when I was first learning! Like most new knitters, I had very definate ideas on what I was going to knit but patterns do not always match imagination so I was sometimes stuck knitting from patterns that were not quite what I wanted. In the introduction to the book, the author voices the exact same feelings, there is a need for just plain patterns. They are needed by beginners, fans of novelty yarns and for gifts when the recipient is conservative. For the most part, this book delivers. It should be noted that other books have been written on multi-sizes/gauges for sweaters but this is the first book I have seen that is also dedicated to hats, scarves, gloves, mittens and socks. I particularly liked the basic tam pattern (something I searched high and low for as a beginner) There is a breakdown of how different decreasing methods will change the look of the tam and various ways to make the hatband. This is just one example of how useful this book is. Now for the not so good bits. The sweater section is skimpier than I had hoped. There is only one sleeve option (set-in, I believe) and the sweater does not offer many shaping options. However, it is a marvelous canvas for color or cables though I do not suggest this tweaking for an absolute beginner. Be sure to read through the author's suggestions before undertaking a color/cable project. (A quick suggestion to a beginner: read the charts very carefully and follow the authors advise to copy the page you are using and circle the numbers you will need, it makes life so much easier when knitting from number charts) This is a great book for a beginner and great for a knitter with a large stash of "leftovers". (ahem, not me, honest) Armed with this book, I now plan to make matching hats, mittens and socks for my sweaters. This book is almost essential and I would recommend it to any knitter of any skill level.
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46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book to use with Handspun or Stash Yarns!, September 8, 2002
This review is from: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns (Interweave) (Spiral-bound)
This book is another excellent resource to use with Handspun Yarns or Stash Yarns! In this book--which will most likely revolutionize pattern writing for knitting books, Ann Budd has created a very useful tool/book for a wide variety of basic patterns which use multi-sizing and multi-gauge charts. This is an idea that every knitter and spinner of handspun yarns has been waiting for! For many years, I've heard requests from knitters, handspinners, and yarn stash collectors asking for this very format. We WANT books that let us create! We WANT books that let us use any yarn we want! We WANT books that let us use Hand Spun Yarns! This one is it. Again, as seems to be one of really good trends lately , this book allows the user to choose their yarn, size, pattern, needle and gauge to create their own personal work of art. The patterns for mittens, gloves, hats, tams, scarves, socks, vests, and sweaters each include extensive size and gauge charts, accurate diagrams with measurements for each section in all sizes, quick tips which feature design alterations for each pattern, yarn suggestions, needle suggestions, and notion suggestions. Other than the author do the actual knitting for you, Budd has given the knitting world one of the most valuable tools created in book form yet. These are not elaborate patterns. Instead, good solid bases for the knitter to use their own creativity and imagination to create a personalized masterpiece... or just a simple basic. As a handspinner, knitter, and stash enhancement enabler, I say "Buy This Book!". You will use it over and over again and you will not be sorry you spent the money on yet another knitting book that just sits on the shelf.
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