Customer Reviews

Knitting With Balls: A Hands-On Guide to Knitting for the Modern Man

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just got my copy. WOW!!!!!!!!!!

One of the best knitting books I've ever seen.

It has superlative instructions for learning to knit English, Continental AND left-handed: increasing, decreasing, joining pieces together in a variety of ways -- all first class. And he charts. And has schematics.

And the patterns. I love almost every one of them. Well thought out and great looking designs -- the hooded sweater with the fold-down cuff which turns into a half-mitten -- fantastic idea! I've never seen it done elsewhere.

O.K. I'm not a guy. But I have guy students. They will be REQUIRED to get this. I do have a husband, 2 grown sons, and about a dozen other male relatives. And, of course, most of the designs are classic and would work equally well for women (with appropriate color changes). The wallet, credit card holder, cup cozy and laptop case are going OTN just as soon as I can get to my stash.

Not to mention that the patterns are easily adapted for women and children ...

WOW!!! I'm in love.

I think there's a great mix of good patterns, resources, and technique, and of course it fills a need in the knitting book world. I wanted this book because I find that there often aren't enough patterns for men, period, no matter the proposed gender of the knitter. On my first quick look-throught the book, I found several projects I want to knit; when I saw the alpaca running sweater, I instantly knew I have to make it for my (very picky) brother. He'll love it. Personally, I think the coffee cozies would be great gifts, and the felted dop kit is so smart; I can see it in all kinds of yarn/fabric lining combos. Several small details of the book - the stitch dictionary (in color) in the back, which gives an easy reference for the projects; the tips on starting a knitting group; the history of men who knit throughout - make Knitting with Balls a good read and reference, as well as a good pattern book.

It's a nice easy book with adaptable patterns. Some of the colors chosen for images aren't very masculine but most of the designs are. I plan to make socks and a hoodie for my husband and a scarf and pullover for myself. Most men like simple designs without a lot of fuss so if your looking for knit something your man will actually wear you'll find them in this book.

Very excited to see this book and hasn't disappointed on that front. The basic directions are good and should help a guy get started and it has very good tips. However, the instructions within the patterns are often confusing, incomplete or containing errors. I would supplement this with Stich n Bitch (I know its a 'girls' book, but great instructions) and make friends with someone at the local yarn store to help you sift through the less than stellar instructions.

I am a fairly new knitter and a guy and needed a good easy book to help me make some awesome projects. Well this book is fits my needs perfectly! The projects are really cool (I'm working on the bootcut sweater now) and the instructions are excellent and very easy to follow. Compared to other books I've looked at this one definitely kicks [...]. I highly recommend it

This is one fablous book. Quite explanatory. Easy to understand. Make knitting enjoyable, glad to see more men are joing the knitting circles. Seems like more and more men now days are taking up this craft. A lot of men knew how to knit, but kept it hidden. This book brings out the best of everything. Where to find knitting in your area. Knitting guilds for men. Makes every man wish they could do this. Great Thank You.

I too was excited by the subject and title of this new knitting book.

Groan!

This book missed its mark by a long shot. Male knitters are not effeminate, we just knit. This book is basically an insult.

A couple of the patterns are OK, but none are actually inspiring me to pick up my needles. Most of the patterns seem to be geared towards gay men. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it doesn't suit me at all.

Many of the patterns are just plain dumb and seem to be there just to fill up space, like the beer cozy, coffee cup cozy, wallet and the "utility cloth" (aka rag) for example. Why would I spend 2 days knitting a shop rag when I can buy a whole bundle at the store for a couple of bucks? This is also basically the same thing as a large dishcloth or small baby blanket, but the book calls it a "utility cloth" so it's for a man. Give me a break!

One of the other reviewers stated that some of the patterns were "fit for the fashion runway" Exactly! I don't know any man that wants to wear clothes that are fit for a runway, unless that runway is on an air-force base or something. I just assume leave the house in a blouse and pair of kulats than some of the garments displayed in this book.

Frankly the sweater that is on the cover of the book looks great, it was one of the main reasons for buying the book. Unfortunately, to my dismay, this pattern is NOT included in the book! WHAT WHY!? For shame!

I purchased this book for a guy I used to work with who needed to spend some time at home after an accident. After looking at it in a book store, I decided to get it for him. I was convinced that if I had asked him about it first, he would have said NO, assuming that this was a "girl thing," despite the title. Much to his own surprise, he got well into it, actually completing a simple project. Because he had so much fun working on it, I'm sure he'll do many more.

If you'd like to open up a gentleman in your circle to the great sense of relaxation and creativity that can be had with a productive craft like knitting, this is a GREAT BUY! Include enough yarn and the needles for one project, so he can get started right away.

I already have my next recipient in mind!

I'm sorry to say, most of the items in the book are not items I can imagine any man wanting, and therefore I won't be making them. I was quite disappointed. A book with a good array of men's patterns is needed.

Overall I would say as a new knitter, this book is nice. It covers the basics, gives you a few project ideas, and in the back of the book there are sources for yarn and male oriented knitting. My only gripe with this (and a lot of other crafting books) is it being printed in China. Maybe it's just I like to "buy American" but from looking through the book the binding is glued somewhat poorly and I could see the glue and it looked like with heavy use this book could eventually fall apart. Like I said a lot of knitting books that are printed overseas have similar quality issues.