Customer Reviews

Knitting -The Complete Guide

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4 star:		(2)
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I am always on the lookout for new knitting books especially if they contain patterns or concepts with which I am unfamiliar - not easy as I've been knitting for 40 years now. This one caught my eye because of the amazing piece on the front cover. Absolutely beautiful!

Because it was a library book, I decided to knit swatches of several of the patterns that intrigued me most . . . and that's when the problems started. Some of them contain mistakes, and some are not as clear as they could be especially for beginners. Fortunately I am experienced enough to know how to correct them. (I'm inserting a note in the library copy with corrections for anyone else who may check it out and not know what to do with those mistakes. I'd give my corrections and clarifications here, but it would take too much space.)

Otherwise, it's a wonderful book. The publisher understands how important it is for a knitter to have a book that will stay open easily while working on a project. The spiral binding does that perfectly. The color photographs of each stitch provided good contrast so the details were very clear. The instructions on how to read a graph were new to me, and I enjoyed learning how to develop that skill. I was amazed at how useful graphs can be.

I have done enough swatches now to know I want my own copy, but I'll have to be sure to write in the corrections when I get it. Meanwhile, I hope the editors will be alerted and do some actual editing to correct those mistakes so they won't have any frustrated knitters on their hands.

This is a wonderful book. The photos and illustrations make the concepts easy to understand. It is truly complete, explaining yarns, needles, techniques, abbreviations, and how to read pattern graphs. The fantastic selection of stitch patterns have a photo of a knitted swatch and very clear directions. There are also a few basic knitting projects to get you started. The only missing information that would be nice to have in this book is a basic pattern for a top-down sweater. Any knitter would love this book!

I have a large general knitting guide that has a number of patterns but it's so big it looks as if it belongs in the reference section of the library. I like this one as you can slip it in your knitting bag and carry it with you. This makes it handy and practical too. You'll find lots of interesting patterns to try on an assortment of items.

Bookworm

Lots of information that is useful. A knitter's bible. Also love the spiral..something more knitting books should have.