Knitting Little Luxuries [Paperback]

Louisa Harding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2007

Learn to pamper friends and loved ones with lavish and fun knitted gifts. Projects are broken down into four different categories by style and include hats, mittens, purses, wraps, tops, sweaters, and socks—all of which are simple to make and require minimal yarn. Tips are provided for embellishing each project with different fabrics, edgings, and stitching patterns, making personalization easy, even for novices. Beautiful photographs and color illustrations detailing how to create each piece, as well as contemporary designs and small, quick projects make this guide a must-have for the gift-giving knitter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All very feminine, subtle palettes, each pattern feels neither very far from the classics nor out of touch with the times."  —The Oregonian

"Elegantly simple or simply elegant, either way these little projects would make lovely gifts."  —Monsters and Critics.com

"It is great to have a book of patterns that make quick-to-knit, but luxurious gifts."  —Knitting News

"Full of feminine (and some very girly) projects that are both classic in style and modern in interpretation."  —About.com Guide to Knitting

"Don't be surprised if you find yourself humming ‘I Enjoy Being a Girl’ as you flip through Harding's latest collection."  —Yarn Market News

"Perfect for people looking for gorgeous gifts to knit."  —Knitting

About the Author

Louisa Harding is the author of Hats, Gloves, Scarves; Modern Classics; and Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. Her designs have appeared in Knitting Magazine, Rowan Knitting Magazine, and Vogue Knitting.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596680547
• ISBN-13: 978-1596680548
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Little projects with a hip-knit flair, November 18, 2007

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Knitting Little Luxuries (Paperback)

"Knitting Little Luxuries" definitely appeals to the new, young hip knitter. So the book is full of berets, bags, wraps and scarves, mostly in trendy colorways (muted gold-beige, pale blue) and with thicker, though not bulky yarns.

The book has four sections:

1. Electic and Quirky: textured stitches, mixed yarns, button trims, ribbon embroidery. Of the projects, there is a rug-textured bag and a button trimmed beanie that I liked. Of the quirkier side, the Alice beret is colorful, yet muted and has a floppy, individualistic shape. A button-trimmed, colorful wrap (the Dottie Wrap) goes well with this and is sort of 21st Century Hippy-Flapper (hard to qualify.)

2. Pretty And Feminine: Here, a beautiful short cardigan with a mixed texture yarn and fine merino trim caught my eye. There are angora mittens, a soft lace scarf.

3. Textured and Modern: cabled items abound

4. Traditional and Folk: features the use of fair-isle or two color knitting to make berets, scarves and pillows.

While this is not classic knitting in the style I prefer, I can see that trendy knitters would find many small and interesting projects here to work on, or to use as ideas for more ambitious projects. I would deem the knitting skill required to be intermediate, due to the use of texture stitches and colorwork. There is a handsomely drawn glossary of techniques, including the embroidery, at the back.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes it's a perfect match..., April 1, 2008

By 

P. R. Ecker "Rubyview" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Knitting Little Luxuries (Paperback)

I bought this book for it's potential gift resources and discovered that the author and myself have very similar taste in yarn and accessories; so much so that for once I actually had the same yarns at hand for the patterns. We just clicked, and so did my needles. So far the patterns have been true to measure, really cute, and the recipients have loved them. I've combined some of these designs with things from 'Knitting Over the Edge' with wonderful results especially with the hats. The instructions are very well written and easy to follow and the photography is beautiful, what more could I ask?

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant knitting, January 30, 2008

By 

Britta Schellenberg "Leserate" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Knitting Little Luxuries (Paperback)

I love to knit, but I often find that current magazines and books offer designs that are a bit "crunchy" (mainly sweaters, chunky mittens, thick wool scarves, etc). This book, however is different and I easily would classify it as one of my favorite knitting books. The designs are elegant, interesting, modern, but with a quirky attitude and old-world feel. All the pictures are beautifully done and the descriptions are easy to understand.

Designs range from simple to difficult and from quick work to weekly projects. I found, as others mentioned as well, that this books lends itself to creating gifts for others and I plan on using it extensively for the next holiday season.