Customer Reviews

Knitting Loves Crochet: 22 Stylish Designs to Hook Up Your Knitting with a Touch of Crochet

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is full of shamelessly feminine sweaters for girlie girls--young ones. They're beautiful designs and the crocheted edgings and embellishments are perfect. After nearly a year of knitting hiatus, my teenage daughter looked through this book and started knitting and crocheting again. She gave loads of fingerless gloves to her friends for Christmas because they were so easy and quick and gave nearly instant gratification. This book has also given me the opportunity to knit a garment and pass it off to my daughter to finish with the crochet edging or flowers. We just started on the Tweed and Flowers Cardigan. She is pleased with that and I couldn't be happier. Thank you, Candi Jensen! For that reason, this book is getting four starts from me. I would have rated it lower otherwise.

I've never been a Granny Square fan, and the return of that motif isn't all too exciting for me. There are quite a few projects with Granny Squares, especially in the section on knitting for your home. (It's probably a personal quirk, but they remind me too much of the drawstring lunch buckets my Grandmother made for us out of crochet cotton and bleach bottles when we were in school.) As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to Granny Squares. Also, the inclusion of a couple of projects for the family dog isn't of particular interest to me, but there are only two projects in the entire book like that. The other thing that bothered me about this book is that there are several patterns for pillows. I guess I've never considered pillows a pattern unto themselves, since I use gauge swatches and pattern stitch swatches to make pillows. For me, it's just not worth the space in a book to knit or crochet a square and then turn it into a pillow.

The child's white sweater with red cherries stole the show. Not only is the little cardigan charming, but the little girl who is modeling it is gorgeous. She made me laugh when I saw her picture. I'll surely make that sweater for several other little girls and laugh when I see them in it as well.

Overall, I wish the author had stuck with the sweaters and accessories and let the rest go. Happily, the sweater chapter is the largest and most extensive of the entire book. If the author had simply included a section on crocheted embellishments and given suggestions on how to embellish or alter a pattern and left the rest out, it would have been much better, in my opinion. As it is, about half of this book is appealing to me as a knitter. The sweater section is by far the best part of the book and I'll look forward to more from this author when she majors on her strength in designing romantic and feminine sweaters and garments for young women. However, my daughter's return to knitting and crochet is worth the purchase price and then some!

I agree with the other reviewers that the book is worth buying and excellent to give you new ideas for using crochet with knitting. However, be warned that the sizing is fairly small. All of the womens patterns are either size 36 inch or 40 inch FINISHED measurements except for one pattern which is 40.5 inches.

In the past year there has been a lot of exciting and interesting work created that combine both knitting and crochet. With the hope of finding inspiring and innovative designs and based solely on the book's description and intriguing cover, I bought this book to fill in an Amazon order and get the free shipping.

I was extremely disappointed. There are 22 "stylish designs" in this book and only 7 patterns are garments. The other patterns are accessories or home decorating and over half of those are simply crocheted flowers slapped on a knitting project or the tired basic granny square worked into one more design.

The knit i-cord dog leash with chain 3 crochet loops around the handle for "trim" is the worst of the book but others come very close. I wish I had been able to scan through this book because it would never have passed my buy test -- are there at least three patterns that I might be interested in or that inspire me? The pattern on the cover of this book was the ONLY one.

i bought this book because i love to knit just as much as i love to crochet. my favorite projects have always incorporated both techniques. i was very excited when i saw this title and got it right away. the designs are very pretty and feminine. i have never felted before and there is a gorgeous knit felted bag with crochet flower embellishments. it says it is a good first felting project so i am excited to do it. i was also excited to see the great illustrations in this book - most importantly the ones showing how to pick up crochet stitches to knit, and how to pick up knit stitches to crochet! these illustrations are invaluable to someone like me who enjoys combining the techniques. there are also great illustrations showing how to sew a piece of knitting to a piece of crochet, and vice-versa. there are simple, clear instructions alongside of these great illustrations as well. the book is broken up into three sections: accessories (purses, hats, gloves, scarves, & dog sweater), sweaters, and home accents (pillows, place mats, napkin rings, afghans, & a very cute christmas stocking). the sweaters are all very feminine and have a beautiful, delicate quality. each sweater is very special - i believe this is where this book truly shines. every sweater in the book is just as special as the one on it's cover (which is gorgeous). my other favorites have to be the "Lacy Beaded Fingerless Gloves", the "Over the Shoulder Opera Purse", and the "Flower Garden Felted Bag". i am so happy that i have a book with some techniques to refer to when i am doing my mixed projects. i am very happy with this book and excited that someone put a book out that shows the beauty and harmony that melding knitting and crochet creates! i would love to see a book of just techniques for doing knitting and crocheting together come out (hint, hint!)!

I was looking forward to this book because I already know how to crochet and recently learned to knit. Books about knit and crochet hardly mix the two, except to use a crochet edging or embellishment. Sadly, this book is mostly more of the same, plus some of the patterns are so obvious that they are of interest only to beginners. A few designs actually integrate the two techniques as opposed to attaching a piece of one to a piece of the other, but I just didn't like them.

I was quite taken by the blue tank top on the cover, and decided to make it even though I hardly wear sleeveless tops. Then I took a look at the pattern and discovered that there was no photo of it on a model. Showing a model in an unusual pose is often a sign that the garment doesn't fit very well, but no model at all leads me to think it has serious flaws. Furthermore, instructions are given for only two sizes--small/medium at 34" and medium/large at 40"--with no indication of fit other than the wool/cotton yarn keeps "the knit body snug". How snug? Should you knit it smaller than your bust? Should you allow an inch of ease?

There are no schematics and no crochet symbols. Instructions are a peculiar combination of fully written-out sentences and abbreviations, so they tend to run long. There are no skill ratings, but most projects look to be easy to intermediate.

It's difficult to keep my personal taste out of things, but I just didn't like most of the designs. I would make the little sweater with the cherries and bobbles if I had a little girl to knit for, but I don't. The cropped sweaters and shrugs will be out of style before you know it, and patterns for crocheted edgings, flowers, and motifs are free on the internet. I'm giving it two stars because I think the "cost per unit of useful information" is low.

Postscript: I made the cute little sweater for my niece even though I hardly ever see her. The instructions for the knitting were fine, but the instructions for the crocheting were wrong, wrong, wrong. I had to rewrite them myself, order more yarn, and the sweater was unfinished by xmas.

I would reduce this review to one star if I could. Do not buy this book if you value your time, money, or sanity.

Not really.... but....

Last weekend I was home for a few hours between two trips to different cities, and I had time to open my mail. In one package I found a book I wanted to write a few years ago, but I never could find a publisher. My tentative book title was "Crochet for Knitters." The book I received in the mail is "Knitting Loves Crochet" by Candi Jensen. It is almost exacltly the book I wanted to write, showing how knitting and crochet can be combined in fun and interesting ways to create projects that would not be possible using either one of the techniques alone.

While it is not a learn to knit or a learn to crochet book, there is an introduction that includes ideas and tips for combining the two techniques, and a detailed, illustrated glossary that serves as a tutorial for those who may not know the basic crochet stitches, and as a refresher for those who may need reminders about many knitting and crochet techniques.

The projects are fun, and include accessories, sweaters, and home dec projects. Each pattern includes clearly marked sections for knitting and crochet instructions, and the instructions are broken down in a tidy step-by-step fashion, with numbers for multiple sizes in separate columns, making it very easy to keep track fo the numbers for your size.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 just because all of the sweaters seemed to be designed for young, skinny people. I would have liked to have seen at least one sweater that was suited for older and larger readers such as myself. Experienced knitters will be able to use the techniques shown to embellish sweaters from other patterns and books, so this is not a show-stopper.

All in all, however, I'm glad Candi wrote this book. Now I can cross it off of my list of book ideas once and for all!

I bought this book because I have a few frustrations as someone who prefers to crochet but is only able to find interesting patterns in knit. Or, the patterns I find lack something...they are too much of the same pattern over and over, no texture or color variations (other than variegated yarn). Plus, both knit and crochet patterns are too grannyish and are not in the least bit exciting.

I got excited when I saw this book, because I thought it would blend textures with knitting and crochet..and possibly make the knitting not as boring by adding a little crochet to it and by adding a little bit of style and femininity. The tank top on the cover created all these expectations because it is cute and feminine.

The book has the tank top, and another pretty and realistic sweater. There is a v-kneck cardigan that is not very flattering. There is one sweater in the book that is pretty and very vintage in an 18th century kind of way, but who would ever wear it. There are two shrugs...are we tired of shrugs yet? And..hello...they're not in style anymore. A couple of crocheted purses...which in a world where your purse is a statement and coach bags are it...who really wants to carry a felted purse with big tacky flowers on it unless you live in mayberry. Girly beaded fingerless gloves that you can wear with your prom dress...yeah right( AND who wears fingerless gloves unless you got them as a gift from a goofy knitting/crocheting relative). A dopey hat and arm warmers. What are arm warmers and who wants or needs them? A cute twenties-style crochet hat with 3 flowers. Some bad scarves that look like you dyed your grandma's table runner with bad colors and tied it around your kneck (attempted suicide?). An opera purse...nothing special. A back-to-school backpack that you will never make and your kid will never use...although it is kinda sweet. A DOG SWEATER...Aren't there enough dogs wearing bad sweaters...didn't God provide them with a coat to begin with? A dog leash...finally a pattern for a dog leash..I've been searching (sarcasm).I didn't pay all this money for this book for dog leash and dog sweater patterns...when I can get 50 on the internet for free. There is a really overly cutesy and girly and boxy little girls sweater. There were some nice household items: lots of nice knitted and crocheted pillows, a pretty afghan that is not that innovative (you could have come up with the design without this pattern) except maybe in the color choices. Elegant placemat and ringholders...yawn( sort of pretty in a granny kinda way but not exciting). And...to top it off, a christmas stocking, yawn....another thing that I can find 50 of on the internet. Thank goodness for one thing...no FUN FUR patterns!!

After I got the book, I immediately shelved it and moved on. Buy it if you can get it really cheap for the few decent patterns, or take a look at it in the library first...I may donate my copy.

Candi Jensen's projects are designed to highlight the pairing of knitting and crocheting: arts usually kept apart in their own books. From embellishments from the world of crochet to finished sweaters and clothing to knitted products with crochet bands and embellishments incorporated into the design, KNITTING LOVES CROCHET pairs up the best of both worlds.

Excellent book, excellent photos and diagrams. Lots of projects from basic to advanced. Something for everyone. Great book for knitters who want to expand their skill set and excellent book for crocheters who want to learn to knit.

This book is simple enough for a beginner yet has advanced designs also. Good instructions easy to understand. Creative pieces.