Customer Reviews

Knitting Never Felt Better: The Definitive Guide to Fabulous Felting

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

 

 

Following in the footsteps of her bestselling series on edge treatments, Nicky Epstein now lends her signature style to felting. In Knitting Never Felt Better: the definitive guide to fabulous felting, Epstein, a self-professed "felting freak," provides more than 150 before and after swatches and a variety of patterns using felting techniques and fabrics.

The first twenty swatches show how various fibers (wool, alpaca, cashmere) and fiber blends react to the felting process. Epstein then illustrates how lace, cables, various colorwork methods can be incorporated into felting to produce unique results. As with her previous guides, the swatches are large and the photographs show details clearly. Each group of swatches is knit in the same color, enabling the reader to focus on the stitches rather than having their eyes distracted by the yarn color.

What raises this to the level of an exceptional guide are her trademark touches. An entire section is devoted to dimensional felting described by her as: "performing a magic trick: A piece of plain, flat stockinette stitch takes on a three-dimensional quality. You perform this sleight of hand by inserting a shrink-resistant object into the piece before felting." Epstein then takes this technique and uses beads, embroidery and felted leaves to create grape clusters and 3-D flowers, as shown on the cover of the book.

The final third of Knitting Never Felt Better is dedicated to the special touches knitters associate with Epstein's work: appliques and embellishments, as well as templates for decorative items that can be cut from felted wool (a great way to use up swatches and felting mistakes!) and tips on transforming old clothes into felted toys, baby items and accessories. Throughout the volume, Epstein incorporates helpful tips from her readers and she even polled sixty yarn shop owners to create a top ten list of favorite yarns for felting.

Armchair Interviews says: If you've ever contemplated felting, this volume will quickly indoctrinate you into the addictive realm of felting.

Here's the dish about the book.
1. There are great before and after felting photos in many different stich patterns including lace. Even if you do not want to felt the pattern you can see what it looks like without felting.
2. There are before and after pictures of simple stockinette stiches in a variety of yarn
3. You are told how many time to wash the wool to get to the felted look you want.
4. Demension felting is one of the major sections of this book and the author suggest several options for tool to use for deminsional felting. To me this was the most inovative and inspiration portion of the book.

5. The book is beautiful just to look at over and over again.

Caution-
If you are beginer many of the patterns will require the guidence of a more experienced knitter.

Like her previous books, it is an inspirational book to help you design; not a pattern book. Another reason it may not be for the beginer knitter.

As an experienced knitter/felter, I looked over this book uncertain that it would have much to teach me. Boy, was I wrong. Like her "Edge" series, this book is mostly about techniques and applications in the form of swatches and stitch patterns.

This book has sections on basic felting and different fiber types, shibori style and dimensional felting, cables and mosaic patterns, all with swatches that show before and after felting. She has some patterns for garments and other felted items, and while I'm not sure all are for me, all are creative and beautiful examples of the techniques described in the book.

If you're just looking for a book of patterns for felted knits, this is probably not the one for you. If you are looking for one to spark ideas and demonstrate stitch patterns you might not have thought to use on felted items, this book would make a great addition to any knitting library.

Nicky is all about the details! I thoroughly love how she swatches - she takes various patterns and designs and shows them both knitted and knitted & felted. Felting is more art than science - and I think that there are more basic books available out there to get you started - but as always, Nicky "kicks it up a notch" with her inventiveness and vision.

She is the is best at creating definitive guides - regardless of the technique. The photos are lovely. There are several good patterns. Epstein inspires creativity and fearlessness. This is a great book to add to the knitting library.

I've loved Nicky's previous books, both for their ideas and production value. This book is also beautiful to look at--I bought it just for the scarf on the cover. But then I was very disappointed to see that there really isn't that much inside this book. The idea of dimensional felting is interesting, but just how many pages of scarves with nuts and marbles wrapped inside them prior to felting does one need for inspiration? There are some beautiful stitch patterns shown here, that are then ruined by felting. If you are a dedicated felter in need of something a bit different and lack confidence in creating your own designs, this book is for you.

And knitting ever looked better ! Innovative and inspirational. A
great addition to the textile artist's library and a great find for knitters willing to be adventurous. Thanks Nicky ! !

Okay, I do not own this book. I would like to own this book because of the delightful way it takes your imagination and helps you turn your knitted items into something exotic and truly different, truly individual.

Someday I will own this book and enjoy the wonderful flights of fancy with wool by Ms. Epstein. I live in the Deep South and I adore knitting with wool, for which there is limited use in my part of the country. Nevertheless, the book by Ms. Epstein seems more than a bit like painting in the moment - the creative process takes over to leave you with something totally unexpected and maybe even completely delightful. All you need is wool and your knitting needles and the rest is up to you. So few knitting books spark our creativity in this way. Such as the use of buttons or binder clips to create unique textures with your felted work or stitch patterns that offer something out of the ordinary once felted.

I am compelled to offer this opinion because some of the reviews really bugged me; if you like your knitted items unfelted - why buy this bloody book? And at least one review appears to have been written without ever cracking it open!

I recommend this book for anyone interested in felting. It is on my wish list and like Barbara Walker's knitting treasuries offers uncounted opportunities to 'unvent' something marvelous and absolutely yours.

I have never been a fan of Nicky Epstein books - not because I don't like them but because most of the work seemed a bit too fou-fou for me. That being said - I LOVE this book. I make lots of fulled and felted items and I use this book all the time as a reference for how a knitted pattern will look after fulling. This book belongs in the library of any knitter who enjoys fulled and felted work! Highly recommended!

Nicky Epstein is one of the most creative, innovative knitting authors around. Her books all share a certain style of presentation and I believe that this style is what attracts the inevitable, negative responses.

Nicky always gives a very large number of sample swatches in each creative category. Some of the swatches don't make the grade. However, by presenting them all, she gives us valuable insight into her creative processes, thereby encouraging us to create and fail -- or succeed -- as well. If you search the web and take a look at her many absolutely stunning creations, you will see that this creative approach serves her well.

It is also the case that different swatches are either appealing or unappealing depending on what you are looking for. So to be fair, one needs to give her books time and repeated reads to see what they will do for you. If they are not your style after this, that's fine.

However, if Nicky's books DO mesh with your style, and you are looking to be more creative with your felting, this is an inspiring volume that will give you many directions to explore.

I was in love with this book the moment I saw the cover and once I had it in my hands I never regretted buying it. Nicky provides specific instructions, suggestions and comments from her readers to help nail down the specifics for felting. There are also, templates, wonderful patterns and suggestions. I also like the fact that she tells you the actual yarns she used for the patterns.

Even if you've never felted before (like me), you will be itching to get started. I've already done 3 projects and plan to do more.