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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, September 4, 2001
This review is from: Knitting With Novelty Yarns : Exploring Color, Texture, and Style (Paperback)
I was totally prepared to love this book, but when I read it, I found it to be quite disappointing. Whilst it has two or three helpful tips for knitting with novelty yarn and a gazillion gorgeous closeups of totally luscious yarns, it doesn't begin to go anywhere near the "Exploration of Color, Texture, and Style" promised in the title. In fact, aside from a few swatches knit with novelty yarns, it doesn't explore anything at all. Much of the information in the book has to do with correcting faults in sweaters, information that is presented more thoroughly in many other books. I was expecting something of the quality of Sally Melville's Styles (an excellent book that delves into the many uses for oddments). This book just doesn't fulfill it's promise of being a creative exploration. It's just a pattern book with a tip or two on fit, nothing more. And quite honestly, the designs are mostly dated (unless you're on a 1980's retro kick), and some are downright ugly. I tried to like it, but it just didn't offer me anything.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Luscious photographs, helpful information, August 6, 2001
This review is from: Knitting With Novelty Yarns : Exploring Color, Texture, and Style (Paperback)
I am the kind of knitter who avoids the conservative - for example, I haven't used sheeps wool to knit with for years (partly also because I am allergic to sheeps wool). As a knitter I am magnetically drawn to the profusion of "novelty" yarns that have appeared in recent years. Because of the high price of such yarns, I have even experimented with making my own "component" yarns using two or more sale yarns in my stash. This book is a must for knitters who want to get the best effect using such lovely and unusual yarns. The photographs of the yarn skeins and stitch swatches are guaranteed to leave you drooling and your fingers itching to pick up your needles. The text, as written by the two designers who started novelty yarn companies "Prism" and "Trendsetter" (common names to those who haunt yarn stores and finger beautiful, expensive skeins of yarn)is supremely informative. The first half of the book is given over to explanation of the different fiber types (ANIMAL: angora, alpaca, cashmere, mohair, sheeps wool; PLANT: cotton, rayon, linen; PLANT/ANIMAL HYBRID: silk; and SYNTHETIC: acrylic, polyester and nylon). and how the different types of novelty yarn (boucle, brushed, chained and knitted, chenille, eyelash, nub, plied, woven and component) will be best showcased depending on the stitch used. Swatches of four different types of yarn all knitted using the same stitch (see below) are photographed together, perfectly demonstrating the text. (The swatches are knitted in stockinette, reverse stockinette, garter, seed or moss stitch, simple slip stitch, tweed checks, linen stitch, half linen stitch, dropped long stitch and dropped cable stitch.) This, in my opinion, is the major plus of the book, making the cost worthwhile to keep it as a reference on my knitting shelf. There are also good sections on how the different fibers handle while knitting, what kind of "hand" the knitted fabric will produce, tips on working with unusual yarns, recommendations for needle size to get the effect you want, the fine points of fitting, a good section on making knitted or crocheted edgings, and, as always, the importance (I call it the zen) of swatching. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is purely personal taste. I was disappointed that the sweater examples seemed busy and fussy to me, although some of the shawls/wraps were lovely. Even so, if you love to knit with novelty yarns, this book belongs in your library.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous!, July 4, 2001
This review is from: Knitting With Novelty Yarns : Exploring Color, Texture, and Style (Paperback)
This book, written by the owners of Prism and Trendsetter yarns, is a fiber lover's delight! These folks know and love their fibers. The book is chock full of yummy yarns, beautifully photographed in luscious color. Not just a "pretty face", it is also a great source for practical information about the novelty yarns that fascinate all fiber fiends! The book is well organized into sections detailing fiber types, basic fitting instructions, and construction techniques. The real joy for this knitter, however, are the sections on "Knitting Successfully with Novelty Yarns," (including actual pictures of pattern stitches and the different results obtained with different types of novelty yarns), and the "Flock Exchange"; patterns for sweaters and wraps, worked two different ways by each of the authors, using different yarns, and sometimes different designing details. Both of these sections are especially filled with hints and tips on how to get the best results from the yarns. While this book will undoubtedly be criticized by some for using expensive, possibly "harder to find in your local yarnshop" yarns (they use their Prism and Trendsetter yarns), detailed schematics and gauges are given, and the possibilities for creating with novelty yarns seem endless. I thought this book was a bit pricey for a paperback, but found the photographs well worth it. I have already incorporated one of the slip stitch patterns, which showcases novelty yarn quite nicely, into a shawl I am currently working on. Cannot wait to try some more! If you enjoy working with novelty yarns (or just drooling over them), I hightly recommend this book.
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