Customer Reviews

Knitting From Start to Finishing: Everything You Need For Learning and Improving Your Skills

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a clear, straightforward video that teaches the basics of knitting and a few more complicated techniques - perfect for beginners! Advanced knitters won't learn much; intermediate ones will pick up a trick or two. The patterns given are easy and simple enough that you can memorize them and knit hats, tams, booties, etc even if you haven't got the book handy. There's no attempt to turn knitting into some kind of 'artsy farsty' endeavour, either. Bev appears genuine, friendly, a bit awkward in front of the camera - obviously a Real Knitter whose goal is to teach you how to knit, not to impress you or sell you something. Many videos are more concerned with beautiful scenery and showing off the instructor (Erica Wilson's comes to mind) but not this one. You see more of Bev's hands than her face so you can actually see what she's doing. The focus comes and goes in a few of the close up shots, but never so much that you don't get a really good look at what's happening.

I have been an enthusiastic knitter for decades. But I could never master the yarn-in-the-left-hand technique, certainly not for the purl stitch, despite many attempts and much effort. I even came to the conclusion that the difficulty of purling while holding the yarn in the left hand was the reason for (beloved and dearly missed) Elizabeth Zimmerman's devotion to garter-stitch-in-the-round. (No purl.) HOWEVER, this video showed me the way! The finger movements that Bev Dillon demonstrates make it as easy and natural as... scratching an itch! All my knitting is faster, easier, and less tiring now, and knitting with two yarns (one in each hand) is a joy. OVERALL, the video is probably most informative for beginners. And for beginners, it is indeed terrific. If you want to learn to knit for the first time, this video is definitly an excellent choice. If you are already an experienced knitter, there may be less here for you--unless you want to master yarn-in-left-hand knitting!

I have purchase several DVD's in order to retain what I have learned in knitting classes. This is the best so far. I am a basic beginning knitting and in less than 2 hours I made a pair of baby botties. It is clear, concise and easy to follow.

This dvd will help novice knitters. It gives you the basic knitting foundation with a grandma type of feel. There are absolutely no bells and whitles on this dvd --infact it seems it was originally recorded on VHS or beta (ha-ha!) and the production crew coverted it to dvd. What I'm trying to say is, this dvd was way too expensive for the quality of the dvd. Now, if you can get passed that, it is good for establishing basic knitting skills. The one BIG negative though is the instructor prefers Continental Knitting and most of her knitting examples use Continental method instead of American/Throw method. She does begin the video with American, but all of the projects use Continental. One should know that before shelling out the bucks for this dvd.

I checked this title out from the library as a beginning knitter, and it really cleared up a lot for me. My technique is better and I can now knit more than just scarves! Bev (although not overly animated) is darling and anticipates the mistakes beginners will make, then clearly explains how to avoid them. She may be a bit bland, but who wants an aerobics instructor for a knitting teacher, anyway? The other thing that surprised me about this tape was my mother-in-law, an expert knitter, also picked up a few tricks. I was so impressed that one video was able to help both of us, even though we are on opposite ends of the ability spectrum.

If you are tired, this video will put you to sleep. No offense to Bev, but the quality and speed at which this video moves is poor. The picture is fuzzy and the colors are not good. I am sure her talent as a knitter is excellent, but this is a very over-priced video. Maybe all of this is due to the date it was copyrighted, the video is over 10 years old. I gave this video a high rating at 3 because, like I said, I am sure she is talented, but the video isn't.

I just learned to knit 3 weeks ago and believe me, I'm at the bottom of the class in terms of skill. After watching Bev Dillon's video, however, I instantly began to relax and understand basic skills I couldn't seem to retain from class to class. Now I'm not so ashamed of my projects and I actually have a usable scarf! I think Bev is very talented and has the ability to instill the love of knitting through her gentle and clear manner. Get this video if you need help with your knitting.

As a self taught knitter, it was great to finally get instruction from a more experienced knitter. However, Bev Dillon, while extremely knowledgeable, is very, very boring.

There seemed to be just one camera filming this, so when there are techniques that should be closely watched, the focus is blurry and the camera angle is funky.

I must say that this was a helpful guide in techniques such as color knitting and reading charts. The copy I had did not come with a guide booklet but I was still able to make notes as I watched and I have seen a great improvement in my knitting.

Although the instructor tries very hard to be clear, simple and explicit, she introduces some terms early-on that later create confusion and are not relevant (in my opinion). Some camera angles fail to clearly show some of the crucial stitches.

I ordered at least five DVD's for Knitting. This is the best one out of the five that I watched. Very Good, would recommend it to anyone.