Noni Flowers: 40 Exquisite Knitted Flowers [Paperback]

Nora Bellows (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 10, 2012

Designer Nora J. Bellows’s extraordinary Noni® bag and flower patterns have earned her acclaim and endeared her to a loyal following of knitters all over the world. Now, in her first book, she offers lifelike knitted flowers that rival the beauty of true botanicals. This is a collection of luscious designs and essential techniques that knitters will turn to again and again. Inside, you’ll find:


   • 40 exceptional knitted and felted flowers, from Angel’s Tears Ddaffodils to ylang ylang
   • 6 beautiful yet practical garment, accessory, and home projects perfect for floral embellishment
   • Clear instructions for knitting, felting, wiring, and finishing your work

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Both beautiful and botanically accurate,  Bellows's designs would make lovely gifts, and the flowers would also be suitable for wedding bouquets or table arrangements." -- Nanetie Donohue, Library Journal

"Noni Flowers by Nora J. Bellows will brighten your knitting with forty incredibly lifelike flower patterns and six floral-embellished projects." --Interweave Knits

About the Author

A former educator, Nora Bellows began creating one-of-a-kind felted bags and flowers under the brand Noni® in 2001. She began publishing her own patterns a few years later. Noni® patterns are available in yarn stores worldwide, and have been translated into German, Danish, and Swedish. Nora teaches workshops across the country, and her work has appeared in Interweave Felt, Knitting, Knit Today, Let’s Knit, Simply Knitting, and World of Wool (Ver Filzt Und Zuge Naht). Her studio is in Maryland, where she lives with her husband, son, and garden.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft; Original edition (April 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307586715
• ISBN-13: 978-0307586711
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Designer Nora J. Bellows's extraordinary Noni® bag and flower patterns have earned her acclaim and endeared her to a loyal following of knitters all over the world: Nora began creating one-of-a-kind felted bags and flowers under the Noni® brand in 2001. She began publishing her own pattern collection a few years later. Noni® patterns are available in yarn stores worldwide and have been translated into several languages. Nora teaches workshops across the country, and her work has appeared in Interweave Felt, Knitting, Knit Today, Let's Knit, Simply Knitting, and Ver Filzt und Zuge Naht. Her studio is in Savage, Maryland, where she lives with her husband, son, and garden. Visit the Noni Flowers book website at www.noniflowers.com for more images and information.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a Book of Instructions for 40 Realistic Noni Flowers! April 10, 2012

By Lynne E. TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

For years, I've been buying individual Noni bag patterns, just to get the directions for the gorgeous, realistic, decorative felted flowers. And now, at long last, Noni creative designer Nora Bellows has published this fabulous book, NONI FLOWERS, which includes instructions for 40 different Noni flowers. The flower patterns range from Sunflower and Dahlia through Pansy and Orange Blossom; the book also includes six lovely, well-worth-knitting, project patterns (May Violets Fingerless Gloves, Forget-Me-Not Pillow, Sunflower Infinity Wrap, Gossamer Fuchsia Wrap, Cherry Blossom Pauper's Purse, and Creeping Phlox Garden Clutch).

For the technically inclined knitter, NONI FLOWERS has a wonderful two-page illustration of how one flower pattern will look when knit with 12 different yarns and gauges. The tiniest flower, knit with silk yarn on six-0 (.7mm) needles, is 3/8" high; the largest flower, knit with merino top on US 50 needles, is 8-1/4" high. All of the flowers can be knit at any gauge, because the instructions are given in rounds and rows (no charts). The flowers can be felted, or not. Felting will make the knitted stitches more dense, but will not dramatically shrink the flower size.

Another beautiful two-page spread explains the anatomy of a knitted flower, and indicates the various small flower parts by their Latin names (the Latin names are used for the parts in the instructions). There are directions, illustrated with close-up photos, for special techniques, such as knitting with multiple colors in a single round, wiring stems and blossoms, or weaving in ends so that the flowers will not be marred by errant, poking-out ends.

All of the flower patterns give the difficulty level: starting out (easy, 13 patterns), on the way (some experience, 19 patterns), intrepid (experienced, 3 patterns), resolute (expert, 5 patterns). For example, the Creeping Phlox is easy; the Crocus requires some experience; the Gardenia requires experience; the Oriental Lily requires expertise. The Tulip on the book cover is an experienced pattern. The book also has two indexes: an unconventional one using lovely thumbnail photos of each flower pattern; and a very good standard one that lists the flowers, techniques, projects, etc.

This is a superb book that any knitter should welcome. Although there are many excellent knitted flower pattern books currently available, this is the one that I would select, if I could have only one in my knitting book collection.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nonis knitted flowers May 5, 2012

By Stickmamma

Format:Kindle Edition

I got Nonis book with flowers just yesterday, I am a late starter, and I love it!
Her designs have been favourites of mine for a long time. She has the eye for this, to combine materials and colours to make the experience of her designs so much more.
In her book Knitted flowers, I especially like that the flowers shown in the book are both just knitted and also felted. This gives the designs another dimention.
The technique pages in the beginning of the book are really instructive. There is even a page showing me the Anatomy of a Knitted Flower. Fantastic! The skill levels varies so that there are flowers for everyone to knit, if you are a beginner or one who have been knitting all your life.
When I slowly turn the pages of the book, I see the pictures first, the flowers in their natural colours. I want to knit them all, now! Then I read the patterns. The instructions are clear and easy to understand.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Works of Art May 6, 2012

By Rudy Fan

Format:Paperback

This is a gorgeous book. It just makes me happy to look at all these lovely flowers. They look natural, almost real. I also crochet and think these are the most realistic ones I've come across, crochet or knitting. They are truly works of art.

The book itself stays open pretty well and is of good quality. It should last a long time, long enough to make all these lovely flowers. The patterns are clear and detailed, ranging in difficulty for all knitter's abilities. The photography shows each type of flower in a natural setting of stems and leaves (along with some other displays). The leaves in these pics are genuine so that does add to the believability. I can just imagine plucking a flower off the stem, making a beautiful brooch, and having someone ask, "Is it real?"

One of my favorite parts of the book is where the author shows scale and how changing yarn and/or needles will greatly change the final product. I had never seen it shown with such impact. I am going to always check my gauge from now on.

There are 6 projects in the book. They are:

May Flowers Fingerless Gloves
Forget-me-not Pillow
Sunflower Infinity Wrap
Gossamer Fuschia Wrap
Cherry Blossom Pauper's Purse
Creeping Phlox Garden Clutch

They are all lovely, but that Fuschia Wrap is so sweet with the fuschias hanging down from the wrap (more like a thin, wide scarf) just like they do in a big potted hanging plant.

So, if you want to make some works of art of your own, then I would definitely recommend buying this book.