Customer Reviews

Shawls Two (Vogue Knitting: On the Go!)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Most of the 22 shawls use yarn in the #4 category and only two of the shawls are for experienced. Most of them fall into the easy and/or intermediate skill level. The designers are familiar to everyone. Only one shawl is super bulky. All the shawls are knit. There are many beautiful unusual projects. My favorites are:beaded leaf lace shawl, wave pattern shawl, zigzag lace shawl, cabled wrap (cover), textured zigzag shawl, wave and leaf shawl and flowers and snowflakes shawl (back cover). This is one of the better books in this series and highly recommended.

I really enjoy this little book. Its size makes it portable and it contains a diversity of patterns to interest the new to experienced knitter. You have lace, short rows, cable, drop-stitch, garter patterns, etc. from shawlettes to shawls in triangular and rectangular shapes. It is definitely not a book of the same pattern only in different colors and yarns.

I'm an experienced knitter so I was happy to count over 15 shawls listed in the Intermediate to Experienced Skills range. This is probably a book for new knitters to grow into though Midas Touch,Multi-Yarn Wrap, and Textured Shawl would be easy for them. Additionally, there are 9 pages of instructions ranging from needle and yarn weight charts to illustrations for stitches and procedures to help the new knitter.

Lace charts have always spooked me since some seem to go on forever. However, these charts are short, clear and easy to read with the stitch key explained in the pattern text. I didn't work any of the charts but, to the eye, they look error-free.

I've tried a lot of the pattern stitches for the shawls and they're interesting and error-free. However, when I started the Drop-Stitch Shawl,I did discover some confusion on Rows 13 & 15 which may bother a new knitter. The publisher does have an active Corrections page so I sent them an e-mail.

A worth-while buy.

There is a good variety of shawls using different techniques; lace, aran and knit and purl. Also a little shoulder caplet with ruffles. I really like the book, but if there were just one improvement it would be to show the stitches close up, and to give both a front & back view. It's a little book, meant to be handy to stick in the knitting bag and go...but I wish I had some diagram of how to do some of the special stitches like the "make star". I can get through it on the text explanation alone, but a few extra pages would have made it a perfect little book.

I think this is a reasonable book for the price. There is a good range of patterns, including patterns that are lacy and patterns that are more substantial. It's more of a "buffet" of shawl patterns than a book of one particular kind of knitted shawl.

My problem with the book is that the stated yarn weights on many of the patterns don't match the key on page 12, and for a new knitter, this will be confusing. For example, on page 85, the yarn weight listed for a very lacy shawl knit in a lace-weight yarn, is "4." According to the key on page 12, a yarn weight of "4" is the same weight of yarn one would use for an afghan or a fisherman-knit sweater. It's quite a difference.

This inconsistency in yarn weights occurs more than once in the patterns. The corrections page for this pattern book doesn't address this problem. One would expect more from a Vogue pattern.

I am presently working on one of the shawls using my handspun alpaca. The insturctions are easy to understand and my shawl looks great. I hope to use more of the patterns in the book.

I checked this book out from the library (as I do with most knitting books before I buy...) and I found the patterns to be uninspiring. I flipped through this book, and aside from the cover photo, not one caught my eye. The patterns, in my opinion, are dated, both in style and yarn choices.

I was prompted to buy this book based on the existing reviews, and was most pleased when it arrived. I love the small size for easy transport in my knitting bag and the variety of projects.

This is a little book full of interesting and unusual patterns. I have been enjoying it.

Pro: 1. Nice size to fit in a project bag. 2. The cover shawl looks interesting. 3. Use of looped I-cord edging was interesting. 4. Basic instructions include diagrams.
Con: 1. Do you really want to fall asleep with pointy needles in your hands? 2. The projects are much easier than the editors rate them. If you can knit, purl, and slip a stitch, you can do any of the projects. 3. Fugly design: a capelet that hangs like a shower curtain around the model's neck. 4. Lack of originality. The ability to repeat seed stitch, Old Shale, or a dropped stitch in a shawl triangle is NOT a design. Nor is using repeating pattern stitch like an oversized scarf. Save your money; just open a Harmony Stitch Guide or a Barbara Walker guide, cast on for 4 multiples plus a garter border, and knit until you run out of yarn.

This is almost a pocket sized book. I like the pattern shown on the front and maybe 2 others, but the rest I would not waste the effort on. It's not that this book is bad, just not my taste.