The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting: Learn to Knit with more than 30 Cool, Easy Patterns [Paperback]

Nancy Queen (Author), Mary Ellen O'Connell (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 19, 2008 | Series: Chicks with Sticks

Chicks, start your sticks! This time it’s all about knitting


Stop letting worry knit your brows, ladies. Let go of your fear of knitting, and take hold of The Chicks with Sticks® Guide to Knitting. With more than 30 simple, chic projects plus simple step-by-step instructions, this book is the complete guide to starting and enjoying this fun, rewarding hobby. New knitters can finish up their first projects in a weekend; more advanced beginners (that is, the ones who have knitted scarves before) can move to the next level. Call your posse and settle down in the living room or at the coffeehouse. The Chicks with Sticks will take care of the rest, from essential tools and materials to basic lessons to more than 30 doable projects, including cool belts, beautiful scarves, felted bags, stylish wraps, and snuggly sweaters.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nancy Queen is one of the Chicks with Sticks, the creators of a popular line of knitting and crochet patterns sold in yarn shops. A popular designer and instructor, she is the author of Crochet for Tots.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, the other Chick, is a lifelong knitter who creates knitting patterns for her own line, Meo Designs, as well as for the Chicks with Sticks.

Both Chicks live near Philadelphia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823006751
• ISBN-13: 978-0823006755
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts > Knitting

More About the Author

Nancy Queen is a fashion merchandiser turned garment designer whose work has been featured in national magazines including Vogue Knitting and Interweave Knits. She is the owner of NobleKnits, a company with patterns available across the U.S. Nancy also sells her kits on QVC.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute projects with expensive yarns December 2, 2010

By A. L. Kirchhoff

Format:Paperback

I taught myself how to knit with this book. However, I found their diagrams somewhat hard to follow and had to supplement the instruction with other knitting books. I found the Stitch n' Bitch Knitters Handbook to have better, more complete beginner instructions and diagrams.

The patterns are very cute, though, which is why I selected this book for beginning my knitting habit. I've made three items so far, including the men's sweater, and have found the patterns fairly easy to follow. They are nicely broken down and they don't jump into the terminology too quickly.

The main reason I gave the book 3 stars is because although the patterns are cute, particularly the women's garments, they are made with very expensive yarns that are not easily substituted without sacrificing the style which makes them cute. For example, they use mohair for two sweaters, which really should not be substituted for another yarn. Mohair is also hard for a beginner to work with, but they don't discuss at all the difficulties of working with it. They also use very expensive handspun, hand-dyed yarns for some sweaters. The sweaters are very nice, but would not be cute without the unique look of the handspun and hand-dyed yarn. A cheaper, bulky wool could be substituted, but I don't think it would be worth making because the patterns by themselves are very basic and the finished product would be rather boring.

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad book October 5, 2008

By Tammy

Format:Paperback

I only gave this book four stars strictly because of the lack of instructions. This book does great explaining the purl and knit stitches and basic methods. But beyond that you're not going to find much. It does include fabulous and beautiful projects that doesn't look like something your grandmother would wear (the whole reason I bought it). I would have liked more tips on troubleshooting and solving common knitting problems. But this book does do a good job explaining the basics. If you want to go beyond the basics and maybe venture into fair isle knitting, get another book.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book! November 13, 2008

By Katherine E. Strout

Format:Paperback

I absolutely love this book! It covers some the basics; for example they'll show you how to do a garter stitch and the patterns after are garter stitch only. Then they'll show you how to purl, and the patterns after incorporate purling, adding onto the regular knit stitch.

Of course, if you're more advanced at knitting then this book probably isn't for you, but I, as a beginner, absolutely love it! The patterns are pretty neat too (I have yet to finish or start one).

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars chick's with sticks rock January 8, 2009

By ozone mama

Format:Paperback

Awesome book! I am a first time knitter...never even touched a knitting needle before and this book had me knitting in one afternoon!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Projects, confusing directions December 15, 2010

By M. Stoneman

Format:Paperback

I love the projects in this book but the instructions for two out of three projects that I've done so far have been either confusing or missing important information. One of the washcloth instructions tells you to cast on 50 stitches for a 4x4 basket weave-- do the math-- it doesn't work! Another one lists the size options as "large" or "x-large" but the pattern gives options for small or large-- what did I miss here?? It also tells you to put your yarn onto double needles twice and the finished product does not look like the picture. The first part of the book does do a nice job of explaining basic knitting but the patterns could be a bit confusing and if you don't know what you're doing to adapt you could end up ripping things out and wondering what you did wrong.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I had thought June 10, 2012

By Kat's Reading Space

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book after my best friend shared hers with me. There are many good patterns in it however while I am an advanced beginner knitter, I still found on more than one occasion that the instructions were hard to read and there were mistakes in some patterns. The one that has horrible mistakes starts on page 97 (Guy's Tailgate Sweater). When knitting the back, I realized at the end the final instructions were completely missing. After trying to contact the authors, to no avail, I finally sat down and worked it out.

I recommend this book because it has some great patterns however please be aware there are problems and the authors don't seem to want to be found for help.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Guifde to Knitting June 4, 2010

By C. Bailey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I found this book hard to follow the diagrams. As far as casting on, I had a friend show me a way that worked for me. The book only shows one way while stating that there are many ways. Would not recommend for a beginner. It almost squashed my desire to learn knitting. I am an avid crochet fan and have been so for over 30 years.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thirty simple, contemporary fashion projects November 8, 2008

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

GUIDE TO KNITTING is a guide for beginning knitters, covering all the basic terminology, instructions and providing guides to basic patterns through thirty simple, contemporary fashion projects. Diagrams, assembly instructions and more make for a compelling read.