Vintage Knits: Thirty Knitting Designs from Rowan for Men and Women [Hardcover]

Kim Hargreaves (Author), Kaffe Fassett (Author), Martin Storey (Author), Sarah Dallas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2005

A stylish collection inspired by films like Amelie and Chocolat, Vintage Knits recalls an era of well-tailored designs with elegant finishing touches.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

These knitwear designs draw their inspiration from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, when fashion emanated charm, simplicity, and elegance. Rejuvenated by the postwar years, men and women embraced styles that captured feminine appeal and masculine exuberance, glorying in the recovered pleasures of fine cloth, rich texture, and relaxed fit. Inspired by old photos, archival patterns, and films like Breakfast at Tiffany's, the classic designs in Vintage Knits have been adapted for modern figures and ease of wear. Leading names in knitting—Kim Hargreaves, Kaffe Fassett, and Lucinda Guy, to name a few—bring new life to vintage, with stunning designs for belted jackets, roll-neck sweaters, delicate cardigans, and simple wraps. Photographed in the beautiful French countryside, the featured designs are complemented with vintage pieces and accessories, making this not just a knitting book, but a captivating fashion pictorial.

About the Author

Kim Hargreaves, Kaffe Fassett, Martin Storey, Sarah Dallas, Sharon Peake, Louisa Harding, Brandon Mably, and Lucinda Guy are all professional knitting writers and designers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 138 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570763127
• ISBN-13: 978-1570763120
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book, great looking patterns!, September 4, 2005

By 

Loribird (Ocracoke, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage Knits: Thirty Knitting Designs from Rowan for Men and Women (Hardcover)

I pre-ordered this book based on the positive editorial reviews, and I was not disappointed! The book itself is beautiful eye-candy - the photography inspired me immediately. The patterns are very well presented and seemed at first reading to be easy to follow. The book includes projects for a range of knitting levels, from a long sweater coat in chunky yarn on size 10 needles, to a fair isle sweater done on size 3s. The suggested yarns come from the Rowan collection, but a description of each yarn (gauge, content, length, etc.) is given in the back of the book, which makes substituting ever so much easier. All the patterns in this book are tailored (i.e. close fitting) but they do include sizing from XS (32" bust) to XL (40" bust). I am an intermediate knitter, and am planning to knit several projects from this book ASAP, and will probably make more as my knitting skills increase. All in all, a lovely book.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardcover "Vintage Style", October 14, 2005

By 

Lynne E. (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vintage Knits: Thirty Knitting Designs from Rowan for Men and Women (Hardcover)

Since I loved the "Vintage Style" pattern collection enough to commit right away to three different projects, I couldn't resist purchasing this new hardcover edition. It has at least one important correction, because it includes the yarn color key to the chart for the Kaffe Fassett vest that was inadvertently omitted from the softcover edition. This is not a book for brand-new knitters, because the patterns use light- to medium-weight yarns, include shaping, and may utilize "advanced" techniques like intarsia. However, the finished garments are well worth the effort! Many of the patterns can be previewed on the web sites of Rowan yarn retailers that carry the "Vintage Style" pattern collection.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but flawed patterns, August 31, 2008

By 

Alison Bear - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vintage Knits: Thirty Knitting Designs from Rowan for Men and Women (Hardcover)

I love all the beautiful patterns in this book. They are all very unique and different from any other knitting patterns I have ever seen. My only problem with this book is that while most of the directions seem correct, you will get to the end of knitting a piece and realize that part of the directions were omitted and the piece you knit does not match the piece in the book. I have been knitting for several years and have made two sweaters from this book so far and each one I was in for a horrible surprise when I finished. The problems are easily fixable for the frequent knitter but it is very frustrating to have to rip out half of your work to fix the problem.