Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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94 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Weirdest Knitting Book. EVER., December 2, 2002
I am too nice to give this book 1 star. It does have numerous basic patterns in it, and an instruction section, and it's nicely designed. But it has too many problems for me to recommend it, and I would certainly never purchase a copy for myself or anyone else.Other reviewers have touched on the main issues: the uselessness of many of the projects, and the lack of photographs for every project. Nobody, but nobody, needs a beer cozy or a knitted paperweight. The only photographed sweater design in the book is unattractive (I might have revised this opinion if it had been shown on a person, but as it is shown in the book, it simply looks like it would not be flattering to many people). Many of the more important patterns are left to the imagination, with no supporting photos. So there is a photo of a dishcloth (essentially a knitted square in a single color) but not of a much more complicated poncho. Furthermore, there are too many patterns in this book for things like dishcloths, and the potentially quite terrifying "knitted curtain" (nevermind that knits really shouldn't be hung, and tend to droop thanks to gravity), and not enough to get excited about. I don't know how it is that publishers don't get it through their heads with the consistent criticisms of every knitting book with this problem: knitters want to see pictures for every single project in a book, and if it is a garment, they want to see it on a model. If every project is not photographed and garments are shown flat or on hangers instead of on models, reviews of a book will generally be less positive than they might have been otherwise, period, and more-experienced knitters will habitually steer newer knitters away from the book in question. Percival has a sweet and friendly tone throughout the book, and that may be the best reason to pick it up (in fact, one reason I gave this book two stars rather than one was pretty much for the same reason that you never tell your friend that you really hate her beloved new dress - fear of breaking her dear little heart). Other than that, give this one a miss and look into "Hip to Knit" or "The Yarn Girls' Guide", both of which have a variety of interesting projects and instructions for beginners.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This Could Have Been a Much Better Book!, January 23, 2005
Oh! All the potential was there. Funky projects, great photos, clear instructions.... If ONLY there were pictures of ALL of the projects! I like Percival's writing and I thought the beginning knitting instruction in the book was clear and helpful. In fact, I often refer to the beginning section of the book for helpful tips when I get stuck on projects from other books.
However, as a beginning knitter, I cannot visualize the projects that aren't pictured, and, according to the other reviews, neither can a lot of the experienced knitters. For example, there is one pattern in the book for a baby blanket. But you have no idea what it's going to look like. How about the Groovy Curtain? Shouldn't you get SOME idea of how it's going to look before you go ahead and make one to hang in your home? No photos of the Sculpted Hat (doesn't that just sound like something you would have to see before you made?) or the Urban Folk Shawl which is enough to make you crazy because it does sound cool, but how can you know for sure - and it takes 8 skeins of yarn....you kinda want to know what you're in for before you make that sort of investment. No photos of the Tube Top - how can you see where you may need to make adjustments for your body type? And what's an Ice Skating scarf? I NEED PICTURES!
And yeah, maybe some of the projects are a little silly, but the beer cozy looks like it would make cool wristbands and the paperweight could be stuffed with batting for a cat toy, or beans for a hackysack. I do like the two hats that are shown and the slippers and baby booties are quite cute.
Most of the beginning projects here you can either figure out on your own or find free on the internet. The level 3 projects are the best of the book, I think. I would be interested to see her next book and perhaps Percival won't have the bad luck of being paired with such an unfortunate editor.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A VERY ENJOYABLE book for beginners and others, April 22, 2003
By A Customer
Before I bought this book I had never knit anything. I now have knitted several projects from the book. Since I am your basic unfinished-project person, this is very satisfying! And it's fun to go and buy scrumptious new yarn.The book uses plain English for directions, no abbreviations. What's very helpful, each project lists the different skills (and knitting equipment) you will need to finish, and then the page number to find the explanation of those skills -- quite useful. Also, the photography is beautiful, which makes me want to knit each project. It looks like some of the negative reviews are from already-knitters disappointed with how simple the patterns are. I have to say that I brought this book to the house of an experienced knitting friend who was very taken with the designs. She has now knitted twelve change purses (no kidding), and wanted to borrow the book, so I bought her a copy. She then bought a copy for her mother-in-law. Also, when I went by the local yarn shop, the owner said she had pointed out one of the projects to a customer just that day. So the knitters I know do appreciate this book. I think it can be very safely recommended to people who want to start knitting, and will enjoy a non-traditional approach -- and to experienced knitters who would like some fun designs.
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