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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
OK, yes, there are some hideous designs, but look twice., September 28, 2007
Sure, you'd never in a million years crochet the Mr. Wander's Top Hat, let alone wear it, but there are quite a few designs in this book that make it worth a look.
First off, the picture on the front doesn't really do that particular hat justice. In this picture, it looks goofy, but in the other picture, where the brim is straight, you see just how nice it looks. The pictures on the front and back of the book made me almost not pick up the book. However, if you look through all the patterns, and I mean ALL, you'll find some great designs and even more inspiration. It's surprising. Like the other reviewer, I'm glad I looked through this book a second time.
I hate berets, so those were immediately dismissed, but here are a few I feel are worth mentioning, but mostly because I like them. ;)
Simple Cloche - yup, it's simple, but there is also a cute little buttoned tab on top that gives you a little more inspiration than the typical flower pin that most cloche designs harbor.
Sunshiny Day Bucket - a lovely, loose little design in basic WW yarn, that's just so darned cute, it's sinful.
Widow's Peak Hat - now, I'm not so sure about the peak, but it gives you a nice variation on the simple straight brim, plus it's made in a nice chunky weight thick & thin yarn with cute little earflaps.
Shells - they have a few of those in this book. We've all seen shells before, and these are no different, but they do give you some variation from other ones you may have patterns for. I especially like the Confetti Shell, with it's solid and open alternating structure. I'm sure it looks 50x better on the model than it will on me, but I'm going to slap that sucker on my head anyway. :)
Square Cloche - way cute. Basically made with 5 squares connected together and a band crocheted around them. I love it!
Paillettes Beanie - paillettes are apparently those little flat shiny sequin-ish disks with the hole on the top. Who knew those would look good on any piece of clothing, let alone a hat? But this design makes it work and work well.
As for the "what were they thinking" designs, they include a rasta hat, square hat, big floppy blue hat, a hideous pillbox ripple hat (ewwww), a chapka, the trellis cap (nice in concept, questionable in execution - should have made the crown fit to the head), and, berets (but some people like berets, so this one is more of a "me" thing).
As for the specific elements of the book:
Pictures - wonderful. Clear, non-buffed out pictures showing multiple views of almost every single hat in the book (maybe two or three with only one). The pictures show the fronts, and sometimes the sides, back, top, or just folded differently. It's fantastic, and one of the best I've seen that gives you a good picture of the hat you are crocheting. Also, cute models, flaws and all. Refreshing.
Skill Level - gives skill level for all hats in standards: beginner, easy, etc.
Size - most are sized for adults, no children's hats. Some are gender size specific, but most are just one-size-fits-all adult.
Yarn Requirements - they give generic yarn weight and type (ie, bulky flat ribbon yarn) and the yardage needed. Also, after the directions, specific yarn is given for what was used on the model. It's nice that they didn't shove that in the front of the pattern. It would have been a little better if they had used the standard pictoral 1-6 identifiers for yarn weight.
They also have Stitches Used (to give you an idea of what you should know before proceeding, and include detailed definitions for sc2tog and such at the beginning of each pattern that contains the stitch) and Gauge.
Patterns are well written with clear instructions. I can't say for sure about accuracy at this point, as I've only worked up one so far.
There are no charts for those of you who use charts. I don't, so it didn't bother me, but for those who do, they aren't included in this book. There are a few graphs related to positioning the appliques and such.
Overall, a great little book, just don't let the pictures on the front and back cover fool you into thinking it's just all about weird, in-your-face designs. There are a lot of gems in here you would miss out on.
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by Margaret Hubert
by Leisure Arts Mary E. Nolfi
by Trisha Malcolm
by Candi Jensen
by Jean Leinhauser
