Knit Hats!: 15 Cool Patterns to Keep You Warm (Hardcover)

by Gwen Steege (Author)
Key Phrases: repeat rows, new rnd, remaining sts, Needles One, Last Round Stripe, Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Knitting is in. Julia Roberts knits, high schoolers are knitting in the cafeteria, urbanites are knitting on the subway, college students are knitting in the dorms, and bookstores are sponsoring knitting groups. Colorful new yarns, the availability of simple patterns, gift giving, stress relief - all are reasons for picking up knitting needles and getting started on a great project.

Though knitting is growing in popularity, knitters still want projects that are fast and easy, but ultimately useful and attractive. KNIT HATS! is a colorful die-cut book that's small enough to tuck into a knitting bag, backpack, or purse.

The book begins with an easy-to-understand, illustrated overview of the basic techniques followed by 15 fun project patterns (with instructions for a range of sizes) bound between sturdy, die-cut board covers. Each pattern includes the following: a close-to-life-size color photo of the completed mitten or hat; a brief introduction to the pattern; materials and equipment lists; gauge information; a color chart; special tips and hints; and a detailed drawing of any unusual techniques involved. Because the rich palette flows through each book, knitters can mix and match hats and mittens (in Knit Mittens!) to create unique sets.

About the Author
An avid knitter for more than 50 years, GWEN STEEGE also enjoys spinning wool from her Romney sheep, dyeing, and weaving. She is an editor at Storey Publishing and lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (October 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580174825
• ISBN-13: 978-1580174824
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 9 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone in this book!, January 30, 2003

By A Customer

When I first saw it at the book store my thought was "Oh, no, not another beginner knitting book with one basic hat pattern and 15 different doo-dads sewn on". But I was pleasantly surprised. Even though it looks like a toddler board book from the outside, inside there is use of various knitting techniques: knitting a top-down hat, slip-stitch, fair-isle, a double knitted headband, and felting. Another plus is that there are several contributors to this book so you get a variety of styles that way too. In fact, a few of the hat patterns I've seen sold individually in knitting catalogs, so for the price the book is a good deal. Also most hats are given in 3 sizes and a few in different gauge yarns. The styles range from playful(e.g., fair-isle bunnies with dangling carrot pom-poms) to sophisticated (e.g., mohair beret with picot edging, a felted brimmed cloche). I intend to have a pleasant time using up my leftover balls of yarn with this book!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Knot for new knitters, March 1, 2005

By	Sherilyn Dodge (Freestone Co.,Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to agree with the previous review - cute book, bad directions. Ready to try out some fun color hats, I was drawn to this book by the meticulous directions that (it appeared) even a beginning knitter could follow, plus the illustrations were clear and easy to understand. However, I soon discovered that whoever wrote the pattern did not knit the hat or vice versa... and did not master basic math in school. Example... the cute bunny hat with carrot poms... the ear flaps were not centered when knit according to directions. I had to rip out and redo the math to get them centered correctly on the hat. Then the bunny chart is 14 stitches which gives you 5.7 bunnies in the 80 stitches of the toddler hat -- and the math is not right for the other two sizes shown either. The bunny would have been better accomplished with a duplicate stitch (which I ended up doing... way too much carrying of the contrast colors.) A novice knitter would be sorely tested.

This is a classic example of bad or non-existent proofreading. You would think that one of the three editors listed in the book would have checked the math. Don't blindly trust the printed material (and if you can't do that, why bother with the book to begin with?). I gave it two stars for the design, photos, and illustrations which were good.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cute hats, bad directions., January 4, 2005

By	a knitter (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I am a reasonably accomplished knitter, and this book tied me up in knots. The patterns are cute, but the first hat I knit ended up too wide and too long, despite a carefully knit and measured gauge. The second hat contained lines of directions which might as well have been in Greek (it took my advanced-knitter daughter and I several hours of experimenting to figure out how to make one minor feature of the pattern work), and several steps that were completely incorrect. Don't buy this book unless you have the time and energy to decipher nearly unintelligible instructions.