Aran Knitting [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Alice Starmore's definitive explanation of an Irish Aran sweater and its development is surprising and fascinating. Arans are not ancient, and--contrary to popular legend--they were not developed as fishermen's garments. Starmore offers fairly convincing evidence that "true" Aran sweaters were adapted in this century from Scottish fishing ganseys. They are unarguably warm, practical, and beautiful, and here they are gorgeously photographed. Starmore, one of the knitting world's living treasures, includes specific cable patterns, patterns for 14 garments (both Aran and Celtic-style), and a clear, sensible guide to designing original Aran sweaters.

From Library Journal

A native of the Hebrides, Starmore is known internationally as a knitwear designer, teacher, and the author of a number of critically acclaimed knitting books. Here she sets off to examine aran knitting, its origins and history, and the techniques used to produce the richly cabled sweaters that are enjoying a renewed popularity among today's knitters. This book can be enjoyed on three levels: as a history of aran knitting, as a complete 14-lesson workshop on knitting aran patterns from charts, or as a collection of Starmore's original sweater, cap, and shawl designs, including full instructions and charted patterns. The garments, photographed on location in the Aran Islands, are inspirational fare for all knitters, while Starmore's designs will be of special interest to the more experienced. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883010330
• ISBN-13: 978-1883010331
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #695,998 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aran Knitting, November 30, 2005

By	Scottish Gypsy "lisa_knits" (Stow, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This is a beautiful book. It's "COFFEE TABLE" beautiful. The history of Aran knitting, and the photographt are gorgeous.

The sweaters that Alice Starmore designed are wonderful. The mens sweaters are timeless, but the women's sweaters are a bit dated. This could be easily remidied by adjusting the fit of the sweater while using the stitches that are part of the original design.

Alice Starmore has a number of nice stitch patterns in the book that are also listed in numerous other knitting stitch books (The Big Book of Knitting, The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches Vol. 1 and 2, Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting, Charted Knitting Designs by Barbara G. Walker, The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey, to name a few). There are a couple of Celtic cable patterns that are more intriguing, but is it worth buying the book for $100+ just to have access to those few stitches?

So, to sum it up. I would definitely give this book 5 stars on overall first impression, even on the sweater patterns and charts, but as far as the stitches within the book - about 4 stars, there are many other books out there with more comprehensive patterns. Buy the book if you want the history, the sweater patterns, but if you're looking for a good book on Aran Knit Stitches, try a stitch encyclopedia book and come up with your own designs.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good patterns, good ideas, April 8, 1999

By A Customer

So far, I've found that I enjoy Starmore's work in general (I also have the Celtic Collection), though I'm only working on my second Starmore project. The pictures are great (of course, the color doesn't match perfectly, but that's to be expected), and the section on basic Aran stiches is wonderful. I'm looking forward to trying to design a sweater myself with some of those stiches, once I feel comfortable enough to buy that much yarn for such an iffy project. *grin* One warning--I've found Starmore's gauging to be a little odd. I think she pulls her yarn just a *little* tighter than most knitters.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a class by itself, June 29, 2001

By A Customer

I've been knitting since I was 8 years old and I've never seen anything like this. It's almost 3 books in one - an overview of the mythology and reality of Aran knitwear, plus a detailed description of Aran sweaters in the National Museum in Ireland; a gallery of stitch patterns with instructions; and a collection of Starmore's own designs, also with instructions. Her designs are beautiful - her starting point was when she recognized that traditional Aran knits use braids and twists but ancient Celtic art uses continuous lines - so she made up knitting designs using the continuous lines of Celtic knotwork. Her charting method is wonderfully easy to read. I love this and I want to make everything in it.