Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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89 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended if you want to knit a shawl!, March 4, 2001
Shawls are very "in" right now, and nothing is more stunning than a lacy shawl in a great color. Martha Waterman's book is very unique in that it has a little something for every knitter; if you are new to lace knitting, there are some not-very-difficult but really nice-looking shawl patterns. Some are written out row by row if you don't like charts (I do like charts--the symbols are quicker to read for me, but some people do not prefer them.) If you are an experienced knitter, this book is like a toolbox with various shawl shapes (round, half-circle, square, triangle, oblong) and stitch patterns in a small but useful lace library. You can combine the stitches and shapes and make your own creations. So you won't outgrow this book.If you like to follow patterns, the Kerry Blue Shawl is just terrific. It is a square shawl with various lace stitches, and is knit from the center outwards, with four diagonal "rays" at the corners. This is actually a very easy shawl but looks like an heirloom. It would work as a baby christening wrap also. The Kerry Blue Shawl is written out row by row, for those who eschew charts. Because lace knitting doesn't need to "fit" you can use all kinds of yarns of various weights. Find a yarn, test out how the stitch looks, and "guestimate" the yards you will need by comparing the yardage and gauge used in the pattern. If you run low, you can make the shawl a bit smaller. I have quite a few lace knitting books, but I actually use this one the most. I just love this book!
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73 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, but not for the faint of heart., May 20, 1998
My aunt told me once that the best way to learn a knitting technique was to pick a project that you really wanted to do, and then just do it with no fear of the potential difficulty. This is the ideal book for that philosophy.The comments on the history of knitting and lace shawls are extremely interesting, as are the sections on shawl care and how to wear a shawl. I would have liked to see a little more description of how a traditional shetland lace shawl was made using the old techniques, especially the actual process of "grafting" as that is a new term to me despite 30 years of knitting experience. There is really no discussion of elementary knitting, but that is not inappropriate for an audience of advanced knitters. There are already a lot of books out there to teach how to cast on and do the basic stitches. There are patterns for eight shawls in this book, but what I found fascinating was the possibility to design an unlimited number of your own unique creations. She breaks the elements of design down into simple steps with advice for choosing patterns for each section and intructions on how to shape and combine the different elements. There are pages and pages of beautiful lace patterns to use for the body, border, and edgings. It's the ultimate yarn puzzle book and it makes me itch to get my fingers on some good one-ply wool.
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55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introduction to shawl design, February 25, 2005
This book is a good intro to shawl design. It is not for the "blind follower" knitter, but for the knitter who wants to understand shawl design and maybe make up a pattern or two on his/her own.
I collect lace books and do some design myself, and while I have twenty or thirty books on lace design, this is one I keep coming back to. Most of it is a relatively straightforward beginners' lace shawl book (albeit for fairly experienced knitters), but the chapter on different methods of construction is the best summary I've seen. It covers the different ways to knit a square/round/half-round shawl: rays vs. rounds, knitting shawls in the round vs. back and forth, and so on. It lays out very clearly the effects of different increase patterns, and where to do increases if one wants a square, round, etc. shawl. It is simple but comprehensive, and I haven't seen it anywhere else.
The only other encyclopedic discussion I've seen of methods of increase is in Barbara Walker's Fourth Knitting Treasury, where she talks about octagons, hexagons, and spirals--but not in the context of shawl design.
The remainder of the book is a good introductory lace knitting book (for the advanced beginner or intermediate knitter)--several lace patterns, and a few shawl patterns. These are well charted and appropriate, but nothing spectacular; the real value in the book is the tools it gives you for designing your own.
If you are looking for just "blind following" patterns, get a different book (perhaps A Gathering of Lace?); if you are looking for a really advanced book, Susanna Lewis's Knitted Lace (if you can find a copy) has the best discussion I've seen on designing your own lace patterns.
But if you want a good, clearly written book on how to design your own lace shawl, and some lace patterns to get you started, this is a GREAT place to start.
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