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The Complete Photo Guide To Knitting, 2nd Edition: All You Need To Know To Knit The Essential Reference For Novice And Expert Knitters Packed With Hundreds Of Crafty Tips And Ideas Step-by-Step Instructions And Photos For 200 Stitch Patterns (2014)

by Margaret Hubert(Favorite Author)

4.16 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1589238206 (ISBN13: 9781589238206)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Creative Publishing int'l

review 1: I love bright, cheerful colors and books full of large, detailed photographs, so this book is ideal for me. I consider myself a beginner-intermediate knitter; I only just recently learned the purl stitch, don't know how to cable knit, and have only ever knit scarves. Well, I tried one of the "Experienced" two-color patterns in the book (X's and O's) and found that with Margaret Hubert's instruction, I was capable enough to knit a beautiful scarf using that pattern. I worked on it at a knitting club with people much more experienced than me and everyone loved it and wondered how I did it. I'm not sure that I would recommend this book as a comprehensive guide; for a couple of patterns/techniques, I did have to go on Youtube to see how they were done. But supplemented with Yo... moreutube, this is about as comprehensive a knitting book as one can expect, and has definitely made knitting more enjoyable for me.
review 2: After about 25 years away from knitting, in the last year I decided to conquer my fears (of making enormous trapezoids) and start to knit again. Perhaps my motor skills are better now, or I understand yarn and needlecrafts better, or I'm just more patient, but this time it "stuck." An invaluable tool that I picked up along the way was Margaret Hubert's The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting. I recommend it to my beginner knitting students and think it is a great resource for your knitting library for several reasons.The book is organized into three major sections: Knitting Basics, Stitch Patterns, and Specialty Knitting Methods. As the title suggests, the book is heavy on photographs and light on illustrations. (Sidenote: I personally find it impossible to learn anything new from an illustration, but can use illustrations as reminders for techniques I'm already familiar with.) Margaret opens with a brief history of knitting, and then jumps into the Knitting Basics section. This section includes a review of tools, pattern abbreviations, and provides an explanation of how to read patterns in addition to the abbreviations. At this point, the book jumps into various techniques for casting on (5 options), forming the knit and purl stitches (2 methods each), and binding off (3 options). Each technique includes multiple, large photographs which are clearly lit. Margaret then goes on to display several shaping methods. This is followed by knitting in the round, again including photographs with double-pointed needles, one circular, and then two circular needles. Margaret also emphasizes gauge. There is also a nice piece on finishing. This section has many photographs, but the text is rather brief. If you are a visual learner, this is probably an ideal reference book for you. If you learn best from reading descriptions of the process, this section is lacking some detail that you might need. For example, there is no discussion about choosing yarn, or how to hold the needles, or the usual debate between the continental and the English knitting methods.The next section, Stitch Patterns, is like having a stitch guide embedded in the book. There are 185 stitch patterns, arranged by type:* Basic stitches,* Light textures,* Medium and heavy textures,* Laces,* Ribs,* Honeycomb and brioche stitches,* Eyelets,* Ripples and chevrons,* Slip stitches,* Color combos,* Motifs, and* Cables.I love the way the stitch patterns are organized - like most knitters/crocheters, I hate seeing a wonderful stitch and then never being able to find it again. There is also a difficulty rating for each stitch (using the Craft Yarn Council standard skill levels). The swatches are beautifully photographed and are quite large, so you can see the detail. The colors Margaret uses for her yarns are also lovely. There are several project patterns in this section, generally following the type of stitch that is used in the pattern. This section is worth the price of admission alone for me, since it is a great stitch guide. However, if you are looking for stitch symbols, there are very few in this book - most patterns use abbreviations only. (The cable stitches in this section all include symbols though.)The final section, Specialty Knitting Methods, introduces (or reminds!) the reader to (of) various techniques and includes at least one pattern along with a description of the method. The methods included are:* One-Piece Knitting,* Entrelac Knitting,* Freeform Knitting,* Crazy Lace Knitting (pattern by Myra Wood),* Knitting with Beads (pattern by Judy Pascale),* Intarsia Knitting (pattern by Sasha Kagen),* Twined Knitting (pattern by Beth Brown-Reinsel), and* Ouroborus Kntting (pattern by Debbie New)The Crazy Lace, Intarsia, and Twined projects include charts in addition to pattern abbreviations. As with the rest of the book, the projects are beautifully photographed and the colors and layout really bring the projects to life. In the last section, the photographs are of the projects, not the methods for creating the projects.Overall, I recommend the Complete Photo Guide to Knitting to a beginner knitter looking for a book to "grow" into an intermediate knitter with. I also recommend it as a stitch guide - it doesn't have as many stitches as some guides, but the organization, skill levels, photographs, and yarn colors are superior to most on the market. There are also projects included so you can try the stitches on something other than swatches if you aren't at the stage of designing your own creations yet. The photographs are great for visual learners. On the other hand, there are few stitch symbols in the book, which didn't bother me since I prefer pattern abbreviations, but I know that many knitters prefer symbols. This is really a comprehensive visual reference rather than a thorough written treatise on knitting. If you are looking for a wordy text, go for the Knitter's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting. Because of the visual cues, it is also a great book for a more advanced knitter who needs a quick photographic reminder ("Oh, right, that's how to do the provisional cast on!") before starting or while working a project. less

Download links for: The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting, 2nd Edition: *All You Need to Know to Knit *The Essential Reference for Novice and Expert Knitters *Packed with Hundreds of Crafty Tips and Ideas *Step-by-Step Instructions and Photos for 200 Stitch Patterns

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