Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book

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Summary: Where I want to be someday.....
Review: When I was younger, before I joined the paid labor force, I was a regular little `Martha Stewart' who could crochet and sew. I was an excellent seamstress. I made suits with lined jackets and skirts, and slacks, as well as formal gowns. I crocheted blankets, scarves, lace for linens, doilies, place mats, coasters, and all sorts of things folks no longer use or make. I stopped sewing and crocheting 20 years ago (nowadays, I get the dry cleaner to sew on buttons...how low can I go?), and became a proficient with computers. Facing retirement, I am now exploring skills I used to call my own, plus learning new skills such as knitting. My mother and both grandmothers were knitters (great grandma Nichols knitted 500 sweaters for the Red Cross during WWI), and I wish I had listened more carefully when they tried in vain to teach me how to knit.

I bought VOGUE KNITTING not because I am about to make the fabulous items in this book, but because I used to buy Vogue patterns when I was sewing all my clothes. The Vogue patterns were wonderful, not only because the garments were stylish, but because they included instructions on how to alter or modify a pattern to accommodate figure differences.

Although I am not at this time a proficient knitter, I can see this book will prove useful as I become more skilled. It includes much information about how to make patterned knits and designs, incorporate interesting elements in the weave itself, and tailor garments to fit real people. Now here is a real incentive for mastering the basics.

The book jacket claims this is the "Untimate Knitting Book" and I suspect they may be right. This big heavy book is not for beginners - unless you are like me and want to dream of what you might do some day.



Rating:
Summary: The best out there
Review: I am a recent self taught knitter. I have several "how to" books on knitting. This is the book that I always turn to when I need help. It has clear, easy to understand written directions as well as clear illustrations. It also gives several different techniques for different stitches. This book is by far the best that's out there.

Rating:
Summary: Did not satisfy my need for a "definitive" reference guide
Review: I bought this books when I had reached a stage in my knitting where I could knit a decent scarf and create mosaic color patterns. At this point I wanted to explore new textures, master different methods for the things I already knew how to do (i.e. different cast ons and bind offs) and learn more advanced techniques like knitting in the round, decreasing and increasing.

Overall, the book does clearly present different varities of basic knitting procedures (casting on, binding off, decreasing and increasing). The stitch dictionary, though it does have many different stich patterns, is cumbersome to use if you don't already know standard knitting abbreviations. The abbreviation key (which I need to understand the stitch instructions) is pages away from the stich dictionary. Also, I couldn't find any directions or notes on how to successfuly adapt even numbered stitch patterns for a project with an odd number of stitches.

Finally, and most disappointing of all, the section on knitting with circular and double pointed needles is only three pages long (and one of the pages is a little passage by Elizabeth Zimmermann). This might be enough for some, but I had to seek other sources to figure out how to do it successfully. Also, as another reviewer pointed out there is absolutely no significant mention of hats, socks, mittens or gloves.

I'm coming down hard on this book and giving it two stars because it claims to be "the ultimate knitting book". In my opinion a knitting book that ignores hats, gloves, etc. is in no way a contender for the title of "ultimate knitting book". This book is obviously helpful to many so if you're interested in learning some new stitches, reviewing what you already know and focusing on making sweaters this book might be right for you. However, if you are looking for a reference guide to all things knitted you should probably look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: The best book for really understanding knitting
Review: I am just now learning to knit, and I have a feeling that this is going to be my favorite knitting book. It has a section at the beginning explaining how to do stitches. It is not the best book on learning how to knit from not knowing anything, but it is adequate. Next there is a long section which shows photos of many many repeated designs to do in a single color of yarn and then gives the instructions on how to knit that design. There is also a short write up on how to plan out patterns.

In terms of patterns for actual garments the approach focuses on seeing a photo of something and then being able to whip it up. It has a chapter showing photos of something like ten ways of attaching a collar to a sweater for different looks. Similarly there are sections on how to make a particular size or shape garment. I think that this is the section that would appeal to people who are already good at knitting and looking to expand their horizons.

Like I said I am just now learning to knit, and I'm not to the point of making anything much more than a scarf. I have tried out some of the gridded patterns and they are easy to follow plus the discussion on designing them was helpful. I recommend this book to people who are just learning how to knit.

Rating:
Summary: Essential reference
Review: There are a lot of basic knitting books out there, but this is my favorite. There's no book that's more complete, and it's great for beginners and more advanced knitters. For example, many patterns simply tell you to "increase" without telling you how. Open up Vogue Knitting, and it gives you several different ways to increase, and tells you which one is best for which situation. This book has definitely made my knitting more professional and polished.

Rating:
Summary: The Reference Book
Review: A few years ago I started a hobby website with videos on how to knit and do various stitches. I've been recently adding to the site, and was looking for a good book to help me. When I saw how many Cast-On methods Vogue Knitting contained, I took the book right to register! I'm having a lot of fun with this book.

Clear instructions and illustrations. Great photos that let you compare the look of different methods of increasing, decreasing, casting-on, etc. Extremely useful!

My only complaint is that the section on creating different collars on sweaters is very out-of-date and ugly looking. ...but, still useful, nonetheless.

A great reference book to have!

--Amy S. Finlay
Editor and Author of <a href="http://www.knittinghelp.com">KnittingHelp.com</a>

Rating:
Summary: This is the Best Book
Review: One of the best book to have in your knitting collection for those who love knitting. This is a great reference book, to learn shaping, stitches, buttonholes, edgings, pockets, etc... You need this book before starting to knit a sweater.

Rating:
Summary: Worth having on hand, but...
Review: Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book is definitely an important reference for the beginning to intermediate knitter to have on hand, but tread carefully into the more advanced areas of the book, such as the section on designing your own sweater. I'm currently knitting a sweater of my own creation and have been using the designing section for determining the increases and decreases throughout my project. I find the instructions very confusing and somewhat lacking whereas better clarification is needed to determine the appropriate increases and decreases; try reading the instructions for determining the increases and decreases when you really need it, and you too, will be confused. Making things a bit more complicated, are the couple of typos in the designing section, and when you design your own, every calculation is important to get right. In the end, when things just get a bit too confusing, I just end-up relying on my knitting experience to get the portion of the sweater I'm working on to work out fine.

Aside from the questionable designing section, the rest of the book (most of it) has much to offer those new to knitting, especially with clear graphics and lots (hundreds?) of color photos to instruct and encourage creativity. Some of the questions it answers are: What is blocking and how do I do it? What do the international care symbols found on yarn labels mean? What do knitting abreviations mean? Why make a swatch for stitch gauge? What are some of the different methods of knitting? How do I add color? What are some stitch patterns? How do I correct dropped stitches? How is a buttonhole made? How do I cast on and bind off?

The book only very briefly covers novelty yarns which are so popular right now, and so it doesn't really get into how to incorporate them and mix them with other yarns into a project.

Here's an overview of the table of contents:
History of Knitting
Knitting Supplies: Yarns and Tools
Basic Techniques
Understanding Knitting Instructions
Correcting Errors
Circular and Double-Pointed Knitting
Color Knitting
Blocking, Assembling and Finishing
Care of Knitwear
Stitch Dictionary
Designing
Embellishments
Modular Knitting Patterns
Traditional Knitting Patterns
Index

The Modular Knitting section takes a basic sweater pattern and gives the knitter the opportunity to swap out different styles of collar, sleeves and overall looks.

Traditional Knitting Patterns section is simply a collection of six beautiful and seemingly timeless patterns that many long-time readers of Vogue Knitting Magazine will recognize from past issues, some designed by Oscar de la Renta, DKNY, and Isaac Mizrahi.

I can't say that it is a "must have" book for every knitter's library, but it is definitely worth having.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Reference Book
Review: This is a perfect reference book for any knitter of all experience level. I highly recommend anyone to purchase this book as a gift for a knitter. The illustrations are clear and concise along with its clear explanation of techniques.