Rating: 
Summary: My first knitting book
Review: I am brand new to knitting, this is my first book. I just checked it out from the library last week and I'm already halfway done with a sweater. The first few pages of instruction were very easy to follow. It's filled with a lot of easy patterns for trendy clothes and accessories. Each pattern has a large color picture of the final product and tips to get you through. There is also a website listed on the back flap ... that takes you directly to the yarn girls company so you can buy the exact yarn suggested for each pattern. It's a great first book. I came back today to buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wished I liked it more...
Review: I am glad most of the other reviewers were so happy with this book and that it is encouraging new knitters to enter the "fold". I was not as pleased.The designs are OK; they are simple and easy. And yes they use the ohsobig needles. My hesitation in recommeding this book more highly for a beginner is that I find the instructions not as complete as I would have expected. The yarn selection also tends to be a bit "spotty" in availablity and is definitely on the high end price-wise. I find the book trendy and expensive and that is OK...I just think there are better beginner books (see Sally Melville's "The Knit Stitch"...) Actually, I would only recommend this book for the true beginner. I am an intermediate knitter and I found the first go-through interesting and then my interest sort of drifted; I already have quite a few patterns just like the ones in this book...just using smaller needles!!!
Rating:
Summary: For Beginners Only -- and Only Those Who Have Help
Review: I bought this book for my daughter, who was ready to move on from making scarves. She was able to make her first sweater from it, so it was a success. It's a very attractive book, the pictures are appealing to young knitters, and the instructions are readable, even though they have errors and ommissions (that's why you should make sure you have an experienced knitter around to get help from). There are sweaters for both men and women, and some very simple scarf, hat, and poncho designs. Unfortunately, once she had made the first sweater (the hooded one with rotten directions, as it happens), that was about it for the book. The patterns are all much the same, many of them are just a rectangle or two to begin with, and with gauges ranging only from 1.5 stitches to the inch to 4 stitches to the inch, all the projects have much the same look. There are some different necklines, but they are not as well designed as traditional sweaters, so I would recommend -- if you want to use this book -- referring to a basic knitting reference (The Big Book of Knitting is a good one) for a better method of doing the neck shapings.
Most books that have simple, basic patterns can give you a good starting point for your own creativity, but the enormous gauges mean that you really can't add cables, patterns, or color work to these sweaters. In fact, it is really the yarns that make these sweaters look so good in the pictures. That makes sense for a book from a yarn shop, and if your main impetus for knitting is a desire to use your favorite gorgeous yarns (chunky ones, of course), then this book allows you to do that.
So, while it's a nice book for a beginning knitter, I don't think it will be one of those you will use again and again over the years.
Rating:
Summary: Can Anyone AFFORD the Yarn?
Review: I bought this book two years ago when I began to knit. I have not made anything from this book! The patterns and pictures are inspiring (which is why it is still in my library), but the yarn is so expensive it is a turnoff. I have even tried to go to the local yarn shop and find something comparative, but unfortunately it appears that bulky weight yarn is universally expensive. Pair that with the idea that most patterns are knit with two strands instead of one and the price has now doubled.
I went to the yarn co website and found that almost every single pattern was made with very expensive yarn. It is as if the authors have searched the ends of the earth to find the most pricey yarns and then created a pattern for them (and then doubled the yarn!)
Oh, and as a disclaimer I want to add that good quality yarn (wool,angora, merino, alpaca, silk) can be found on the internet
with a little searching for a fair price. However, I would be surprised if you could find a good bulky that wasn't acryilc for these sweaters for less.
Rating:
Summary: I learned to knit from this book!
Review: I bought this book yesterday after researching online and browsing the bookstore for a simple book for an absolute beginner like myself. The Vogue Knitting book and Big Book of Knitting looked great, and I will probably buy them next, but I was a little daunted by all the information in them. I chose this book as my first because the patterns are modern and stylish and more importantly, the instructions are clear, concise, with great illustrations! I learned to slip knot, cast on, and knit stitch in about an hour (maybe two hours--time flew by!)and practiced purling. This morning I learned how to bind off. So now I am working on a scarf! I can see how one might quickly advance past this book, especially if you already know how to knit. As for its shortcomings (see other reviews), I cannot disagree, but its pluses outweighed the minuses in my case. I expected to learn how to knit from this book and I did! I am sure I will refer to it often in the next several months of my new hobby. Another book I could recommend is The Knit Stitch. I checked it out from the library and it also has great instruction and a unique voice.
Rating:
Summary: truly simple
Review: I checked out 20 books at the library before selecting just one. "The yarn girls guide to simple knits" was that one. I loved the language of the book. They explained things in easy to understand terms. They gave numerous definitions, illustrations, and tips through out the entire book. As a novice I found the book to be less intimidating as some of the others. I especially like the way they talk to you as if you were one of the girls in their group. This book is the perfect companion for the hip, young, novice knitter.
Rating:
Summary: great for all knitters
Review: I consider myself an intermediate knitter - but I love this book! It's got some REALLY fast patterns that make great quick gifts. Their pictures and beautful yarns will inspire even the most jaded knitter.
Rating: 
Summary: Yarn Girls Guide To Simple Knits
Review: I found this book disappointing. I bought it because it had been well reviewed and I thought the younger styles would appeal to my 14 year old daughter. The pattern I did was the hooded sweater. The picture was cute but the pattern is incomplete. There was no info on finishing the hood. No directions for the drawstring or casing. This is not good in a book for beginners especially one as expensive as this. Also found the authors' attitude insulting to the history of knitting ie. the comments on your grandmothers kniting in the intro.They act like they invented knitting.
Rating:
Summary: You've gotta buy it!
Review: I have a lot of knitting books, even though I'm fairly new to knitting, just a little over a year off and on. But I purchased this book, and am in love with it. Not only are there simple patterns that knit up quick, but they explain how to mix and match the patterns. For instance there are 10 basic patterns, each with three variations, which ultimately gives you 30 patterns, but infinite possibilities. Plus they have all the basic patterns covered, crew neck, v-neck, cardigan, and funnel neck (there is even a guy's sweater)and let me tell you these sweaters are CUTE! I can't wait to get started on the one with a hood. They also not only explain how much yardage of yarn, but explain if you substitute yarn, how to buy the right amount, etc. Plus, and best of all, they give you the pattern directions, etc. like all normal books, but then on the neck shaping, and armhole, etc. they write it out row by row. For a beginner, that is incredibly helpful. But what I really want to say, is buy this book. You won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: Patterns all the same.
Review: I have been knitting for about 6 years now, and I purchase books mainly for their patterns and not necessarily their Learn To Knit instructions. As for the patterns in this book, I found them all easy to follow and knit, but pretty much all the same. In this I mean, the garments all look the same minus a turtleneck, sleeve (tanktop version), long torso instead of short torso, etc. A friend of mine is borrowed the book to learn how to knit. It covered the basics for her just fine. She said that the illustrations were helpful.
| 
