Rating: 
Summary: Fun Patterns!
Review: I got this book for my birthday and was really excited to try out the fun, modern patterns. I am a college age knitter with a few months of knitting experience; I like this book because it is full full trendy looking designs. I made the chunky tote with no problem. It was quick, easy, and super cute! I also tried the sweater shown on the back cover. That was quite a frustrating experience for my first big project. I started and almost finished the back piece before I realized how tiny the sizes ran. I had to rip the whole thing out (tear, sniff, it was heartbreaking) then I had to basically make up my own pattern trying to adapt it. It was pretty interesting when I can barely read patterns, and now I pretty much made one up. Oh well, after only minor screaming fits and tantrums, I did get it to turn out. Overall this is a fun book, though some of the wearable patterns will probably need altering, and experience might be nice...I wouldn't really know, don't exactly have experience from which to draw. One more thing I really appreciated about the book was the yarn websites in the back, and the comparable yarns for every patern. I sometimes have a hard time finding the latest yarn in Minot, ND.
Rating: 
Summary: innovative and adorable!
Review: I have yet to see a knitting book which pleases everyone, and HOLLYWOOD KNITS will be no exception. Nonetheless, I think that a disservice is done by focussing on its negatives. Yes, there is some namedropping - but the author's attitude seems warm and inclusive, and she can't really change how she got her fame in the knitting world (having a shop in LA, making knitted garments for films, etc). Yes, the designs are quirky and modern - some of us like that and seek that. What shines in Suss Cousins's book are some of the smaller designs. There are sweater patterns, but they're fairly basic, and there are other problems with them which I will discuss later in this review. The fabulous patterns in "Hollywood Knits" are those for accessories - some clever, pretty bags, hats, wraps. The knitting bag incorporates a pair of large needles into its design. People have criticised the water bottle carrier as pointless, but I know plenty of young urbanites who use similar carriers on a daily basis. Likewise, I can think of more than a few acquaintances who would enjoy the cellphone cover. Most of the hats, wraps, and scarves are cool, although many of them are made flat, joined, and seamed, when they would have been far simpler to make in the round. Suss generally writes the patterns for straight needles and even recommends a specific bamboo variety. It's easier for a new knitter to use straight needles, although some of the designs (the cowl, the long striped stocking cap, the naturwolle and colinette cap) are far better suited to circulars. My only real problem with this book is the very valid criticism other people have made about the sizing - I'm a slender woman with a 40" chest. The sweaters in this book will not fit me unless I buy a few extra balls of yarn and manipulate the instructions for a size larger than the largest size in the book. I'm experienced enough to do this, but a new knitter would not be. As a result, I don't recommend this as a first knitting book: try the "Yarn Girls Guide" instead. (Skip "Knitting Pretty"; the patterns in it are just weird and not enough photos are provided. "Hollywood Knits" is more for the people who bought Lily Chin's "The Urban Knitter" than for people who need a bare-bones starter guide.) Yet I worry that the knitters who have enough experience for these projects might find them a little too simple and/or tame. If nothing else, many of the patterns in "Hollywood Knits" would work up quickly into stylish gifts. Bottom line is: this is a good second or third knitting book, especially if you are interested in making things for other people. The designs are sleek and about as interesting as simple designs made in generally bulky yarns can be. Suss's design sense is good; she has a genius for where stripes or a contrast band or an intarsia square will spark a project. This is not a book for the heartland, but younger knitters might take to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrated
Review: I just finished her casual sweater that is on the back cover. I'm a size 4 and I made the medium size and it still does NOT fit. The pattern was easy enough to follow but I did get confused on the neck a bit.
My son (7 yrs old) made the nubby scarf as his first project for a friend. I made the matching hat to go with it but then was stuck when I had to crochet the cord for the top. There were no instructions to do this. I finally tracked down a friend that can crochet and she did it for me. It did look cute when we were finished.
I won't be trying any more patterns from the book, I am going to try the "Yarn Girl's Guide to Simple Knits".
Rating:
Summary: great designs, poor instructions
Review: I love the designs in this book. They are simple and clean cut, but beware. I've made several and found some issues. Her sizing is super small and I wear a 4. I make her medium to get a comfortable fitted look. Also watch the yarn requirements. I typically buy one or two skeins extra just in case. Well with her book, I have needed every extra skein to finish the project and my gauge is right on. Definately gauge swatch, because everyone I know has had to change needle size. I knit continental like the author, but I had to change as did the American style knitters I know. I would recommend the pattern styles for any young knitter, but you need a few sweaters under your belt to iron out the instruction issues. Overall I like the book, but it annoys me that the sizing is so tiny and un-realistic. It is also frustrating to really have to watch the instructions for content not just patterning information.
Rating: 
Summary: great eye for design
Review: I loved this book the moment i saw it at the store. I'm new to knitting and I dont think the designs are too easy, in fact I love how everything is a variation on simple shapes. It suits the type of knitter I am: someone who has little time and patience for complicated patterns but still wants something that looks elegant and chic. I love the fact that none of the patterns contain cables or fair isle designs as they complicated and look too "busy". If I would never buy something why spend time and money to make it. I care about the end result just as much as the process. I love how suss uses the yarn as inspiration to create something because that is what attracts me to knitting: the yarns. my favorite designs are the ones for baby stuff and the hand bags as well as the ski cap and nubby scarf and hat. I dont necessarily agree that knitting them in the round is better but that is just me, in fact all of her designs use only a range of 4 needle sizes so you dont need to go buy a million different types of needles such as circular and double pointed ok some nitpicks now: even though I would never use her instructions on learning to knit, i found it odd that she didnt include instructions to cast off. The gorgeous blanket doesn't specify how to keep 125 cast on stitches on a standared size needle. (perhaps a suggestion on how long the needle should be?). and of course the sizing of the sweaters. otherwise a great book for inspiration on designing your own stuff. also great coffee table book because of the celebs and pictures and good source of funky boutique style patterns
Rating:
Summary: pretty pictures, lousy book
Review: i picked up this book because of the good photos of the projects. after i started reading it, i found that the sizing on every project is TINY. movie stars and teenage girls may be 36"-busts or smaller, but real women have curves and need larger sizes on sweaters. took the book back to borders and got a refund. thanks to other reviewers here for also pointing out the many errors in the instructions. nothing like spending 80 bucks on yarn only to find that the steps are flawed.
Rating:
Summary: Plenty of inspiration, lack of instructions
Review: I really really wanted to love this book. I thought it would be the only book I needed because of all its great patterns. It was my first knitting book and (oh joy) I wanted to make each and every project! However, I quickly learned it would be difficult to seam using these instructions. If I followed her seaming directions, I would never achieve the same professional look and quality of the items in the pictures. In summary... Pros: Suss Cousins is such a talented designer. Her knitting designs are beautiful and unique. The photographs really inspire you to create. It also makes a great coffee table book with all the pictures and stories of celebrities who knit. Cons: The author does not go into enough detail regarding finishing and other techniques that would drastically improve the quality of the finished project. Also, the glossary is not very helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Nice start for beginners
Review: I saw a pattern from Hollywood Knits in the Winter 2002 Knits mag. It was super simple, but the style of it elevated it above your typical, dowdy beginner pattern. Liking that pattern, I took a look at this book in a yarn shop. I was not that impressed with the look of any of the other designs. Were I a beginner, I would want to knit one of Suss's designs for a beginner project, but after that I would want to move on to more techniques. If you are not a beginner, you could probably knit any of the projects just by looking at them, without reading the directions. The designs are that simple and straightforward. Unfortunately, most of the designs are not elegantly simple, they are just plain simple. As in Girl Scout troup. On the other hand, Suss uses great yarns, many of which I was not aware of and would really like to get my hands on.
Rating:
Summary: I'm glad I didn't buy it
Review: I went to the library last night and checked out several knitting books. Hollywood Knits was among them and I'm glad it was because it totally took away any temptation that I might have had to buy it. From the second paragraph of the introduction where she says, "The beginnings of the current knitting boom seem to have coincided with the the first time Bill Cosby walked onto the set of the The Cosby Show wearing one of my sweaters.", I was completely put off. As if a sweater she knitted in the 80's is responsible for the onslaught of young knitters 20 years later? A majority of these new knitters weren't even born when Cosby was wearing her sweaters. I think that the Stitch N Bitch books had a big hand in the current trend.
The rest of the book continues on in a similiar vein. It made me feel as though she was trying to compensate for a lack of substance by stating over and over again that she's got famous friends who buy her stuff. Unfortunately, celebrities have a lot of money to burn and have been known to show up on the red carpet wearing stuffed swans so I tend to not be too excited about what they buy.
As far as the patterns go, I wasn't very impressed. They are the same basic shapes I've seen over and over again in other knitting books. If I could afford the fabulous fiber that she uses, I might get fabulous results, but since I'll have to substitue pretty much everything I'm sure that my efforts are going to produce items that are pretty ordinary. I actually prefer The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits.
I'm glad that I didn't pay $30 to find this out. I'd really recommend checking it out from the library if you can before you commit to buying it.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: Let's put it this way: you'll be paying 20 bucks for a book with 90 percent of it's patterns being squares or rectangles. Of these patterns, none will fit you if you are over a size 8. That's not an exaggeration. I am a small woman (size 2) and started a sweater in the largest size that still looked too small.
The tone is full of prentious celebrity name dropping, pompous self congratulations, and boring, unclear, error filled patterns. How can such SIMPLE patterns have so many errors?! very few patterns extend beyond one page. If it wasn't for the huge pictures, all these patterns could probably be filled into 5 pages of printed text.
Of the cute designs, there's the orange cover sweater and a child's sweater with a heart. Comparable patterns can be easily found for free online. Do not waste your time or money.
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