Rating: 
Summary: I Finally Learned How to Knit!
Review: After many years and many instructors this book did what no one else could do - it taught me to knit. Why was it so hard for me to learn? Because apparently I knit continental and most books, if they depict it at all do so in an abbreviated fashion. What I love about this book is it shows a variety of different techniques for casting on, left- or right-hand carry and seaming. If you follow the book from start to finish you will ease into shaping, increasing, decreasing, knitting circular and so on. Each project leads you through a different skill. I've been knitting 2 months and I'm already designing accessories and adapting patterns.
A lot of the garments are easily adaptable and if you're the imaginative sort, are just the starting point to making your own designs. The photos are clear and often provide more than just one shot of the garment. Often there are several shots of the same garment with slight variations. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow - as a novice, I've yet to come across any problems.
I especially like the margin notes - if you make a mistake, just look to the margin notes and you'll get the page number with a photo on how to fix it. I often use it to clarify other designers patterns as to what type of cast-on to use or to work out a better decrease.
If you want to learn to knit, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: a favorite
Review: As a lifelong knitter with an extensive knitting/needlework library, I have to rank The Knit Stitch among my absolute favorites. The patterns, in my opinion, are varied, mostly updated classics. The best feature in this book is the range of different techniques presented and the clear coaching provided for each. I've learned several new skills and methods for casting on and off, seaming, making nice even edges, and altering patterns, and I refer to this volume often when I need to solve a problem in my projects. Highly recommended for both novice and experienced knitters.
Rating:
Summary: Who knew garter stitch was so cool?
Review: As an on & off knitter for thirty-something years, I must say that this book has rekindled my love of the art of knitting. The patterns are truly simple enough for a beginner, but are also fresh & interesting to make. The Einstein coat really does make you feel like a genius! I knitted the Baby Albert (newborn) version as a gift & I think it's my best project of all time. My favorite things about the book: 1. Techniques are presented as they come up & are clearly cross-referenced throughout the text. Only the knit stitch & slip stitch are taught here -- purl is saved for volume two -- but they are covered in great detail. Also the intricacies of casting on, binding off, and the many ways of increasing & decreasing are thoroughly illustrated. If a particular cast-on is needed, you'll be given the page # where it's taught. (I also liked that it tells us which cast-on is best for the pattern, or if it doesn't matter which cast-on is used. Most patterns just say "Cast on [X] stitches" and don't tell you which cast-on style you should use.) 2. A generous range of sizes are presented. There are lots of us who don't fit into a S-M-L world... 'nuff said. Women's and men's sizes up to XXL. 3. Samples are shown in different yarns & colors. The author points out that most projects are made in the same yarn & color as the photo accompanying the pattern! Which, of course, yarn companies have relied upon for years. Here, yardage requirements are not given in # of skeins, but in yards. 4. Step-by-step instructions are clear, complete, & concise. I learned quite a few new things, including a much better joining technique than the one I have used for decades. I am finally happy with my seams :-) 5. Many cool projects! Some are youngish, some are classics, some are funky & asymmetrical... truly a little something for everyone. Too often we buy a book for a single pattern, which seems like such a waste. This one, I have either knit or have plans for six, count 'em, of the patterns. For now. There might even be a couple more later ;-) Thank you, Ms. Melville; your book has turned me into a black-belt knitter. My techniques have improved vastly and I feel like a real expert. I'm recommending this book to everyone who sees me with my needles and sighs, "I wish I knew how to knit."
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted to love this book...
Review: but the projects are all so boxy and oversized. More for the Chico's crowd than, say, the Banana Republic shopper. If I had thumbed through it in a bookstore, rather than picking it off of Amazon due to the glowing reviews, I probably wouldn't have bought it. Despite that, I'll say I am knitting the poncho and I think it's going to be adorable. Also, I learned a new cast-on from the book. In general the directions are very clear and easily understandable.
Rating:
Summary: This book surprised me
Review: I bought this book after reading other people's reviews and it was the right thing to do. I can't believe how many projects in this one book that I want to make. It's all I can do to not abandon my current WIPs and start on the Opaque and Sheer sweater, or the Einstein Coat, or Sally's Favorite summer sweater, to name a few. Yes they are boxy, we're talking garter stitch afterall, but they look good. I never would have guessed garter stitch could be so versatile. Not only that, but her instructions are great and she has something I haven't seen in any other book - how to fix mistakes. And I mean MISTAKES - like something is too long, or too short or you purled when you should have knitted 10 rows back or you ran out of yarn before you ran out of pattern and much, much more. I am an experienced knitter and would recommend this book to all levels.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book for 80s ladies
Review: I can't help getting excited about knitting when I read Sally's book. She's cheerful and happy and after reading her essays, makes me want to get out the needles and cast on.
However, my biggest complaint is her designs. With the exception of the basic scarves and the Einstein coat everything is so circa 1985 in style. I don't get the funky, uneven, sweaters with jumbo gold buttons. Blech! The model on the cover, with the high waist, relax fit jeans should have been a dead giveaway. Egads.
I find her instructions very helpful so I'll keep this book on hand for skills reference. I don't think I'll be making anything tho.
Rating:
Summary: A new approach to beginner's or "easy" knitting
Review: I work in a yarn store and look at nearly all the latest knitting books. Many books aimed at the new knitter have appeared recently, but this is one of the best "learn-to-knit" books for three reasons. One, the book presents the skills as needed for the projects rather than inundating the beginner with techniques and details that won't be used for some time. It anticipates questions and problems that may arise and directs the reader to the page that will help. The matching of skill level with challenge allows for less frustration in the beginning levels. The friendly writing style will not intimidate the novice. Two, the projects include very quick items as well as simple, but more time consuming items. This gives the newer knitter the chance to learn new techniques, finish an item fast, or gain practice with simple but bigger items. Three, as a specialty yarn store employee, I know that the projects also appeal to many knitters of all levels and a wide range of ages, shapes, & styles. Even expert knitters need simpler or faster knitting projects at times, yet still retain a sense of style. Experienced knitters may even learn a few new tips. I did. Additionally, the photos show the projects made from several types of yarns, which allows for flexibility with costs, climates, style, etc. The projects are all well-photographed on models (& some on the author), with details very visible, not hidden in shadows or props. This book does not include all the techniques that are sometimes included in books aimed at the new knitter (such as purling), but those books often confuse, frustrate, or fail to inspire the novice. Additional beginner and advanced techniques will be addressed in the upcoming books in the series. The book does teach well all the techniques necessary to handsomely execute the projects in the book, something that some books aimed at newer knitters fail to include.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: I'm a self taught knitter from the beginning of this year. I wish I'd started with this book. It is so easy to follow and has many great projects. I wish weight of yarn were listed in addition to yardage, but all in all, great book.
Rating:
Summary: This book taught me to knit!
Review: It was a rainy December day in Northern California when I stepped into a yarn shop to avoid being drenched. I couldn't believe the beautiful yarns I saw. It wasn't like a trip to Woolsworth with Grandma when I was a kid! After feeling almost every ball of yarn in the store, I knew I just had to start knitting. But how? I remember a very funky chain stitch with a crochet hook when I was 7 years old... I asked the sales consultant to recommend a good basic instructional manual to teach me to knit. She recommended "The Knit Stitch". In the past 4 weeks, I have knitted Joel's scarf, the flat knit hat, a couple of basic scarves using luxurious yarns, and am now feeling confident enough to try the ruana! I have never knitted before. The only knitter I know lives over 400 miles away. This book has taught me to relax, enjoy the simple things, appreciate some hot chai, and learn what satisfaction can be derived from such pleasures. Thanks Sally! Can't wait for book #2!
Rating: 
Summary: Not my favorite for several reasons
Review: The Knit Stitch is a book with great potential, but it's not realized due to poor organization and, at best, weird patterns. But first, the good: the knitting instructions are pretty good. The author teaches the reader to knit through a series of stills which I think are quite clear. The verbal instructions which accompany the photos will help the less-visually-inclined knitter. On the minus side, the photos and font size are quite small throughout the book. The way each lesson is organized is inconsistent - sometimes the series of photos runs across two pages and sometimes each series is restricted only to the left or right side, which is very confusing to follow. Some of the photos clearly have had their contrast sharpened, making the stitches more clear, but the photos more like drawings in the process. This is an indication that the originals were fuzzy and unclear, probably as a result of choosing light colored needles, light colored yarn, and light colored background. The writing throughout the book is very chaotic: it's everywhere - all around the pictures and in the margins. Did I mention the font is tiny? Between having the photos run across two page, and all the separate text blurbs, it's hard to focus on any one thing. The choice of patterns presented here is really bizarre. The simple scarves are fine, but I can't imagine what type of person would wear the other clothes. They aren't suitable for a hip-dressing woman because they aren't modern in their style. They aren't suitable for a more classically-inclined woman because they are too bizarre. I've never seen people wear these kinds of baggy-ish, uneven-hemmed, boxy clothes. Furthermore, I've been told that many of the patterns have not-at-all-obvious typos which will drive the new knitter insane. The book is filled with great tips and advice, but unfortunately most of it will be missed because it's buried in the margin blurbs. The rest of the book is just mediocre.
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