Rating: 
Summary: Nothing But Praise--A Must Have (put next to your EZ's!)
Review: As a patternless person, I often found myself holding up a piece of a garment going, "What in the heck is that?" Sleeves often became seamed hoods, thumbs started resembling arm openings, and socks, well, we all know about socks. About the fourth guess on a cast on, I'd get fed up and have to eat something chocolate to cope. Not pretty. This wonderfully designed lie-flat book elminated that problem for me. For example, I have been knitting a home-from-the-hospital ensemble for my soon-to-be born son. Every baby pattern you find is practicially designed for 0-3 months, but any and all of these would be too large for my needs. Budd's book made it easy. You simply go from line to line in each chart for what you need. This is a resounding recommendation from someone who is barely literate when it comes to pattenrns. Incidentally, this was the only knitting book I purchased this past year--it made average pattern books seem a little useless, considering the size and variation of my stash. I suggest an excellent pairing for this book would be Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embellishments. Between the two, you can come up with some really impressive designs. It's also a great way to make use of your stash, all those little bits and pieces you're dying to use but can't find the right spot for! (And remember, petting your stash counts as using it!)
Rating:
Summary: A must-have reference for basic knits
Review: Ever try to find a mitten pattern? Just a plain old mitten pattern? One without funky cuffs, intarsia patterns? It was this quest that led me to this book. On a cold January, I wanted to knit myself a pair of thick woollen mittens, with extra long cuffs and shorter than normal thumbs (my thumbs are unusually short for my hands, so finding gloves or mittens with a proper thumb size is hard).
This book not only has basic mitten patterns -- it also has gloves, hats, tams, socks, and some basic sweaters (she now has a Handy Book of Sweater Patterns I bought as soon as I found it). At first, the charts seem daunting, but it's actually quite easy to use. Just knit a swatch using the yarn and needles you want to use for the project, then count your stitches per inch. That's the number on one side of the chart. The upper section of the chart is for the various sizes -- and she includes a wide variety of sizes to suit many needs. For example, the basic hats include sizes from premature infants to adult men's hats. Just follow the chart section for your gauge and the size, and you end up with something that's exactly what you expected.
I made two pairs of mittens, one for myself and one for my husband. I've made a preemie hat and a newborn hat so far, and plan to do an adult hat.
Each section also has a variety of ideas on how to personalize the item and make it to your tastes. For example, the hats include a variety of edge styles and hat toppers, with instructions on how to add these to your pattern.
For beginners to advanced knitters, this book is a must-have for foolproof basics.
Rating:
Summary: Good, basic, adaptable patterns
Review: I found this book to be perfect for the beginner to intermediate knitter who wants to play with "fun" yarn, but doesn't want the hassle of finding a pattern to match the yarn, or the skill to design her own pattern. In addition, the sweater patterns can be made in plus sizes. I am sick to death of pattern books that only have small, medium, and large! The mittens, gloves, tams, and sock patterns are basic and simple patterns that I was having difficulty finding in multiple sizes (why is it that pattern books have loads of "fancy" variations on mittens and socks, but not simple patterns for those of us learning to make them?) While learning how to make a new item (like gloves), it is nice to have a simple pattern to learn with. I also like to knit gifts for family and friends. Being able to use a simple pattern makes it easy to create that "last minuet" gift for someone. My creativity has also been challenged using this book. There are edging and finishing options for many of the patterns in the books, so there is some verity. There are hundreds of possibilities with the patterns in this book. Besides the ability of use the yarn of my choice, I have included things like stripes and Fair Isle designs in the basic patterns (I keep graph paper in the handy pocket on the back cover). Another thing I like about this book, it is spiral bound, so it will lay flat! No more fighting with a pattern book that refuses to stay open! As an intermediate knitter who would rather play with yarn than futz with a pattern, I highly recommend this book. If you want basic patterns to learn with, I highly recommend this book. If you want to make a gift for someone with a really great yarn you found, this is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Good, basic, adaptable patterns
Review: I found this book to be perfect for the beginner to intermediate knitter who wants to play with "fun" yarn, but doesn't want the hassle of finding a pattern to match the yarn, or the skill to design her own pattern. In addition, the sweater patterns can be made in plus sizes. I am sick to death of pattern books that only have small, medium, and large! The mittens, gloves, tams, and sock patterns are basic and simple patterns that I was having difficulty finding in multiple sizes (why is it that pattern books have loads of "fancy" variations on mittens and socks, but not simple patterns for those of us learning to make them?) While learning how to make a new item (like gloves), it is nice to have a simple pattern to learn with. I also like to knit gifts for family and friends. Being able to use a simple pattern makes it easy to create that "last minuet" gift for someone. My creativity has also been challenged using this book. There are edging and finishing options for many of the patterns in the books, so there is some verity. There are hundreds of possibilities with the patterns in this book. Besides the ability of use the yarn of my choice, I have included things like stripes and Fair Isle designs in the basic patterns (I keep graph paper in the handy pocket on the back cover). Another thing I like about this book, it is spiral bound, so it will lay flat! No more fighting with a pattern book that refuses to stay open! As an intermediate knitter who would rather play with yarn than futz with a pattern, I highly recommend this book. If you want basic patterns to learn with, I highly recommend this book. If you want to make a gift for someone with a really great yarn you found, this is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: I rate this a MUST-HAVE knitting essential--here's why:
Review: I have been knitting for 35 years and make everything from socks to afghans. I like to design my own patterns, but when in a hurry I like to follow a pattern "recipe." This book allows me to do both: I can follow the blueprints here to make the basic garments or I can use them as a template for embellishments of my own. Now, that is supremely useful, so right away, "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" got my vote as "most useful knitting book of the year." In particular, this book is great for grabbing any yarn from your (embarrassingly large) yarn stash and knitting a quick gift for someone, making a charity project or replacing yet another hat or set of mittens left on the schoolbus (one author recommends you just knit mittens in sets of three and bow to the inevitable.) The patterns include mittens, gloves, scarves and hats to vests, pullovers and cardigans. They can be knit in yarns ranging from the lightest fingering and baby weight to chunky and bulky. Each pattern has a table, on which the vertical axis shows gauge and the horizontal the size. So it is a simple matter to take a yarn in your stash and use it for any of these patterns. (And that's good for reducing the huge pile of yarn collected over the years you may be hiding in the trunk of the car or the unused fridge in the basement.) There are also helpful technical tip sections on adding embellishments like colorwork, texture or edgings, and nice drawings of the techniques used. And there is a glossary of techniques and terms used. This is a "handy" book, but you would still need some kind of sweater design book that gives a schematic for raglan and yoke style sweater designs. These are NOT included in this book. I believe that may have been a tough choice for the author and project editor in order to hold the size of the book down, or to complete the book on time (which, considering the variations of patterns, gauges and sizes must have been intense.) I wish both the yoke and raglan sweaters were here or at least a schematic of the famous "EZ Percentage System" which was devised to knit yoke and raglans in any gauge and size. However, this book is otherwise so useful that this deficiency, though regrettable, is not a showstopper--many basic books for knitters have these schematics. You probably have one on your bookshelf, as I do. What I also admire about "Handy Patterns" is the choice of binding. This is take-along sized, spiral-bound (lies FLAT!!!) with perfect-bound boards (shiny paper cover, no dust jacket.) The inside back has a pocket for notes and an elastic band for holding the book shut if you put a lot of other loose notations inside. (Good if you attend knitting classes on specialized techniques.) In summary, this is a really useful book, but should be supplemented by other books in a knitter's essential library such as books of color patterns, edgings and embellishments and books on sweater design. I'd rate it somewhat better for small projects (hats, gloves, mittens) than for large projects, but overall, this is a must-have in my library.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice but very limited resource
Review: I rushed to purchase this book after reading all the rave reviews on this site. I have to say it way my high expectations that caused such disappointment with this book. There are only 8 patterns (mitten, glove, hat, tam, scarf, socks, vest, sweater) in this book with NO SHAPING variations. There is one mitten pattern, with spiral shaping near the tops which is certainly not my favorite, and no other shaping options which give a cleaner edge. The basic glove pattern and tam patterns are fine, but a pattern for a scarf is wholly uneccessary, even a knitting neophite can knit a rectangle. There are no shaping variations for the toe on the sock pattern and the sole sweater pattern only features set-in sleeves. What about raglan and dropped sleeve sweaters? What about a V-neck cardigan instead of the round neck, what about a V-neck crew? This book is fine for a beginning to advanced beginning knitter. If you are intermediate to advanced, you are going to be sorely disappointed by the lack of options and are better off to modify a pattern from an old magazine yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!...
Review: I've been looking for this book for years. I have an old Leisure Arts leaflet that has basic sweater patterns for all sizes from 6 months to a 50 inch chest - basic cardigans & pullovers with neckline variations in 3 or 4 weights of yarn. I found this enormously helpful when my children were small & kept wishing for similar books with more garments. Well, Ann Budd has answered my plea! This book & a good stitch dictionary are all any knitter would need to clothe their families forever. I especially appreciate it since I have a huge stash, much of it yarns that are no longer made. So obviously, no patterns are being written for them. I think that, if I had to give up all my knitting books but one, this would be the one I'd keep.
Rating:
Summary: The book I've been waiting for!
Review: I've wanted this book for a very long time and when I finally got it I was not disappointed. Sure, the patterns are simple, but that is what is so great about them! This book gives people who like to experiment with different colors and yarns a base to come back to. You can take almost any yarn you want and any size person and make something fun! As a knitter who loves to design patterns and play, I am very happy with the results of the things I have made using these patterns. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: A good beginning, but needs more theoretical background
Review: If you want flexible patterns that can be knitted up into a variety of styles with a variety of yarns, this is a good resource to begin with. The styles ARE dull: that's the point. They're meant to be enhanced by exciting colorwork, stitch patterns, and lovely yarns. The necks on the sweaters are modular: you can use the instructions for the V-neck vest for the cardigan as well. I think this is a terrific book for the adventurous beginner who feels confident enough to work with embellishments, but still needs the support of tried-and-true shaping instructions for a garment. Where this book doesn't work for me is that when I do want to mess with the structural basis of a handknit garment, it gives me no guidelines to work with. Say the Child sweater sizes are too broad (which is true---the 2-4 age range for a sweater in the book is ridiculous). So I decide to take a few stitches off the stitch number designated for my yarn and size range. All is well... until I come to shape the neck and armholes. If I use the numbers in the book, the holes will be huge. If I don't... where do I get my shaping instructions from? The book doesn't have them. Even a general guideline for how to work proportional sleeves and necks would be better than nothing.
Rating: 
Summary: All that excitement for nothing much.
Review: Like one of the other reviewers, I bought this book based on the other excellent reviews it had received. I was also disappointed in the limited patterns, but my primary disappointment is that most of the instructions (charts for changing gauges) are printed backwards! As an experienced knitter, I recognized it before trying anything. But that is a major mistake for a book that is supposed to be useful for beginners. It is a shame this mistake slipped by the authors - it could have been a useful book. For those who need to identify the mistakes, look at the charts showing how many stitches to cast on based on gauge. The hat instructions say gauge 9 should cast on 216 stitches - that is one huge hat!
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