Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting

Rating:
Summary: Great pattern reference book......
Review: Donna Kooler has done it again. Like her Encyclopedia of Crochet, the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF KNITTING is a must-have resource for your knitting-crocheting library. EN is divided into three major sections: 1/ history and other basic information; 2/ a few dozen knitting projects (scarves, pullover, hat or two, beautiful pullover shawl in kaleidoscopic pattern, a toy or two, dog jackets, socks); 3/ `Knitting Pattern Gallery'.

The Knitting Pattern Gallery shows pages and pages of various pattern swatches with instructions on how to make each of them. I find making a swatch a really good thing to do before I become immersed (and embroiled) in a larger project. Some of these patterns are quite complicated and definitely beyond the skills at hand of the new knitter. Others are doable. If you are working on a complex pattern and want a little guidance, Kooler's books are handy to have nearby. I refer to them all the time. Sometimes you just need to see a stitch up close to determine whether or not you can tackle it. ***** for patterns; **** for projects

Rating:
Summary: dont waste your money
Review: I purchased this book as another reference to have besides my VOGUE " bible" ( as I call it,)

This book is NOT worth the money and I will most probably sell it soon.

There is very little in the contents that cannot be covered much better in other reference books and to add further comment,,, the patterns offered are really fairly complicated for the beginning to intermediate knitter,( I consider myself an intermediate knitter as I am now able to begin to design my own garments, )

That said,,,there really is no real "range" of patterns,,,,
the beginning knitter would be pretty hard pressed to even find a simple afghan to knit up. The beading chapter is EXTREMELY complicated , BUT,,, the new Lily Chin book on beading is very good ,, well written,, and quite simple to follow and learn from,,,,( should one be looking to take this up,,,,) Essentially it is a much much better resource than this book,,
AND,,
how many knitters REALLY want to knit with wire.. and knit necklaces???
if so, there ( again) are far better options available that have clearly better instructions should that be your particular interest.


The stitch sampler at the back of the book is VERY poorly executed.
If one wanted to learn to do a slip stitch technique or a fair isle pattern one would want to see the pattern that is being worked upon!( light pink and white yarn with a WHITE background??)

All the patterns are done with pastel yarn upon pastel yarn, making it fairly difficult to visualize clearly the pattern formed, (in most other books they use either black and white so you can clearly see the pattern or strongly contrasting color so therefore your pattern is very apparent,)

It does not appear that much thought was placed into this section,,, and this is an important section!

The older stitch pattern books are far better and offer considerably more( you can get B Walkers books,, used ,,for a good price ) and have an entire book of real and,, CORRECT patterns,,,
by the way,,those who gave the best reviews, have they actually TRIED any of the patterns yet?
bet they would change their minds as soon as they became frustrated with pattern error,,,

This is a book to not have waste money upon..

The only reason I bought it was that I was looking for some more technique resources and I see now that this was a mistake.
(Recently I viewed the book KNITTING IN THE OLD WAY and saw that there was much more to offer in the line of tried and true techinques such as various cast ons, decreases, etc,,,)

Do yourself a favor,,,and stick with the VOGUE reference book,,(even though it costs a bit more,,its a book that will remain used very much for all your knitting life....it it the best reference book there is hands down,,),

I would rather not give a book a bad review,,,,but, I felt so strongly that this book was done so very poorly that I wanted at least let others know not to make the same mistake I did,,it was money poorly spent,,,

Rating:
Summary: Very comprehensive
Review: It is a detailed reference book, with lots of how-to, stitch pattern library and some projects. It also has alot of diagrams to show how the stitches are worked especially for some complex stitches. However, diagrams on some basic know-hows like grafting etc are missing altho it is covered in the text but it is ok as such info are readily available on the web or just ask someone. Overall, a very good & comprehensive book on knitting.

Rating:
Summary: Very comprehensive
Review: Last year, I purchased Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crocheting, and fell in love with the beautiful design, clear instructions, neat projects, and stitch library. I started knitting again recently, and when I found out there was an Encyclopdia of Knitting coming out, I got it without looking at a single page or reading a review, and I'm not disappointed.

Like the crochet version, the design is very nice and clear. It's not too big (240 pages); it's colorful and nice to handle. There is a history of knitting, and from there it goes into instruction, techniques, projects, and a stitch library.

Some of the projects that have caught my eye are the "Take it from the Top Pullover", "Elegant Beaded Scarf", "Sweet Baby of Mine" (easy and pretty cotton baby blanket), and especially, "Kaleidoscope", a gorgeous wrap done in Entrelac squares and Noro's Silk Garden yarn. I think "Kaleidoscope" will be my introduction to Entrelac. I also want to get into knitting with beads and colorwork, and the book has nice instructions and projects for those techniques.

This book has something for knitters of all levels--I straddle somewhere betweeen advanced beginner and intermediate. I already know that it will be one of my favorite knitting books and assist me in improving my knitting skills and knowledge for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Every Knitter Should Have This Book!!!
Review: Last year, I purchased Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crocheting, and fell in love with the beautiful design, clear instructions, neat projects, and stitch library. I started knitting again recently, and when I found out there was an Encyclopdia of Knitting coming out, I got it without looking at a single page or reading a review, and I'm not disappointed.

Like the crochet version, the design is very nice and clear. It's not too big (240 pages); it's colorful and nice to handle. There is a history of knitting, and from there it goes into instruction, techniques, projects, and a stitch library.

Some of the projects that have caught my eye are the "Take it from the Top Pullover", "Elegant Beaded Scarf", "Sweet Baby of Mine" (easy and pretty cotton baby blanket), and especially, "Kaleidoscope", a gorgeous wrap done in Entrelac squares and Noro's Silk Garden yarn. I think "Kaleidoscope" will be my introduction to Entrelac. I also want to get into knitting with beads and colorwork, and the book has nice instructions and projects for those techniques.

This book has something for knitters of all levels--I straddle somewhere betweeen advanced beginner and intermediate. I already know that it will be one of my favorite knitting books and assist me in improving my knitting skills and knowledge for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: A fun Knitter's Encyclopedia with great projects!
Review: What I especially like about this knitting book is that it shows a variety of techniques from basics to entrelac, from beading to fair isle, from felting/fulling to beautiful lace work... along with a nice stitch dictionary. 22 projects by well known knitters included in the large sized, substantial book. Definitely worth the retail price! And it'd make a great gift for yourself... or for any knitter--beginning to experienced.
I'll be knitting the a few of the patterns from it very soon: the fulled baby mary janes, the fulled hat, and the fulled sheep with my handspun yarns.

Buy it! You won't regret it.
That's my humble experienced knitter's opinion and I'm stickin' to it!

Rating:
Summary: Good for general info but project pattern full of errors
Review: While this book may be a good general reference, be careful when starting any of its projects. I tried to make the "elegant beaded scarf" and found the pattern so full of errors (in some cases the stitches in a row just didn't add up!) that I had to get out some graph paper and redesign the beading. Luckily, the scarf came out beautifully, but it was a frustrating experience. I'm not going to risk trying the other patterns in the book - I don't want to waste expensive yarn.

Rating:
Summary: Good for general info but project pattern full of errors
Review: While this book may be a good general reference, be careful when starting any of its projects. I tried to make the "elegant beaded scarf" and found the pattern so full of errors (in some cases the stitches in a row just didn't add up!) that I had to get out some graph paper and redesign the beading. Luckily, the scarf came out beautifully, but it was a frustrating experience. I'm not going to risk trying the other patterns in the book - I don't want to waste expensive yarn.