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Rating: 
Summary: Very modern patterns and helpful hints...
Review: I am always looking for patterns that are a little more modern and wearable for my nieces. This book is great for the crocheter venturing out to new things. It offers styles that are not available in other pattern books and garments with bold and vibrant yarns.
The yarn content is also given just in case you need to substitute.
I also enjoy the hints at the back of the book. The editor has taken the time to give out personal how-to's and some are eye opening even for the more seasoned crocheters.
I'll keep this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very modern patterns and helpful hints...
Review: I am always looking for patterns that are a little more modern and wearable for my nieces. This book is great for the crocheter venturing out to new things. It offers styles that are not available in other pattern books and garments with bold and vibrant yarns.
The yarn content is also given just in case you need to substitute.
I also enjoy the hints at the back of the book. The editor has taken the time to give out personal how-to's and some are eye opening even for the more seasoned crocheters.
I'll keep this book.
Rating: 
Summary: hate to be the bearer of bad news,,,,,,,,
Review: I purchased this book as I have recently gotten " hooked" on crochet,and have gone through lots of time and trouble looking at crochet patterns for myself ( and others that I crochet and knit for.) This book I would classify as only OK,,,,,( nothing I would be excited about)
It has very few patterns I would like to try,,,,, in all fairness however, its because I truly prefer Melissa Leapman's book over this book,,,,and more recently have obtained some GREAT crochet patterns by a company called OAT COUTURES,,,you now see more knit pattern companies adding new lines of crochet patterns that are great!!!!( which benefits us all!!!) I favor the M. Leapman book over this because she has sweaters that are reflective of the needleart of crochet ,,not crochet TRYING to look like knitted patterns,,,THIS,, is my main criticisim of this book, overall,,, there is only 1 pattern I would consider actually making up and wearing, in the other book,,,MOST of them I would consider making up (and wearing) It is my desire to create a look that exemplifies crochet at its very best, not try to copy another needleart. Specifically,,,, this reason I took it up in the first place!
I would check this book out from the library and see if its right for you before purchasing ,,,see if the amount of patterns that you REALLY would make up is worth having this book in your stitching library,,,you may find you like it far better than I do,,,its all a matter of personal preference. I plan to sell my copy of this book. This rather poor rating of the book goes against something I learned a long time ago, if you cant say something nice,,,dont say anything at all,,,,,
Rating: 
Summary: Great patterns, easy stitches, can't find the yarn anywhere.
Review: The patterns in this book are really nice -- most are things you'd actually like to wear, not sweaters that look like they've been put together from scraps of crocheted tablecloths or afghans. I only learned to crochet about two years ago, and all I had made prior to getting this book were scarves and baby blankets. I didn't find the patterns hard to understand at all, and the stitches really are easy to master. I think my skill level has risen considerably since buying this book. My problem with the book is that all the designs use yarn that is not readily available. I do like using yarns that are higher-quality than the stuff you get at the craft store, but some of these are really obscure (and expensive). Some yarns do not even seem to be manufactured anymore, which is not necessarily the designers' fault. However they did make it much harder for us by not including key information like knitting gauge and/or weight (i.e. worsted, dk, sport weight, etc) for each yarn, so you have to do some digging to get enough information to make yarn substitutions. In the back of the book there are two pages that are *supposed* to help you make substitutions. They have photographs of a strand of each type of yarn, fiber content, yardage, etc, but no information on gauge!! These pages are not very helpful because the photos of the strands do not seem to be to scale, so you can't just visually compare the yarn you're thinking of substituting. What I ended up doing was this: I looked the yarns up in online yarn stores (when I could) to figure out gauge and yardage, and I made substitutions from what was available in similar fibers and gauges from Elann.com. So far my sweaters have turned out fine. But a word of warning -- if you're not comfortable making substitutions (and the inevitable adjustments you have to make as a result), you probably will not be able to make several of the sweaters in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great patterns, easy stitches, can't find the yarn anywhere.
Review: The patterns in this book are really nice -- most are things you'd actually like to wear, not sweaters that look like they've been put together from scraps of crocheted tablecloths or afghans. I only learned to crochet about two years ago, and all I had made prior to getting this book were scarves and baby blankets. I didn't find the patterns hard to understand at all, and the stitches really are easy to master. I think my skill level has risen considerably since buying this book. My problem with the book is that all the designs use yarn that is not readily available. I do like using yarns that are higher-quality than the stuff you get at the craft store, but some of these are really obscure (and expensive). Some yarns do not even seem to be manufactured anymore, which is not necessarily the designers' fault. However they did make it much harder for us by not including key information like knitting gauge and/or weight (i.e. worsted, dk, sport weight, etc) for each yarn, so you have to do some digging to get enough information to make yarn substitutions. In the back of the book there are two pages that are *supposed* to help you make substitutions. They have photographs of a strand of each type of yarn, fiber content, yardage, etc, but no information on gauge!! These pages are not very helpful because the photos of the strands do not seem to be to scale, so you can't just visually compare the yarn you're thinking of substituting. What I ended up doing was this: I looked the yarns up in online yarn stores (when I could) to figure out gauge and yardage, and I made substitutions from what was available in similar fibers and gauges from Elann.com. So far my sweaters have turned out fine. But a word of warning -- if you're not comfortable making substitutions (and the inevitable adjustments you have to make as a result), you probably will not be able to make several of the sweaters in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific for beginners, and lots of warm-weather sweaters!
Review: This book could be used by a beginner who has only done straight scarves, to do their first sweater. Pages 95 to 117 are a pretty comprehensive "how to crochet, how to choose a pattern, how to choose a yarn" set of instructions. There are sweaters in here using only the simplest of stitches, and very thorough instructions for sweaters that use more complex stitches.
While several people have mentioned that they found some of the yarns obscure, I have had no problems finding these yarns in specialty shops and especially on eBay; you may not find them at big chain crafts stores (we don't need to mention names) but then, if you are going to make sweaters you'll want to wear for a lifetime, you don't want to use mass market acrylic yarn, so the hunt for specialty yarns is worth it. The section of the book on how to choose a yarn will help you find equivalents if you don't find the exact brand. There are many interchangeable medium-weight cotton and rayon yarns. And for those whose only place to buy yarn is a chain store, check out, say, the "Bright Ideas" pattern, made with Lion Brand Microspun microfiber yarn. For many of the obscure DK/sport weight yarns, you could substitute Berroco Cotton Twist with no problem! If all else fails, bring the book with you when you shop for yarn, and use the guide on pages 124-125: hold a sample of a yarn you've found against the picture of the yarn called for, to see if it's the same width and fuzziness. The only other trick to substituting yarns is the stretchiness factor; if a pattern calls for a very stretchy yarn, you can't substitute cotton or rayon. But most of these patterns call for chenille, fake-fur and eyelash, and cotton or rayon blends to begin with. (Can you tell I really like this feature of the book? I'm a cotton nut!!)
Many of the sweaters are made with cotton or rayon yarns and have short-sleeved versions, so that they are suitable even for people who live in warm-weather climates. If you're in Florida or Texas or a similar climate, you'll appreciate this! As I write this, it's 99 degrees in the middle of September, and I haven't made a long-sleeved sweater or used wool yarn in YEARS! I am continually disappointed by new books of sweater patterns that seem to assume everyone lives above the 38th parallel; this book is one of the few that has just as many sweaters for those of us down around the 31st parallel. Even many of the long-sleeved sweaters are made with cotton blends rather than wool blends.
One especially valuable feature of this book is the "Foundations" sections at the end of several patterns - these are mini-lessons, tips and tricks. There are a few that taught me something new, even though I have been crocheting for ::mumble:: (forty years) ::mumble:: Beginners could flip through and read all the Foundations bits before starting on something.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad...
Review: This book must be for professional crocheters. The instructions and suggested yarns were beyond my thinking. I keep looking through this book and have come to the conclusion that it is for advanced crocheters only. I was enlightened on how to use beads in crocheting though, so all has not been lost. I will continue to read this book, and continue to crochet, and maybe one day I will be able to use this book.
Credit is to be given for the ideas and the pictures.
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