Simply Beautiful Sweaters

Rating:
Summary: finally, inspiration for the younger and hipper beginner
Review: As a woman under 31 who started knitting last year, I *devoured* this beautiful collection of colorful but simple sweaters that didn't remind me of my grandmother. I am grateful that the authors took the time to collect patterns that are attractive (not stodgy!) but accessible to the beginner. Finally I have a book I want to show my friends who ask why and what I knit (sorry, but most of the more popular publications -- not Vogue Knitting or Rowan -- look like absolute death to the young(er) and hip(per)).

I should note also that this book is behind my decision to invest in *really* nice yarns whenever I can. Even a simple pattern will showcase a great yarn (and vice versa). Besides, my time and the recipients of the sweater (me included) are worth the extra expense.

Rating:
Summary: Inspired and enjoyable knitting
Review: I enjoyed this book greatly. I am in the younger generation of knitter, chubby yarns, cute styles and fast results. That is what this book is all about. While luxery fibers are used through much of the book, substitutions are fairly easy and that can cut the price of knitting considerably. I agree that the price is a bit steep but it can usually be found on sale. One problem with the text: the authors give no size for the buttons required so you need to use guesswork. Not too good for the newbies like me. But the knitting is good. Sure it may seem simplistic but the styles are attractive and the lines are classic.

Rating:
Summary: luv2knit luvs this book!
Review: I have owned this book for quite awhile, I own the entire series, this one, the Men's book as well as the Throw book,
I have made 2 of the mens sweaters so far and 2 throws, but have not to date used this book for myself.

Well,,,,after reading some of the very negative comments on this book ( as well as the others by these authors!) it would be easy ( if you did not own this book!) to by pass this treasure of a book.

I for one do not feel ( and I have said this before!) that good yarn does not = EXPENSIVE yarn,
That said, THEY use a lot of very EXPENSIVE yarns in their designs, (and yes, its yummy to look at and dream about,)

HOWEVER,,,,,,,,,,
I have recently put together my own little groupings of yarns to make up one of their summer short sleeved sweaters,,,,
what I used was tahki cotton classic yarns,,,in 5 colorways and added some textural yarn to mix in ,,,,,,,,what a lovely sweater this will be! The people at my LYS are amazed at what I was ( with very careful thought!) able to put together for the price I did ( total bill,,,,,100$$!) and have a to die for designer look!

know what? you CAN do this on your own and THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THESE BOOKS ARE TEACHING YOU TO DO!
IF you like simple to make sweaters but with lots of added zing and color that "pop", USE your imagination,,,,and create the sweater of your dreams!
and,,,,stay within YOUR own budget also!( WHATEVER that may be!)
see,,,,,,this is what its ALL ABOUT!
creating , creating , creating!

go ahead,,,,,MIX 2 to 3 yarns and see what you come up with!
Do SO many lack creativity that they MUST follow the patterns and use the SAME yarn,,,( and if its expensive,,,,complain?)
why not in heaven's name,,,,,,,MAKE UP YOUR OWN COMBINATIONS?

go ahead,,,,,start this and you wont be able to stop it,,,,,,
again,,,,,,,I repeat, that is exactly what these series of books are all about!

It NEVER EVER promised to be a technique book! ( does the word SIMPLE perhaps give that away??)
its SIMPLY lovely sweaters , well written and EXTREMELY flattering patterns ( unlike the super "hip" patterns of today that so many do up!) and so few can wear!

these are easy to do up! they even go so far as to tell the new knitter when to turn and work, ,,,(,how great is that?)

If you are looking for a technique book this is NOT the choice, but if you are looking for S*I*M*P*L*E patterns that will truly inspire you to begin to swatch your very own mixtures and come up with stunning combinations, this IS for you!
like I said, now I have people looking at my combinations and wanting to copy them! ( great compliment, but I do not want my things copied either!)
check the book out of the library first,,,look it over,,,,,,remember its UP TO YOU to create( they do give guage and yarn requirements!)
why copy? make your own and see what kind of creativity can pour out of you if you give it a chance! you will find out for yourself how much FUN this is,,,,,,,,

Rating:
Summary: simply EXPENSIVE sweaters,,,,,,
Review: The book has patterns that are simple,,,as stated,,
they are not classic as stated by some previous reviews
( 2- 3 stitches per inch is not classic,,trendy,yes,
classic ,,,no)
The use of color in the work is lovely, great credit is due there.( so,,,,,,,,,, take the book out from the library , take the time to look, that is all you need,, a quick look,,,,.
absolutely NO color theory taught or even HOW to make your own substitutions!!,,)

Addtionally I called the authors( they own the shop, number is listed in back for ordering etc) and asked about several sweaters that I MAY have wanted to make up that were displayed in the book,,,
The patterns were available they said, but one would have to buy them,,,
why would they create a dispay of sweaters that patterns would not be written about in the book?
(is this good taste??,,,,,)

seriously ,,,HOW many women really look good in sweaters knit on such large needles, ( it may be "hip" but it really isnt all that flattering unless you are 5'8' and 110 lbs,) all too often many women ( sadly) will wear what is the"latest" look but looks terrible on them,,,,

However,,IF you dont use the very expensive yarns to make up the sweater offerings,( and they are virutally all the same! they just changed some yarns and the guages!),,you loose the look, guaranteed....
( an added note,,
where oh where do you even OBTAIN 10 3/4 size needles?
I dont think they make them anymore,, and I HAVE tried to find them,,,)

guess its a matter of taste
if you are up to spending over 300$ plus for a sweater and wearing it for 2-3 years ,,,then this book will work for you,,,

I did one sweater and yes,,, I spent 340 for the yarn to do it up,
it was very easy to do, but truly,, even WITH the yarn ,,,it is definately boxy looking , and by boxy I really mean boxy! ( so,,, is boxy hip??)

Truth be told,,, in a year or so,, I will be taking it apart and making a throw,, to re use the yarn,( like the lovely colinette kits,,,),it is simply too expensive not to re use and its starting to look dated already!!

If you are looking to learn to do sweaters and still treat yourself to some lovely eye candy, you would be far better off getting a basic book on knitting and a great book on color.
That is where the real artistry come from,,the blending of the 2 with needles and yarn,,,,,,

As you progress in your knitting,learn a few new tecniques ( slip stitching,,some very easy fair isle or simply mixing yarns and basic striping,)and you will be far better off for it.

For the price of the yarn for one sweater,,,I could have made one to -die -for (quality) cashmere sweater in a truly classic style that would have been happily worn for many years,,,

I dont think I will be wearing sweaters that are about 2- 3 stitches per inch a year from now,,( some are 4.5 stitches per inch, also,but those guages are few,,,)


I ordered pure shetland yarn from overseas for 2 sweaters and it cost less to make these up than one sweater of theirs!

After knitting for several years(3),,,I see the trend really shifting from the fuzzy, boucle , eyelashy yarns to the quality of the shetlands, cashmeres,, good wools and silks, etc,,,( at least I see that at my local yarn shop and guild)
even most new knitters have moved on,,,,,,
take a good look at the best reviews this book has receieved and check out the year,,,,
1999???
that was HOW many years ago?? It's 2004 now,,,, ( my point exactly about this book,)
this book is dated already

Rating:
Summary: A simply beautiful book for beginners to advanced!
Review: This book is an ideal first pattern book for a brand new knitter but what good is it to a more advanced knitter? Let me explain. (I have a year of knitting under my belt and three completed sweaters to show for it not including the one I am going to talk about)

I bought some very nice cotton worsted weight on a whim because it was on sale. I had no idea what I would do with it. Then, a special occasion came up. I had a dressy skirt but no top to go with it. Since the yarn was black, I knew it would match but I needed a FAST pattern to get my top done in time and the gauge was too thin for me to speed through. I chose the back button cardigan in this book and made it with doubled yarn. Lovely!

There you have it, this book is great for what I would call emergency knitting. You need a sweater pronto for a gift, an outfit, a wedding, whatever. Obviously, needle size 3 intarsia creations would be out when you only have a weeks notice.

In addition, the introduction is very informative and the troubleshooting tips are well illustrated. I agree, the yarn is rather pricey but then I feel that if I am going to invest my time in a garment, I should buy the best yarn I can afford. I have had a year of happy knitting as a result of this philosophy. And, the higher the quality of the yarn, the longer your garment will last in all likelihood. You're making heirlooms here! And, as noted earlier, it is easy to substitute yarns due to the format of the book. (I would not suggest a beginner going outside of the basic yarn "type", though. Cotton for cotton, wool for wool is best if you are not yet familiar with the results of changing materials.)

In my opinion, complaining about the simplicity of a book titled SIMPLY beautiful sweaters is like getting angry at a school course called BASIC English for being basic. There was no false advertising involved. The authors delivered what they promised.

This book has paid for itself in my eyes and I hope everyone will give it a fair chance. Remember, knitting doesn't have to be complicated to be beautiful. Happy knitting!

Rating:
Summary: A simply beautiful book for beginners to advanced!
Review: This book is great for beginners to advanced. The patterns are written very clearly and the charts are excellent. The sweaters are knitted very quickly and easily. These are great when you do not feel like working on a more complicated design. Granted they do use "designer" type yarns. However, with the guage and yardage information they provide, another yarn of your choice is easily substituted as I have done with my projects. I highly recommend this book to anyone with the "knitting addiction!"

Rating:
Summary: Over Priced
Review: This book is very pretty and the yarns are superb and expensive, but most of the sweaters are pretty useless. There are too many bulky cropped thingies and patterns that call for all sorts of hard to find novelty yarns. The other thing which irks me is the insistence on peculiar needle sizes, for example, what the heck is a 10 3/4 size needle, and why cant you simplt use a 10 1/2?

Also, there is a sweator in a picture of the store that looks great but.....it's not in the book!

I bought this in a friends yarn shop as a favor and I have not knit one thing from it.

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointed
Review: When this book came, I grabbed a coffee, my knitting chair, my glasses...and entered a bit of knitting heaven! It was everything the reviews I had read said it would be.

This is not a technical book; no new ways to do Fair-Isle or delicate, complicated patterns. While the designs are quite simple, the choices of yarn and small stying details update classic patterning and gives this knitter some wonderful ideas for lots of knitting projects.

The photographs are beautiful; clear and colorful. The yarn is scrumptious and the directions are easy to follow, complete with schematics. I found myself looking at my yarn stash, thinking of yarns I could combine to get the expensive, designer look of the samples!

I would not call this book a "necessity" for a knitting library, but rather, a lovely addition:

Rating:
Summary: What Fabulous Eye Candy!
Review: When this book came, I grabbed a coffee, my knitting chair, my glasses...and entered a bit of knitting heaven! It was everything the reviews I had read said it would be.

This is not a technical book; no new ways to do Fair-Isle or delicate, complicated patterns. While the designs are quite simple, the choices of yarn and small stying details update classic patterning and gives this knitter some wonderful ideas for lots of knitting projects.

The photographs are beautiful; clear and colorful. The yarn is scrumptious and the directions are easy to follow, complete with schematics. I found myself looking at my yarn stash, thinking of yarns I could combine to get the expensive, designer look of the samples!

I would not call this book a "necessity" for a knitting library, but rather, a lovely addition: