The New Macrame: Contemporary Knotted Jewelry and Accessories

Rating:
Summary: Good photos, needs more directions
Review: I found this book to be severly lacking in good instructions and illustrations. I began the Rainbow Card Caddy project but I could not make my project look like the one in the book based on the instructions given. The book has illustrations of the knots but they are not enough to complete the project as written.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not recommended for beginners
Review: The photos are the finest I have seen in many of the macreme books. The instructions are left open, permitting you to add your own personal touch, which at times can be difficult if you are used to concrete step-by-step instructions. I would however suggest that if you are a beginner you should start with a more basic book such as Hemp Masters. The New Macreme is a book for intermidiate and advanced, due to its very open ended intructions and the materials used. But all in all it is great book to further yourself, and try new ideas and help expand on old ones.

Rating:
Summary: Not enough "new" to make it worth buying.
Review: When a book is called "The New Macrame," a reader has a right to expect either entirely different knotting techniques or totally different projects. What is new about this book is that it contains many more color pictures than previous macrame books. It also has several updated looks in jewelry--for example, there is a "Y" necklace style, a ring and earrings made of wire instead of hemp, and an aroma therapy bottle necklace.
However, if I squinted a little, that aromatherapy bottle cover could have been a plant hanger of the 1960s. And the "Y" necklace still has it's roots in the 1960s hairy hemp and big ol' E beads. And that's my main objection to the book. It's not really new.
The square knot, half knot, lark's head, and half hitch aren't new. Using wire is new, but one ring and one set of earrings doesn't qualify the book as "new." Showing the old knots with new materials--Conso, Stringth, or colored art wire would have given the reader a useful comparison. But that isn't in the book.
The descriptions are shown, both with a line drawing and a photograph, and for the person with experience, that's enough. But for someone new to macrame, each knot diagram could have had one more stage, half way through, shown. This book makes the mistake many user's manuals make--the writers don't pay attention to the needs of the audience. If it's a book for beginners, more steps are needed. If it's a book for advanced knot-tiers, give us advanced projects.
The titles of the projects are also off-putting. Who wants to make a "Yuppie Puppy Leash and Collar"? And why would you call an earring pattern "Take Two Earrings and Call Me in The Morning"? or a belt a "Fringe Benefit Belt"?
Beginning macrame students would do far better looking for help in "The 'knotty' Macrame and Beading Book" by Wendy Connor and advanced students will be happier with "Braiding and Knotting Techniques and Projects" by Constantine A. Belash.