Rating: 
Summary: Not a good beginner's book
Review: As a new knitter, I chose the "simple" lavender bag to knit. The number of stiches are wrong and it's hard for a beginner to adjust easily. It was my first time following a pattern and I didn't expect to encounter any errors in a seemingly simple pattern.
Rating: 
Summary: A Terrific Value!
Review: Buy this book! Whatever your skill level, you'll find beautiful and classic designs for babies, ideal for gifts, or for your own bundle of joy. I usually find that I only want to knit up a couple of patterns in the knitting books I see. But in THIS book, I want to knit up almost every single item! The book includes patterns for: several sweaters (even beginner's can do them), leggings, booties, cardigans, several baby blankets, a baby cushion, a hat, an old-fashioned "wrap top," an adorable teddy bear, a "Mabel" dress, old-fashioned "vests" (tops that tie in the back), and more.
Rating:
Summary: this book rocks!
Review: from simple booties and a hat that knit up in a snap for quick gifts, to more elaborate baby sweaters and dresses, even a teddy bear, this book is terrific. beautiful pics! easy to understand directions! if you're going to buy one baby pattern book, this is the one to get. many of the patterns are written for cashmere, but it's easy to subsitute with more practical, less expensive yarn.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Book
Review: I agree with the reviewer who says this is a beautiful book but the patterns have not been adequately checked. I'm a good knitter, with dozens of sweaters to my credit. If I think it's not right, then it isn't. The patterns couldn't be more darling. There are several bootie patterns, two blankets, and host of sweaters, from the challenging raglan to the simple garter stitch. All sweaters are for sizes up 1 yr. All call for Debbie Bliss yarns, but substituting is fairly easy since the gauges are given, mostly over stockinette. The bad news is that the patterns are oddly and inconsistently written. The sweater I just knit is a cardigan with garter stitch edges lined with ribbon trim. The sweater is knit in the usual way -- back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves, neckband knit on. For the second front, they don't say something economical, such as "work same as left front, reversing all shaping." They repeat and reverse all the instructions. Leaves you wondering what's different. But then for the sleeves, the directions are just plain strange. On most sweaters, the sleeve shaping follows the armhole shaping; on this one, it's different. Since I followed the armhole shapping method, which worked fine, I couldn't tell you whether the pattern would work as written. Second, the instructions simply say to increase one stitch each end every six rows until the sleeve measures 6.5 inches. They never tell you how many stiches you should have when you're done! Net net -- if you're a confident knitter and you can fix the patterns, buy this book. Otherwise, stay away.
Rating: 
Summary: Gorgeous patterns but error-prone
Review: I agree with the reviewer who says this is a beautiful book but the patterns have not been adequately checked. I'm a good knitter, with dozens of sweaters to my credit. If I think it's not right, then it isn't. The patterns couldn't be more darling. There are several bootie patterns, two blankets, and host of sweaters, from the challenging raglan to the simple garter stitch. All sweaters are for sizes up 1 yr. All call for Debbie Bliss yarns, but substituting is fairly easy since the gauges are given, mostly over stockinette. The bad news is that the patterns are oddly and inconsistently written. The sweater I just knit is a cardigan with garter stitch edges lined with ribbon trim. The sweater is knit in the usual way -- back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves, neckband knit on. For the second front, they don't say something economical, such as "work same as left front, reversing all shaping." They repeat and reverse all the instructions. Leaves you wondering what's different. But then for the sleeves, the directions are just plain strange. On most sweaters, the sleeve shaping follows the armhole shaping; on this one, it's different. Since I followed the armhole shapping method, which worked fine, I couldn't tell you whether the pattern would work as written. Second, the instructions simply say to increase one stitch each end every six rows until the sleeve measures 6.5 inches. They never tell you how many stiches you should have when you're done! Net net -- if you're a confident knitter and you can fix the patterns, buy this book. Otherwise, stay away.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly edited
Review: I bought this book because of all the wonderful reviews everyone gave it. The book does have beautiful pictures, and the projects look great. Unfortunately, the instructions are somewhat incomplete and poorly edited, and some techniques (e.g. decreasing by knitting through the back of the loops) need more than a description in the back of the book. Also, the number of stitches are sometimes incorrect. One pattern omitted instructions to bind off in one section, so I had live stitches on the needle and wasn't sure if I should bind off or put them on a safety pin. In another section, the instructions didn't explicitly say to bind off in rib stitch. I made one of the sweaters for age 6-9 months. The sweater turned out to have a very short torso (9 inches, per the pattern) and long, skinny arms (12+ inches). My husband commented that it looked like our 2-month-old baby could already wear it. She could barely fit into it. (There was plenty of arm length, though.) A much, much better book is Melanie Falick's Knitting for Baby. The instructions are extremely clear (and they work). I also recommend the knitting books by Debbie Bliss.
Rating:
Summary: This book is fantastic!
Review: I love this book. The designs are beautiful and classic. The explanations are clear and the multi-sized designs have charts describing finished sizes. Any one of the designs would make a perfect baby gift, that would be gratefully received. Almost every design could be completed by a novice knitter and many could be completed quickly.
Rating:
Summary: Great teddy bear pattern
Review: I originally bought this book because I wanted to make a bear for my friend's new baby. The teddy bear can be seen on the back cover of the book -- its actually a very simple pattern with a series of increases and decreases -- and then you sew it all together. I easily substituted the recommended cashmiere yarn for a fuzzy / furry yarn. The guage swatches are quite easy to check for yarn substitutions
I've done 3 patterns so far in this book: a Simple blanket with a monigrammed initial in the middle; A teddy bear; and A simple knit hat. I haven't come across any of the errors that others have mentioned in these three patterns -- but these are all quite simple / straight forward patterns.
There are lots of great pictures in this book. The instructions I have read are pretty easy to follow. Although I was disappointed to see that the publishers website does not list any corrections for this book.
Rating:
Summary: Another Wonderful Book!!
Review: I purchased her first book and found it chock-ful of incredible ideas and patterns. This one does not disappoint either, incredible patterns and beautiful photography make this eye candy for any knitter. I look forward to more books by this author. Happy Knitting,
Nanette of Fruitland, ID
Rating:
Summary: I Love This Book
Review: I've made 2 patterns from Simple Knits, both of which turned out beautifully. I modified one, not because of mistakes, but just personal preference. I am planning to start 2 more projects from this book today. This is definitely one of my favorites.
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