Review: OK introduction for the right audience
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2013
Update 6/3/2013My original rating for this book was 3 stars. I received a note from the author that based on my review she updated the title of her book from "Easy Knitting Patterns" to "Easy Knitting Patterns: Kid's Clothing and Other Accessories" which clarifies the target audience for this book. Based on this change I decided to update the rating from 3 stars to 4 stars, because people who are not interested in children patterns can tell they are not the target audience right from the title. And for a beginner with young children this book has a nice explanation section and some easy projects.-------------------------Are you thinking you might be interested in knitting but have not tried it before? Do you have young children or grandchildren? If you answered yes, this book will be a good fit.The books starts with an introduction explaining the relaxation benefits of doing something rhythmic like knitting. And this benefit, of course, is on top of producing something that is practical and pretty.Chapter One goes over tools and equipment, the items are listed with nice clear photos so a beginner would know not only the names of the tools but what they look like.The next section contains knitting and crocheting abbreviations. It is not possible to understand knitting instructions without knowing these abbreviations, so this is a good reference.The abbreviations section is followed by a table with knitting needle sizes in metric, US and Canadian sizes.The table is followed by the best section in the book, in my opinion. This is a section on basic technique. Each technique is illustrated with large hand drawn images showing the direction of the yarn and the needles. Note that if you do need more help, there are a lot YouTube videos that show various techniques. Once you know the technique's name you can seek additional information on-line.Following the basic techniques, you will find a section on simple knitting stich patterns. There is a total of 14 stitches and the author includes instructions and photographs which show what the final results looks like.Chapter Two through Five contain projects: five sweaters that would be appropriate to a boy or a girl (3-4 year and 4-5 year old), seven sweaters with frilly designs that would only work for girls (3-4 year and 4-5 year old), one dress for a 1 year old girl. Besides children clothing the book contains 4 other projects: One hat for an adult woman, 1 doll dress, 1 placemat, 1 oven cloth.The sizing information in many project is not specific - just specifies the age of the child. There are no instructions of how to adjust sizing if you determine your child is larger or smaller. I suspect that making adjustments without instructions would be difficult for a beginner.To summarize: This book has a nice explanation of basic techniques. The projects lack variety and are mostly aimed at small children. I received this book free from the author for review purposes. Have I paid full price I would have been disappointed because the description did not mention that the book's projects except for a hat, a placement, and an oven cloth are aimed at children and I don't have small children I can knit for. I hope the author revises the Amazon description to be more specific. If you have children aged 3 to 5 years old, particularly girls, you are likely to find a project in this book that you might want to try.Ali Julia review