Great stitch dictionary, but projects for advanced knitters only

books:


	• Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting (Donna Kooler's Series) Donna Kooler Leisure Arts, 2004 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good for reference

I bought this book as more of a reference book than anything else. And, it's definitely that. It covers just about everything, and the selection of stitch patterns in the last section is very nice. The patterns are okay. The two that I'd probably make would be the baby blanket and the hat.

The reason that I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I feel that some of the descriptions of techniques are hard to understand. I would consider myself an intermediate to advanced beginner, but even the things that I already knew how to do seemed confusing to me when explained in this book. Also, except for 1-2 patterns, the rest are all intermediated to advanced--though the sweater knit in tubes and then cut has peaked my curiosity!

So, for reference and stitch patterns, it's fine, but I wouldn't try to learn to knit from it. I learned to knit from an older lady, and then picked up Teach Me Visually Knitting to learn some of the things I didn't know. That is a great book to learn knitting from. In my opinion, if you get the Visual Knitting book, the Encyclopedia of Knitting, and The Knitting Answer Book, you should have all the bases covered!

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Great stitch dictionary, but projects for advanced knitters only

Let me qualify my review by saying that I am a beginner who has only managed to make a garter stitch scarf so far. I am trying to practice needle knitting and am collecting a small library of books to try and get a handle on it. This book will be helpful for making stitch samples, and because it has pretty good illustrations for techniques.

I enjoyed reading the extensive history of knitting, but I found some of the author's commentary judgemental and not very enlightened regarding various cultural differences.

I think the stitch dictionary is great! The stitches are beautifully photographed and the stitch diagrams show enough stitches and rows to help you make an adquate ground for any projects you contemplate. The text instructions are clear and understandable so far as I can read them. But I admit I'm getting a lot more practice reading then in actual knitting!

As far as the projects... wow. There is exactly ONE beginner rated pattern in the entire book; a baby blanket worked in cotton yarn (generally considered not a good choice for a beginner to start with because of the lack of elasticity)! There are NO easy patterns at all. All the rest are intermediate, advanced and experienced; very complicated looking. Some look nice and will be on my list to do... in a few years when my skills reach those levels. Especially that particularly nice Lily Chin sweater. Of course, I'll have to adjust the size because designers/book editor's never want to waste pages on the plus sizes.

I thought the Encyclopedia of Crochet was wonderful. But it also had too many advanced/experienced projects, but crocheting being easier than knitting, there were more that are attainable for a newbie like myself.

All in all, I find this book great as a stitch dictionary and history lesson, and pretty good for learning the basic techniques. Beginners will enjoy these features. But it is only for advanced knitters as far as the projects are concerned.

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Very nice!!

It is kind of hard not to sit for a solid hour just reading. I love the format and the type. At first I thumbed thru it and looked at all the illustrations. Then, I picked a chapter at random and got informed!! I will not be lending this one out any time soon...

Great Knitting Book for every skill level!

What a fantastic book for skill levels from beginner through advanced. It has great illustrations of every step to make learning basic stitches or advanced stitches a breeze. The combination of history, needle advice, detailed directions and illustrations make this a must have for every knitter!!

I purchased this after reviewing Donna Kooler's "Encyclopedia of Crocheting"...which is equally fantastic!

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The Knitting Reference/Encyclopedia I'd Been Looking For

Recently, I inherited two knitting projects that weren't working very well for the "friends & relatives" who's started them. Well, this was beyond my "off the top of my head" knowledge and I needed to look some stuff up that I hadn't tried for years (taking off bindings and cuffs from the bottom and replacing them - various buttonhole choices to fit a certain design - augh!). I needed a good "encyclopedia." My mother snagged my old Vogue one and wasn't giving it up! Not even to borrow! (A good encyclopedia is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find.) I ran across this one at the library. It had everything in it that I needed and written in clear instructions with good illustrations. After using it, I decided I would be sorry not to own a copy. I will share the title and give it a good review but I am going to hide my copy!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting is a complete authoritative guide to the history technique and variety of patterns every knitting enthusiast will treasure. Materials basic techniques symbols and abbreviations are clearly written and illustrated step by step to make learning to knit simple. With thoroughly explained instructions to guide a novice to advanced techniques and projects to challenge and inspire pros-this book has something for everyone. The pattern gallery features 150 charts for traditional and new patterns. This is a volume you will refer to again and again. Paperback: 244 pages.

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