The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting: *All You Need to Know to Knit *The Essential Reference for Novice and Expert Knitters *Packed with Hundreds of ... and Photos for 200 Stitch Patterns

Let me start by saying that I am a long-time crocheter, but this book is my first foray into knitting. Overall, it is an excellent book, but it does have a few cons.The pictures that are in this book are excellent! It's very clear to see where the needles and yarn are in relation to each other. Also, the photos of the patterns (of which there is a great selection) include the side edge of the pattern.There were three main problems for me, however. The first was that there is NOTHING in this book about holding the needles and yarn while knitting. The only thing she has in here is a few ways to hold the yarn when using your hands to cast on stitches. Some of the pictures of other basic stitches depict the working yarn going off to the left, and some to the right. It was very confusing. On a related note, she neglects to say anything about English vs. Continental knitting.The second issue is that the projects are scattered throughout the book. They're not in the table of contents, and the index only lists them by specific name, so if you don't remember the name of the one you're looking for, you have to guess or flip through the 200 or so pages where the project might be located.Lastly, some of the patterns were hard to read when some of the rows were the same.Good example (page 70):"Row 8: purl.Row 9: same as row 5.Row 10: purl.Row 11: knit."Bad example (page 113):"Rows 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11 and 12: [pattern details]Rows 3 and 9: [pattern details]Rows 4 and 10: [pattern details]Row 7: [pattern details]"It was already tricky enough keeping track of what row I'm working. It was made even more confusing trying to bounce up and down the instruction list like that.All things considered, the selection of patterns and the clear pictures make this book definitely worth the money. However, I would recommend it to someone who already knows the basics.

I got the idea of trying to knit a cotton summer-weight blanket, but I needed instructions as well as some idea of what various types of knit patterns look like.This book has LOTS of quality photos, and they're even large enough to be visible and useful ;) The stitch photos are arranged according to type, with more emphasis on a progression of appearance stitch appearance, with classifiers of "easy, intermediate, expert" appearing under each photo. It sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but I like the arrangement because it's so clear that many "easy/beginner" stitches are just as attractive, in their own way, as are some of the "expert" stitches. This holds true even for the illustrated "lace" and "eyelet" stitches. Cable work does have its own section, of course, due to the complexity of it, but even there, some of the stitches look quite nice even though they're fairly easy to follow.The book does cover a lot of ground, but I found it to be more of an "antepasto" than a complete lasagna, LOL!, because I wanted to see more ;) But there are definitely *plenty* of interesting things to try!There is a page that conveniently lists all of the abbreviations and what they mean, so it's easy to refer back to it when one needs to decode a set of stitch instructions. There are also a *few* sweater, hat, and scarf patterns, but this is not primarily a "how to knit clothing" book - it's primarily a "stitch encyclopedia". I had been considering getting the Vogue book, in fact, but Amazon's "peek inside" showed it to be focused upon clothing, which is not at all mt own personal interest.I have needed to "fill in" some of the basic "how to" instructions with online videos, but that's because I'm more accustomed to using saws, metal snips, solder, and similar, LOL!, and overall, I do think the instructions are good.

Long ago, in a universe far away, my great-grandmother tried to teach me to knit. She did a pretty good job, considering.But now, 55 years later...I've forgotten all but the basics and cannot--never have been able anyhow--read the short-hand instructions.I have other books on knitting, but this one I like because the photos are LARGE and show you what you're work should look like.There are photo-illustrations for casting-on (several ways; who knew?), and I was able to follow them. [Truthfully though, for something like that I'd also find a YouTube video just to be sure. Books can't do EVERYTHING even though we'd like them to.] And for knitting and purling and increasing and decreasing and so on.It's also a human book. When describing one annoying way to decrease in purling...the author included the instructions: " with as few expletives as possible...." so it seems as though a patient friend has written it.I may never be much of a knitter at this age going forward, but I'm having a very good time with book.

Easy to read. Clear photos. Reasonably priced. Thorough instructions. Useful ideas for beginners and those with more-advanced skills. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to all knitters.

Notre belle-fille semble aimer le livre et s'en sert constamment. Elle le trouve bien fait appuyé de plusieurs photos qui illustrent la méthodologie

Good condition, good packing & fast delivery. Product is perfect for me, estimated delivery time was 20 days & it's here 7 days after

This is an excellent guide with pictures as well as instructions. It helps with stitches I do not understand. It arrived in good order and is much used.

Exactly what was described and quick delivery. My sister loves it. Thank you.