Knitting Pretty

by Kris Percival, France Ruffenach (Photographer)

At long last, a knitting book that s certifiably hip. Aimed at the rapidly growing new generation of knitters, Knitting Pretty offers up 30 smart-looking projects presented in language ordinary human beings can understand. Perfect for the beginner, the user-friendly basics section features step-by-step illustrations and instructions for everything the knitter on the make needs to know. The unique patterns-from cozy caps, scarves, and mittens, to pillow covers, kooky sock puppets, and even a paperweight-come with easy-to-follow instructions, helpful diagrams, and beautiful full-color photographs of the finished projects. From quick and easy projects to somewhat grander endeavors for the more experienced, Knitting Pretty makes it a pleasure to whip up warm and woolly masterpieces.

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Nonfiction, Reference

120 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Enough Pictures for Instructions

This had good information, but I wish there were a few more images that showed the steps better. I liked that there were a lot of patterns, but again, there weren’t images for some of the patterns.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book with instructions for 30 projects. Most of the projects look simple, but some of them seem a little more complicated. This book is timeless, as the projects will always be fashionable no matter how old the book is. The only pet peeve I have is that there aren't photos of every single project. I find it difficult to visualize what the finished item would look like and it turns me off going through all the work to knit and having the project turn out totally different than expected.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book. I agree with the other reviews that it is irritating that their are not pictures for every project - but with Ravelry.com that doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I know I can log in their and most likely find examples of stuff people have knit from this book.

I really love the mitten pattern in this book - Warmest mittens. I have made it twice now and I intend to make more mittens using this pattern. I have also made the cell phone cozy, the coin purse, slippers and a hat or two. The patterns themselves are well written and easy to follow.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got her other book - speed knitting - first and alot of the patterns are repeats. I also like that Speed Knitting has a picture of every item whereas this book had sporadic pictures...I want to see what the final result will look like before I start knitting.

[Wendy Janett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Learn to knit book, not for experienced knitters

This book is not really a pattern book, as the projects are so simple that anyone who knits could whip up almost all of them without any pattern or thought whatsoever. And while it walks the reader through the knitting fundamentals needed to complete the projects, there isn't enough depth to qualify it as a knitting resource guide, either.

[Carla Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased a copy of this book after it was published in 2002. Though you can find most of the patterns free on the internet today, free patterns weren't as easy to come by in the pre-social media years. The downside is, the author and photographer didn't offer photos for each project. Though the available photos are cute and hip Charlotte York style, it doesn't help the beginner. This is a coffee table book IMO.

[Sybylla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing here you couldn't find for free on the Lion Brand site. And I would have given more stars for the very clear writing if the author hadn't reminded us at every opportunity that we could purchase every pattern in the book for much cheaper.

[Mingyue Ding · Rating 4 out of 5]

good for beginners. could use more pictures

Liked the plain language and yarn info for each pattern, but some patterns don’t even have a sample picture. Again, this is only useful to beginners.

[Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5* A decent little book with 30 patterns, both written and graph. Could be improved with a color photo for every pattern, but other than, this had some decent beginning/intermediate knitting patterns.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good beginner book with simple projects and how to get started instructions.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The general format of this book was done well. I could easily distinguish between the introductory pages and the knitting patterns. The style of the book was sophisticated and fun, but not exceptionally lovely. I liked this book, but the main problem I had was that not every design in the book had an accompanying picture. Before I take the time and effort to knit a piece I want to have some idea of what it will look like and chances are I probably won't even think about knitting it if there is no picture hinting at what it might look like. The majority of the patterns in this book had pictures, but not all of them. I didn't find any patterns in here I wanted to knit, but I might still recommend because there was a wide variety of things to knit.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the layout of the book and some of the patterns seemed like simple first projects, but I was really put off by the fact that the book only had photos for half of the patterns and it wasn't always clear which patterns went with which photos. There also were diagrams only for English and not continental knitting (even though just as many pages were devoted to explaining each style). It was a bit strange, since it helps to have diagrams and pictures of the final product, especially for a beginners' book. Maybe the publishers were on a restricted art budget?

[Judi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very basic knitting patterns for beginners. The biggest exploration is mixing weights and textures. She covers the basics but has the continental knit/purl stitch wrong. The yarn is held in the left and but you don't mirror the American/English method of throwing the yarn over the needle. Instead the left hand remains passive, it basically holds the yarn while the right hand inserts the needle into the yarn and picks it up and through the stitch on the needle. The right hand does all the work, similar to crochet.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will never be a big fan of knitting pattern books that don't provide some illustration of every project. Even if it's just a drawing, I'd like to see what it's going to look like before I knit it. There isn't anything really exciting in this book, but if you're looking for some simple projects, this one is okay. However, there are plenty of other simple knitting books out there that are better. Fortunately I got this at the library. Don't waste money buying it.

[Inder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great beginner information and diagrams, although I recommend ignoring the advice to start knitting with basic acrylic, since I find that chunky natural fibers hide mistakes far, far better (and make a nicer final product). BUT - this would be so much better if it had pictures for every project! Who knits something sight-unseen? I mean, really, who?

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good knitting book for beginners, there are some fun off-beat projects in addition to basic patterns for hats, mittens, and a first sweater.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, beautiful designs.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had some nice projects in it, and has some beautiful photography.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really see any inspring patterns in here. I'm pretty sure I could figure out how to knit a dishcloth on my own.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am making the Comfy ribbed hat (for me) and the roll-up hat(for a friend). Be sure to see details of the yarn in my ravelry.com account. This book had some great basic knitting patterns

[Anne]

Out of the 30 projects I found only 2 that I'd be interested in doing: a bookmark and a paperweight.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the patterns, but the tutorials are not very helpful.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice simple projects but nothing too fancy. Disappointingly there is not a picture for every pattern so sometimes you are left wondering how the project will turn out.

[Mckinley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new, very basic without much pizazz. Not every project has pictures and some with pictures don't show the project well.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some easy projects in here, wished that there were more photos.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to understand patterns.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice variety of patterns