Knitting Little Luxuries: Beautiful Accessories to Knit Review
This book completely wowed me! From the moment I opened its cover, I loved loved loved it! The patterns are beautiful and feminine in a classy way. The photography is gorgeous, and the colors are stunning. After I'd kept my library's copy for several weeks, I realized I was never going to return it, so I bought my own.
I admit that I bought the book entirely for inspiration and eye candy. As someone else said, the patterns are intermediate at the hardest, so they're not much in the way of skill advancement. Besides, I'm the sort of person that never does a pattern straight. I always alter something to better suit my tastes. None of these patterns are constructed exactly as I'd like: I'd never knit anything flat and sew it together if it could be done in one piece. However, even considering all that, I can already anticipate this book being the most inspiring pattern book I own, and I own a bunch.
Although it's already been done, I want to go over the sections and highlight the things that I found notable about each. The patterns are timelessly gorgeous, or so I thought anyway. I was very surprised to see them called trendy by other reviewers. It's true I'm young (twenty-something), but I've always considered my tastes very classic. I'm probably more a product of my generation than I think. :) C'est la vie. Here are the sections.
Electic + Quirky: Just as the name says. I love the use of randomly sprinkled buttons, embroidery, and other embellishments. The patterns as pictured are heavy on pink and and baby blue, which will look great to those with a cool skin tone (like me). I especially love the Cecily Beanie (with all the buttons) and the Betty Wrap, which does lace with big needles and chunky yarn -- a delight.
Textured + Modern: Heavy on cables. This section has really innovative designs. A purse is knit horizontally. A tunic has a dramatic cable that travels diagonally from shoulder to opposite hemline. Probably one of my big favorites from this book is the Belle Scarf & Wrap. The scarf is framed with seed stitch and stockinette cables that make an undulating, uneven edge, and the middle is flanked by columns of double yarnovers. Knit it on bigger needles and it becomes a wrap. This section is almost entirely done in a metallic blue and is photographed on a sparse-looking beach -- very modern minimalistic.
Pretty + Feminine: My favorite section. Lots of lovely lace. None of it is very hard as lace goes, but it's always arranged so artfully that the finished result is quite stunning. I love everything here, but the Catherine Purse, Juliet Scarf, and Diane Cardigan especially impress me. This section has softer colors and is photographed indoors for a very feminine feel. It also has the finest gauge yarns of the whole book.
Traditional + Folk: Excellent for those who like colors. They're all fair isle, and three out of the four look intricate enough to keep an intermediate strander busy. I'm not much for color knitting so I go for the Mary Beanie (the simplest in terms of colorwork). Again, a lot of pink and purple, though the Emma Hat is shown in camel, olive green, and brown, which should appeal to the warm skin tones.
Finally, I should address the quality of the instructions. Again, since I tend to modify, I don't notice instructions as much as some might. However, I'm halfway through the Belle Scarf (with a horseshoe lace insert instead of a center cable) and so far, everything has been very easy to understand. All but the simplest patterns have diagrams and charts. In most cases, duplicate written instructions are also provided.
As for the book itself, it's typical of Interweave Press: Layout is beautiful and uncluttered; font is easy to read; pictures are great. What more can a knitting addict ask for?
Knitting Little Luxuries: Beautiful Accessories to Knit Feature
- Dimensions: 9 in. h x 8.5 in. w x 0.4 in. d
- Weight: 0.98 ounces
- Made in US
Knitting Little Luxuries: Beautiful Accessories to Knit Overview
Learn to pamper friends and loved ones with lavish and fun knitted gifts. Projects are broken down into four different categories by style and include hats, mittens, purses, wraps, tops, sweaters, and socks—all of which are simple to make and require minimal yarn. Tips are provided for embellishing each project with different fabrics, edgings, and stitching patterns, making personalization easy, even for novices. Beautiful photographs and color illustrations detailing how to create each piece, as well as contemporary designs and small, quick projects make this guide a must-have for the gift-giving knitter.
Knitting Little Luxuries: Beautiful Accessories to Knit Specifications
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