Margaret Hubert

Most beginning crocheters start with scarves because these projects are quick, easy, and stylish. People who crochet continue to make lots and lots of scarves, especially when they want to indulge in special yarns. The many crafters discovering or already hooked on crochet will find the contemporary scarf projects they're looking for in Hooked Scarves. Here are 20 original designs bursting with color, texture, and fashion style. The collection includes gorgeous scarves for fashion, cozy scarves for winter, and elegant wraps for evening. The projects use widely available yarns including popular novelty yarns. Color photographs show the finished projects, the stitches close up, the yarn used, and how to make the crochet stitches step by step. Other features include a handy ruler inside the cover and a covered spiral binding. Hooked Scarves joins an exciting series of crochet project books.… (meer)

One-piece knitting is a trick, a scheme that simplifies knitting somehow, but I have never really understood its appeal. Shape is what makes garments attractive, allows them to drape well, and separates them from sacks with belts. One-piece knitters shape garments with increases and decreases but not with shaped sides and seams. What is the advantage? Ms Hubert suggests that it is the ease of making sleeves which are knitted in place instead of sewn. Maybe that's true but, other than raglans that never have shoulder seams, do seamless sleeves look better? I don’t think so.

Ok, that's my prejudice against the knitting concept out of the way, let's talk about this particular book.

Ms Hubert provides foundation patterns for four sweaters, each knitted from a different direction. She then provides a series of variations on each and suggests that if you are clever at varying your yarns and gauges according to the intricate size charts provided, you can make an infinite number of sweaters. Well yes, but why would you want to knit the same thing over and over? Are these the sweaters people want?

I don't really know anything about Quarto Publishing International except what it says in its NetGalley blurb, that it is a press that specializes in providing reference materials for crafters. I would like to suggest that Quarto should have invested a bit more in photography and art if they wished to make these designs attractive.

• Many of these designs are knitted in yarns that look cheap in the photos. In reality they might be quality yarns but in the color plates they tend to look shiny and synthetic. One sweater looks as if it is knitted in rug yarn from a discount store.
• The sweaters in the photos are poorly blocked which renders them less attractive and also suggests they are made from synthetics that do not block properly.
• There are too few close-up photos of structural details to help knitters master the tricky bits.
• The instructions seem sketchy to me, not enough detail for the novice.
• What's with the bit of pony tail in the front cover montage?

I suspect that online knitting sources will be more satisfactory to the beginner or advanced knitter than this book.

One-Piece Knits: Essential Designs in Multiple Sizes and Gauges for Sweaters Knit Top Down, Side Over, and Back to Front" by Margaret Hubert (Quarto: Creative Publishing International)… (meer)