Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Hat Book: History * Technique * Design [Hardcover]

I knit a lot of hats. They are small enough to hold my attention, are appreciated as gifts, rarely have seams, and allow you to try different techniques out without a lot of time investment. However, I am by no means a hat expert. With its sections on history, hat anatomy, hat types, and techniques, this book may change that. It is very informative without being dry or boring.

The patterns section is very large. There are 50 patterns encompassing varying techniques, styles, and levels of difficulty. There really is something for everyone in this book. The book is beautiful and features multiple pictures of each hat.

Vogue Knitting has done it again. They said this is an ultimate hat book and that is what it appears to be.

There is a short history of the knitted hat, a description of the anatomy of a hat, a section on types of hats, and a section on basic techniques. Then, of course, come the patterns and they are lovely.

The very first pattern in the book caught my eye. It's called 'Bowler' and is knit with Lopi fiber. It is in two colors - Wine and gray. I love it. The Beanie is my kind of hat. It has a spiraling lace pattern and is knit in a dark magenta with Eden Silk Yarn. I lived in Alaska for 44 years and the Watch Cap is the perfect hat for cold, cold climates. It has a foldover and has a cable and blossom pattern. The yarn is Blackstone Tweed by Berrocco. 'Tuque' is one of the prettiest hats I've ever seen. It's Fair Isle in bright lovely colors, knit with Ambrosia Yarn. Vogues describes it as "English roses and ivy meander around the crown of Sheila Jayne's chic topper. Stitched in the round from the corrugated rib band up, this is a terrific first Fair Isle project for an otherwise experienced knitter." The 'Cabled Helmet' is very 1940's and chic in that WWII style. 'The Traveling Vines Beret' is another beautiful hat that I want to knit. It is knit with Noro Yarn and has the variegated hues that Noro is famous for. It is a beret that folds over in the back and is very stylish.

The patterns go on and on and there is something for everyone in this book. I can't imagine a knitter opening this book and not finding a hat to fall in love with. The last section is on embellishments so if you want to liven any pattern up, this section tells you how to do it.

I loved this book. It is a collection of every hat style you could possibly want to knit, including bowlers and cloche hats. I've already knitted the cover hat, with adaptions, as it was too big for me, but this was no problem. I'll certainly be knitting some of the other hats. It gives clear instructions, the yarn they were knitted in (with info on whether this yarn is still available.) The yarn instructions are mainly helpful for American readers of course, as these yarns are not necessarily available in Europe where I live. This in fact may be the only negative point, that alternative European yarn is not given. Recommended.