Customer Reviews

Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

WARNING The cover art is wrong. This is not the book that you will receive if you order this. This is the same as the other Nancie Wiseman Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques with multiple sweaters on the cover. WARNING
Note that this is very basic book with little challenge or inovation on finishing techniques, the promise of how to do rolled riges on the cover is not included. If you've been knitting for a while you probably know what's included in the pages.

I am an experienced knitter but always need help with the little, but very importent, finnishing details. However, when I bought this book it was a big disappointment. The amount of information was minimal and you were always referred back to previous pages so that working with the book was not as simple as the spiral bound format would lead you to believe. There are better books around to treat this subject

If you have a closet full of bags with knitted pieces and you are stumped as to the steps to get to a SWEATER, this book can help.

I have a simple pamphlet about knitting finishing which has been my standby for years. But this book is much nicer, as it has a lot of color illustrations that really show how the finish should look. The photography and choice of yarn colors lets you see clearly how to pick up stitches for a band, how the sewing should look, how to insert a zipper. The spiral binding is hand for laying down flat as you work a finish as a swatch or for real on your sweater. The book is small enough to fit in a normal tote bag, but not so small as to be hard to read.

If someone is a knitter in your family, this would make a good gift--even though I've been knitting for years, this is a very handy thing to pop into the knitting bag and carry along. I really like it.

The reviewer states "I wish that Wiseman had included some material on blocking as well". Ms Wiseman provides over 2 pages of information on blocking. This book is terrific for most knitters out there. Maybe professionals might find this too basic, but anyone else can definitely use it. In online knitting forums people are always asking for the best recommendations for reference books. Inevitably, the answers contain Vogue, Wiseman and Righetti. This books contains some of the best pictures and info about pros and cons of each technique. It is a must-have for any knitting library.

This is a good "knitting bag" guide to finishing. It has all the basics and a few extras but doesn't stray far from the standards. I would have loved to see more information on seaming. The basics are there but it would have been great to have a few more pictures and see some of the other variations that can crop up. The author does not seem to approve of circular knitting and some of her 'cons' for this style don't make sense but that is a small part of the book. Over all this is a handy book to have in the knitting bag not on the shelf.

As a self-taught knitter, I can attest that no other book (including beginner books) explains the most popular/useful finishing techniques more clearly. The methods are well illustrated with technical drawings, and the end result of each technique is shown in a photo. Each technique has a "Benefits" and "Drawbacks" section which describes when best to use that particular method. Wiseman's constant admonitions to do things correctly or else the piece will be ruined are a bit tiresome, but there is so much useful information in this book that this is merely a minor annoyance.

I find myself using this book at least once for every garment I knit. I keep it with my current knitting project. This book gives you several different methods of the different techniques you encounter while knitting a garment - casting on, increasing, decreasing, seaming, etc.. It also gives you the pros and cons of eash different method (i.e. long-tail versus cable cast-on). The illustrations and explanations are extremely helpful. If you have room in your knitting bag, I highly suggest this book.

The way a garment is finished is often what distinguishes a professional-looking product from one that looks "hand made" in the bad sense of the term. You can find information on finishing techniques in most knitting references, but you have to wade through lots of other material to find it. This book focuses only on finishing and provides multiple options for many of the basic aspects of construction--from casting on to binding off and beyond. The illustrations are clear and the author let you know the pluses and minuses of each technique. Much of this information may seem basic to expert knitters, but it's knowledge that many knitters acquire through trial and error (with the emphasis on error). It's nice to have the options listed in one place, even if the pros & cons lists get repetitive. I wish that Wiseman had included some material on blocking as well, but that information is available elsewhere. Even so, this is a nice little book, small enough to be carried around with your projects, but big enough to be easily read.

I have been knitting for 43 years and was surprised by how much I still had to learn when I read Wiseman's book. This book is a must have book for every knitter's library. Well written, every technique explained in the book is easy to execute. In many cases several different methods for doing a particular technique are given with recommendations for when each one should be used. With this book in your knitting basket you will never be afraid to try a new and challenging pattern again.

Nancie Wiseman's Knitter's Book Of Finishing Techniques offers over fifty expert techniques to cover increases, decreases, seam problems, and to enhance decorative finishes. Step-by-step color photos compliment lay-flat binding and tips on how to produce professional, polished results.