4 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Story Publishing for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.
‘How to knit socks that fit’ is an interesting book. As a person with big feet and who is a novice knitter I was really looking forward to reading it. As, yes, finding socks that fit is one of those minor banes of my existence. And I was not disappointed with this book. I simply need to get a chance to sit down and have a go!
Sometimes I felt this book perfect for a novice knitter with no sock knitting experience (AKA Me). At other times I felt it expected you to know how to knit socks already and this was just a continuation of that skill. Not in a bad way, and I never truly felt over my head, but some new and novice knitters might. I have the safety net of knitting family members and a spinner’s guild to fall back on if I get stuck in such a book… But as not everyone has such a safety net, I was a little concerned the attitude of ‘you know what I’m talking about’ I sometimes got from this book would put some newbies off.
Add to that I found the layout formatting sometimes a little sloppy – a section would start with the title at the bottom of one page, but the actual section in question all on the next page – and I found myself having to not give ‘How to knit socks that fit’ the full 5 stars. As a document writer myself soppy formatting is a pet peeve of mine and so can be a cruel reviewer when I see it. 😉
But saying that, I still found the majority of the instructions well written and the book deserving a high score. I really loved the fact the pictures were in black and white so you could focus on the pattern and design and not be influenced by colours. And I loved the overall tone of the book as it reminded me of my spinning guild. A warm and friendly voice chatting away to you helping you work your way through the different methods within the book. This is the strongest connection I got from the book – it was FRIENDLY! It was approachable and therefore readable by any skill level. Well, that’s my opinion anyway.
I also loved the details given in the book to help educate the reader and improve their knitting skill. From the types of yarn, needles best to use at the beginning of the book, through to the different types of stiches and how to do them, glossary, abbreviations and suggested reading at the back – it just added to the whole friendly atmosphere generated by this book!
Would I recommend this book to others? Yes I would. But probably only to knitters who know more than just the basics. And also possibly only to those with some experience with knitting socks already. As I’ve said, I’ve not knitted socks before and parts of this book did cause me a bit of confusion. But most of it was something I could really work with.
Would I buy this book for myself? Yes I would. Big feet and a love of knitting draws me to this friendly and easy (mostly) to follow book. I can see it being added to my Amazon wish list in the near future.
In summary: The title says it all really. This book really is all about ‘How to knit socks that fit’ and something I think any knitter with a desire to knit socks would enjoy. I highly recommend.
Until next time,
Janis. XXOO
Janis's Journal 