Custom Knits: Unleash Your Inner Designer with Top-Down and Improvisational Techniques

Additional Custom Knits: Unleash Your Inner Designer with Top-Down and Improvisational Techniques Information

Along with being pleasurable and satisfying, knitting can sometimes be frustrating: the turtleneck that looked so fabulous on the model is too bulky for your body, or the cardigan you spent countless hours on just doesn’t fit right. Herein lies the beauty of Custom Knits, which teaches knitters how to use improvisational techniques to achieve spectacular results—and to unleash their inner designers.

Wendy Bernard, creator of the popular blog Knit and Tonic, provides 25 original designs for sweaters of nearly every type, plus variations, most knitted in one piece starting at the top, a method that allows you to try on as you go, alter as desired, and essentially design on the fly. “Make It Your Own” prompts in each pattern suggest easy alterations to suit your style and body type. And an in-depth reference section teaches how to alter key sweater elements, for example, change a crewneck to a V-neck, add sleeves to a vest, and much more. For the truly adventurous, the book concludes with guidelines for knitting sweaters with no pattern at all.

Bernard’s friendly writing style and photographer Kimball Hall’s lively images create an inviting book of beautiful designs and key techniques that a knitter can use to customize nearly every garment she knits from now on.

What Customers Say About Custom Knits: Unleash Your Inner Designer with Top-Down and Improvisational Techniques:

This is an incredible book both in quality of patterns, and in instructions to improve knitting skills. It provides necessary information to move beyond just following a pattern blindly. It explains the how and why, then gives clear easy to follow instructions. I've found this to be an exceptional book and it's become a staple of my knitting library.

I can't wait to buy her next book. What a concept.

In fact, I didn't even want to waste my time looking at it. But one day I stumbled across Wendy Bernard's blog and discovered that this book was NOT designed for young, skinny women; the author wrote this book so that knitters can customize and even create from scratch patterns that ACTUALLY FIT.

As a plus-sized, 50-year-old woman, I never dreamed this book could work for me. I can take that gorgeous fair isle sweater on the front of her book and make it my size.

So I bought the book - and am thrilled.Yes, some of the patterns are not for me. But many of them are, and best of all, Bernard provides the techniques necessary to customize her designs just for my figure.

Or make my very own raglan based on my own ample measurements."Custom Knits" is simply fantastic. Make sure you buy this one.

She also writes about how pictures are misleading and to judge a sweater by its schematic- and yet does nothing to make her sweater pictures any less misleading. I mean, who wears a sweater with just a bikini bottom.

I want to make every single one of them. She has a great writing style as well, and comes right out and hits you over the head with the inevitable difficulties involved beyond just making the sweater.

The patterns in this book are all top down seamless and ABSOLUTELY YUMMY. Why would you go out of your way to show your sweaters on half dressed women.

It's the first time I've actually sat back and realized that not every sweater I drool over will actually look good on me.The designing section is a bit more than my skill level but it'll be a huge help down the road. No more ogling over patterns trying to find the right sweater- soon I'll know how to create a fit that works for me.My only problem with this book are the pictures actually.

It's a bit ridiculous. But it's a minor issue.[.].

The only good thing were the suggestions on making items fix. I was really disappointed in this book. Everyone had given it 5 stars and there wasn't a single item in it that I would want to make. I am not an "old lady" but I was offended by the display of sweaters worn by someone who only has on underwear to show off the sweater. I would have returned the book if I could have.

I love to knit from the top down and bottom up. Instructions and tips are clear and extremely informative.The patterns are all beautiful and stylish. It is not always easy to find patterns with these techniques that are fashionable. This book is amazing. This one is a keeper. Hope author does a "sequel".