Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm not a fan of the series; I read a couple of the books a decade or so ago and have seen enough stills from the show to know the costuming is tempting to reproduce wherever one's skills permit. This will not help anyone do that. More than half the patterns call for US needle sizes 19-50 and super bulky or bulky yarn held double. US size 50 is 25mm in diameter, or roughly one inch across. Many of the patterns are extremely simple, although some patterns make bizarre choices for an entry-level pattern book. For example, the "vest" is a rectangle of stockinette stitch with slits for one's arms -- not shaped armholes, just stitches bound off one row and cast on the next. But a triangular shawl is knit sideways, with both short rows and intarsia, when the same shape could be accomplished with increases and a color change or two for the last several rows. So it's not exactly for beginners, but it's also not for anyone who's confident knitting. I don't know who this book is for. Given the photography, it might be for people who like to look at landscapes. Pictures of projects are often incredibly poorly-staged to show off the actual garment in question. For example, one pair of mitts/armwarmers/fingerless gloves is photographed with most of the mitts under a large cape, on a model whose back arm is almost completely hidden by her body and whose forward arm is mostly hidden under the folds of the cape she's holding closed. Model is photographed from the waist up and full-length from a distance with a tree for counterpoint. It's a lovely picture, but I don't want an entire tree in the picture when I'm trying to decide whether to knit a pattern. Beginners trying to knit these will have difficulty knowing what they're supposed to look like, a problem exacerbated by construction more complex than usual (cuffs worked side to side from provisional cast-on and joined, arm stitches picked up and knit in the round) that might give beginners trouble without a visual guide. (Another pair of mitts in the book is a nice cable pattern worked in the round and photographed in clear detail. They're a nice example of their type, but I wouldn't pay the cost of the book for the one pattern. The third pair, long cabled armwarmers knit sensibly in the round, is shown from a little too far away and a lot too far away, but scrunched down so far the only thing I can see is that they're long enough to reach the model's elbows even scrunched down.) Most armwarmer, bootwarmer, and other small circular projects recommend DPNs rather than mentioning more beginner-friendly options (like 9-inch circular needles). There's a nice-looking pair of knee-high socks knit in the round from the toe up, my own favorite construction, but in aran-weight yarn -- think heavy sweater yarn, a little thicker than worsted weight -- and fails to mention that while worsted/aran-weight handknit socks are the warmest present you'll ever give your feet, you'll need to go up half a shoe size to fit them in. I'm serious. My feet get cold easily, and I have a small collection of worsted-weight handknit socks, along with a small collection of "so gorgeous I don't care they're too big" shoes I wear them with. PATTERNS: * 5 cowls (one described as "a cross between a shrug and a cowl", but titled "capelet") * 3 fingerless gloves, mitts, gauntlets, armwarmers, or your nomenclature of choice * 1 actual capelet that is more like shoulders with a collar * 1 pair of socks * 2 pairs of boot toppers/cuffs * 1 oddly-constructed shawl * 1 hooded scarf-stole (worth the $4 I paid for the ebook) * 1 "vest" (?! it's a rectangle, with arm-slits) * 1 shrug Of these 16 patterns, maybe 4 aim for an audience above beginner level and would be worthwhile to knit. (Remember I love over-thick worsted-weight socks!) The rest are the kind of pattern that made me think, when I was just starting to knit, that I was no good at it and never would be -- written for beginners, but chunky and shapeless to the point of ugly, or technically written within beginners' stitch repertoires but using intermediate-level construction or techniques (short rows, intarsia, picking up to knit in the round). I find myself concluding that the target audience for this book is people who like Rowan's most-notorious photography choices and people who like to look at landscapes while thinking they'd like to learn to knit someday (but will not actually get around to it). That said, I know how far fandom goes to excuse a multitude of ills -- I still haven't found an occasion to which I can wear my 4th-Doctor-striped necktie and have knit more than one lace shawl with a TARDIS-patterned border -- so I wouldn't discourage fans of the Outlander show who want super-bulky TV knitting, or who want to daydream while learning to knit. Just... don't expect too much, and don't pay full price for it.