A Close-Knit Family: Sweaters for Everyone You Love

I'm about to start my third sweater from this book - all done for the men in my family - while my mother is working on a vest for herself. This book is well worth the money. The patterns are easy to follow, and I had no trouble finding appropriate yarns.

I love this book. I have 2 boys and it is hard to find attractive sweater patterns that they will actually not be embarrassed to wear. This book has lots of patterns that "fit the bill." I especially loved the faire aisle sweater pictured on the cover. There are no more than 2 colors per row so it is not even as difficult to knit as it looks! Yet it is beautiful. I even made one in a different colorway (pinks and purples) for a niece. I knitted the sweaters in the round (the way Scandinavians do) and had no problem adapting the pattern. I think it would look great in traditional Scandinavian colors too (navy, red, etc.). This book also inspired me to explore my own designs and create variations of them (because this is what this author has done - created several variations of each style/pattern she designed for different ages/genders.) I consider myself an intermediate-advanced knitter.

This is a very nice collection of sweaters that are eminently knittable, as well as being wearable by all family members-babies, children, teenagers, and men, as well as women. Melissa Leapman has designed 14 "families" of sweaters, employing just about every knitting fabric style except pictorial Intarsia (unless you count Argyles as intarsia, which I don't, since I LIKE argyles and I HATE Intarsia!)The sweaters are aimed at both the beginning and long-time knitter. However, it wasn't until I analysed the sweaters GROUP BY GROUP that I discovered the REAL value of this book . Melissa is *very* inventive in taking a single motif or stitch pattern and using it very differently in each of 3 sweaters. She doesn't merely assign different trim, closures and necklines for each sweater. Sometimes a motif might be used as an allover pattern, then,in the next sweater used simply as a horizontal panel. Over and over, Melissa plays with the elements . The book is a nice primer of knitterly "variations on a theme", if you will. I LOVE variations in music, so I was tickled by this as well.This book has also helped me to think outside my own box. When I get an idea for a sweater (or a cable or something) and I usually neglect to WORK THE IDEA! Then I page through this book again and am inspired by the unlimited POSSIBILITES that knitting design presents. No matter how many sweaters I end up knitting from this book (and there *are* several that I am considering), I figure the book cost me a WHOLE LOT LESS THAN A KNITTING DESIGN WORKSHOP, *and* I ended up with a hard cover, 4 color "hand-out" in the process!

Often a knitting book tries to have something for everybody, but it can be disappointing when you spend $20 to $30 on a book and there might be one thing that you like enough to make. I expected that from this book, perhaps because the last few books of this kind that I purchased weren't as satisfying as expected, and so I was happily surprised. I don't have a family, so the aspects of knitting sweaters for children are lost on me, but it is actually a great idea to have coordinating sweaters that are not identical. This prevents the "clone" look to family dressing. The women's and men's sweaters are varied (some vests, some cardigans or pullovers) and most are very nice and creative. None are too difficult to make. Different types of fibers are represented. The photography is attractive and the instructions laid out clearly. The yarns used are also easy to locate for purchase. A very nice book.

I recommend this book. What I liked best was the variety: styles for children, women, and men; fine, medium, and bulky yarns; colorwork and texture; fitted and baggy. Something for everyone! Includes excellent color photographs and charts for the patterns.