Author's note: I started this post 13 months ago, in those dim and dismal days when Big Girl Knits was just another pre-order item on Amazon.
So here we are, my first attempt at a review of knitting books. I thought I'd choose a subject close to my heart - knitting books for the pleasantly plump the big and beautiful curvy plus size fat women. So you know where I'm coming from with this review - I am 34, currently a UK size 20 and have been a 22, my personal fashion taste lies somewhere in the alternative/practical/classic zone. I own three knitting books which are targetted specifically at this market:
Easy Plus-Size Knits: 50 Knit and Crochet Styles
Big Knits: Bold, Beautiful, Designer Knitwear
Also, I will discuss a couple of useful books regarding clothing for all fat women, whether they knit or not:
Figure It Out: The Real Woman's Guide to Great Style
Why have I included these two books? Simply because they will help you determine which patterns from the other books will flatter your body shape. Watching Susannah and Trinny's first series was a relevation to me. Just taking one rule* made such a difference when I went clothes shopping, adding a second rule** really did the trick. Add the third*** and the fourth**** rules and you have the basis on which I now do all my clothes shopping and end up actually wearing and feeling good in the clothes I buy.
*Open necklines such as V or scoop necks are more flattering. Avoid crew and polo necks.
**Wide leg trousers will balance out those hips. Avoid tapered trousers.
***Tailored/close fitting clothes will show off my curves
****Fine fabrics are more flattering than heavy, chunky fabrics
Both the WNTW and Figure It Out books are very similar in format. WNTW has an irreverent tone and is aimed at all sizes, Figure It Out is more serious and is aimed at the larger woman. Both books feature a 'good' picture and a bad 'picture' for each subject covered. It's hard to go into much more detail about the books since I don't have them in front me as I have loaned both of them to my Mum (who is in France). I did think it was important to mention them though as they give such useful advice. My suggestion is that you borrow them from your local library. You may not agree with everything they say and you may well find Trinny and Susannah extremely annoying but I imagine that most people will gain at least one useful tip from the books.
I bought Big Knits on Ebay. I thought it would be worth a look and might have some useful basic shapes that I could adapt. Looking on Amazon, it seems that the book is only available second-hand. Written by Dawn French and Sylvie Soudan, it has patterns for 27 items, mostly sweaters or cardigans but there is also a skirt, a shawl and a couple of longer jackets. All the garments are modelled by plus size women including Dawn French herself. My copy was published in 1990 but the style is distictly 80's. Plenty of intarsia, a few shawl collars and some embroidery but no dolman sleeves. The patterns definitely suit those who are shaped like Dawn French. Apparently there is a sequel called More Big Knits. Worth picking up from a charity shop or skimming through at the library.
(The following was written post BGK)
Easy Plus-Size Knits is a Family Circle book which features a range of patterns in yarns of various weights and fibre content. There are a total of 48 patterns in this book collected in five themed sections - casual, cold weather, sophisticated, summer and unisex. This is the only book which features plus sized sweaters for men. Before you get too excited - there's only six sweaters in the unisex category.
There is a good helping of simple, basic sweater shapes but also a variety of vests (in the American sense, not the British undergarment), cardigans, jackets, coats and a serape. Patterns are classed as Begiiner. Intermediate or Advanced. There is a knitting technique section also. Some of the well known designer names I spotted are:
Teva Durham - she has three designs but not of the sort featured in Loop D Loop
Brandon Mably
Nicky Epstein
Mari Lynn Patrick
Irina Poludnenko
Norah Gaughan - who has a total of eight designs some of which are probably the most interesting in the book.
Looking through the book once more, I see some designs that have some interesting details and some good classics BUT there are far too many designs which use yarns at the heavier end of the scale. The models are not really plus size either. Ok, they're not Kate Moss skinny just average but I suspect that too many of the designs would loook horribly wrong on a size 20+.
The general fashion sense seems somewhat frumpy and conservative. Not conservative in a timeless, classy way either. I suspect it is aimed at a particular portion of the American market that with which this Brit is not familiar.
I suspect that there are some who will love this book but I'm not part of this group. Personally, I think it would be worth picking up second hand or borrowing from the library, particulalry if you are a novice knitter.
Classic Knits for Real Women by Martin Storey and Sharon Brant is a Rowan publication. Just that fact alone says a lot about the general feel of the book. It's a good-looking book, is well laid out and well photographed. There are charts and pattern schematics as you would expect from Rowan. The patterns are written for British sizes 14 - 24 (36 - 46 inch bust).
There are a total of 38 different items to knit. However, only 27 of these are sweaters, vests, coats or jackets. The rest are accessories: one poncho, seven scarves, two bags and one hat.
The patterns are grouped into three sections: Cool colours; Natural colours and Rich colours. The yarns used are Jaegar and Rowan yarns. Only three designs use a yarn that is chunky weight or heavier and all three are loose-fitting outerwear garments. There are plenty of patterns that use 4-ply or DK weight yarns. The models used are of various sizes and ages.
For the most part, I think that this book does what it says on the cover. The designs are mostly classic, timeless pieces that will flatter. Sometimes though I feel that they are a little too classic for my tastes.
I do think that there are too many scarf patterns, the scarf is probably the one garment that can be "one size fits all". Neither of the bag patterns seem to have been designed with the plus size woman in mind. And as for the hat...
The hat (and matching scarf and bag for that matter) is the one place where I feel the boook really lets itself down. To be totally frank, I think that the hat, featuring allover loop stitch, is downright insulting to the plus size woman. Do they think that just because we're fat, we have no taste? It seems totally out of place in this book of otherwise elegant designs. What had Sharon and Martin been drinking when they came up with it?
That aside, I would recommend this book strongly for anyone who is a 46" bust or less and wanting a wardrobe of classic, timeless pieces for women of any age.
It is fair to say that, in my opinion, I have saved the best till last. I waited in eager anticipation for the publishing date for Big Girl Knits by Amy Singer and Jillian Moreno (of Knitty, of course) the for months. It did not let me down. I have never before picked up a knitting book where I immediately wanted to knit nearly every pattern. I have already, at the time of writing, knitted two of the designs and have stash yarn assigned for another three.
I suppose that I must give you some facts to back this up:
Five sweaters
Six cardigans and coats
Four tanks and tees
Four skirts and one pair of yoga pants
Five accessories - two shawls, a bag, a pair of socks and a pair of gloves/mittens
The patterns are beautifully modelled on truly plus size models. There are charts and schematics. Each designs has an introduction which explains the thoughts behind the design. Yarns used are of an appropriate weight. Each pattern is accompanied by symbols denoting which body type(s) it suits. The designers include names which should be recognised by any Knitty reader and/or knit blogger.
But this book isn't just about the designs. The first part of the book is about ensuring that when you pick up your needles, you'll get a finished result that will fit you and look good for your shape. There's information on what yarns to choose in terms of weight and fibre and what stitch patterns to use. There's a whole chapter on figuring out your body type in terms of Boobs, Belly and Butt,. The book then looks at which clothing shapes will suit your body type. Then, if that wasn't enough for you, there a chapter on measuring yourself properly to get the correct fit, this includes tables for collating the measurements. (I've taken these tables and whipped them up into an easy to use Excel spreadsheet that does all the calculations for you.) Guess what - there's more! Detailed instructions on how to apply two extremely useful adaptations - waist shaping and short rows - to any pattern are also included.
Since (as they say) you can't please all of the people all of the time, not everyone is going to like every design in this book. Personally, I probably won't use the sock pattern since standard sock patterns work fine for me and I'm still a little dubious about knitted trousers. Generally though, the patterns are fun and flattering and use a variety of interesting techniques. Even the accessories patterns are worthwhile since they have all beeen designed with the plus size knitter in mind. The sock and glove/mitten patterns are particularly customisable to ensure a perfect fit.
To sum it up - just go out and buy this book. Even if you hate the patterns, the vast amount of useful information that it contains make it worth the purchase price. It would seem that a sequel is in the making. My breath is well and truly bated as I wait...
Coming next (and it won't take 13 months, I promise): Stitch dictionaries.
