No-Sew Knits: 20 Flattering, Finish-Free Garments

This book is pretty good. I was hoping to be dazzled by the sweater patterns but for the most part they seem to be just rather ordinary.There are some great techniques employed in these projects though and they are explained very well. The pattern instructions are well written and easy to follow.The writer uses wool that costs 10 to a whooping 34 dollars a skein. Who else actually spends this kind of money on a sweater? Certainly not me. It is really hard to find substitutes for her choices. It would be nice if there were some alternatives.

Why are there so many knitting books out there with serious errors? This book reminds me of "Cable Left, Cable Right" by Judith Durant, which has multiple errors in the photographed cables and at least one I found in a graph. This TenDyke book keeps saying in pattern after pattern, "RLI (See Glossary)" and last night I kept "seeing Glossary," and Index, and Abbreviations, and Introduction, over and over, sure I simply must have missed the definition of that unfamiliar knitting abbreviation since it is clearly so important to this book. Really can't move on without it. Nope, it was just not there. This morning I googled "What does RLI mean in the TenDyke book" and it came up in "errata." (It's an increase made in the row below.) Sheeeesh. Apparently she left out all those abbreviations and made other mistakes also. Well, thank God for the Internet, anyway. What happened to copy editors? Aren't there lots of skilled knitters who can be hired to edit knitting copy?Also: the designs are quite complex, but we get no overall description of how the pieces are done, just a stitch-by-stitch. If I were writing the cover pattern, I would say that the yoke is made by casting on a wide edge, decreasing across the fabric up to the fold ridge, then working down with increases, then joining the two pieces with a three-needle join and working the rest of the bodice down from there. It's the same for the other complex sweaters I liked --- TenDyke is no June Hemmonds Hiatt or Barbara Walker, my ultimate achievers in clarity of knitting description. I think the thing to do is to painfully figure out how she is shaping these pieces, and then just do it myself my way --- stitch-by-stitch patterns are so frustrating in the best of copy, and this isn't.This is one of the knitting books I tear up, like a magazine. Four patterns I liked, put in my voluminous files. With notes about what to watch out for.

I'm all for not having to sew after knitting a wearable. I love knitting; I dislike sewing. So these patterns are perfect for me. I've started the Sensual Open Cardigan, and the instructions are very clear. I like the tips and additional technique explanations the author provides in each pattern, which are demonstrated in the pattern. The patterns start with easy and less complex, and progress to more involved stitches and construction. There is something for everyone here. It looks like many of the patterns would be easily adaptable to stitch changes and modifications.

So far, I've tried one pattern that was missing some of the instructions and then (when I happened upon them on another website) had other directions that were almost impossible to decipher. I am not an expert but I'm not a beginner either.

There are a lot of designs that use a variety of yarn weights and garments for both summer and winter. Have not yet finished any projects from this book but it will be a great resource.