Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you swear that no book can teach you sock knitting, that you need someone to sit with you for a month and show you how, this is the book that will change your mind. As observed in other reviews, the instructions and photos are impeccable, but I want to tell you about the layout! This is among the most intelligently laid-out instructional books I've ever seen. Many other sock books will lead you through the steps: Step one, cast on. There follows four pages on how to cast on. Step two, knit x rows of ribbing. There follows two pages on how to knit ribbing. Step three, begin the heel flap. There follows five pages . . . you get the idea. Ann Budd separates the how-tos from the overview, the clear, abbreviated instructions, in which the rhythm of the whole thing is evident -- and you never, ever lose sight of the path. Struggling with the heel flap? Refer back to the how-to section where you'll find detailed, SUPERB photos and instruction, then return to the three-page abbreviated instructions and continue on. And here's evidence of that layout brilliance: Each such how-to section is confined to a clearly demarcated set of pages (with lots of pix and lots of white space), and is not part of a huge flowing unit of text that covers thirty pages which you must search to find the part you want. Once you've completed a pair of socks or two or three, you don't need to turn back to the how-to section, and -- lo! You're ready to knit any pair of socks from anyone else's abbreviated instructions (*Sl 1 pwise wyib, k 1; rep from * and the like). Also, because the sock patterns here are classed strictly by gauge (5 stitches to the inch, e.g.), you're not tied to specific brands of yarn. Handspinners rejoice! Knit up a swatch of a given handspun yarn, select the page of instructions that matches the gauge and GO.