Review: Big Yarn, Beautiful Lace Knits: 20 Shawls, Hats, Ponchos, and More in Bulky Yarn

Big Yarn, Beautiful Lace Knits: 20 Shawls, Hats, Ponchos, and More in Bulky Yarn by Barbara Benson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Rowman & Littlefield and Barbara Benson for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

I am basically a self taught knitter. My mom showed my how to hold the needles (incorrectly), the knit and purl stitch and off I went. I knit ferociously and with a passion. My mom didn’t know how to read a pattern, so I just taught myself. I followed instructions, figured out how to read charts, stitches, etc. I didn’t know enough to be afraid of a pattern. There was no such thing as too hard. Multiple colours, difficult shaping, cables, I did it all. I had no understanding of yarn, the different weights, textures, or gauge. Yes, occasionally things didn’t come out the right size, but overall it was a success. What is interesting is the more I learned, the less adventurous I became. Now I tend to shy away from patterns that I would have easily completed before.

All this to say that I used big yarn to knit lace patterns. I never knew that it was “wrong”. So it was funny to read the introduction to this book and find Benson talking about her big “what if” discovery in 2017 for using big yarn for lace patterns. If I had known it was such a discovery, I would have written this book years ago! There is a quick introduction on how to deal with lace patterns. There are some unique aspects that are useful to know before beginning. There are 20 patterns included in this book, but if you are looking for anything other than accessories you aren’t going to find it here. This is a throw, one vest, but no sweaters at all. For me, that is a little disappointing. To be fair, she states in the title that the patterns are shawls, hats and ponchos and more, I was hoping for a little of the more. Regardless, there are some cute patterns. Almost everything is done on circular needles so you should know how to join in the round. This does make for less finishing. Also to note, there a few patterns that don’t include written instructions, charts only. On my kindle version the charts didn’t show. I’m not sure why but I would be wary of that. She does offer some ideas on how to modify the patterns which is nice. For example, how to add a brim to a hat if you like that better. Nothing groundbreaking but a nice touch.

For me, I found this just to be okay. If you are a beginner or are not comfortable with knitting lace, I’m not sure this is the book to show you how. There aren’t any illustrated diagrams to help, however, there are beautiful photos of the finished product. I found the written instructions for the patterns more convoluted than they needed to be and hard to follow. I think it best to have some knitting experience to use this book or you might get frustrated. The selection of patterns are accessories which, for me, isn’t that appealing. My favourite pattern was the signet throw which was outstanding and so beautiful. For those that like accessories and have some knowledge of knitting lace but would like a book to map out the specifics in a pattern, this might be right up your alley.

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