Big Girl Knits by Amy R. Singer, Jillian Moreno ISBN: 9780307586377
Published by Crown Publishing Group on April 18, 2006
Genres: Arts & Crafts, Nonfiction
Pages: 160
Format: Hardcover
Goodreads | The StoryGraph
Amazon, Bookshop.org, Better World Books, Book Depository
Big Girl Knits features twenty-five unique patterns for women size 14 and up. From flattering pullovers and sexy tees to sleek skirts and fun accessories, this book is overflowing with options for knitting up an entire wardrobe to compliment your shapely shape.
Part knitting instruction, part fashion guide, Big Girl Knits is packed with expert advice to help you make the most of the three Bs: Boobs, Belly, and Butt. All the garments and accessories featured in the book are proportioned to fit and flatter a big girl’s body. Learn two fabulous adaptations to add to your knitting toolbox that you can apply to any sweater pattern. The book also features an easy-to-use measurement guide and tips to help you choose the right yarn, colors, and styles for you.
From the Hardcover edition.
I’m into knitting, but as a plus-size woman I figured that I won’t be able to knit any clothes for myself. After all, I don’t want things clinging to my rolls, and I don’t have a friend to help me measure and size. So I lit up a bit when I saw this title in my local library.
I don’t review a lot of nonfiction on this blog, because I tend to page through them rather quickly, skimming and saving whatever seems relevant to me. But this one was so very informative and helpful that I just had to let y’all know about it.
Big Girl Knits does have several patterns, which is always nice. But I found the most value in this book to be the information on knitted clothing and how to size and shape it for your curves. They go into the best (and worst) clothing styles if you have a large bust, tummy, and/or butt, depending on what you want to emphasize and what you want to obscure. For example, I have huge bosoms and a prominent belly, but virtually no junk in the trunk, so empire waist and fit-and-flare items look best on me, especially with a vee or sweetheart neckline.
Jillian Moreno and Amy R. Singer go into depth about how to shape knitwear to cling more or less in areas, so you can adapt ANY knit clothing pattern to your body shape easily. Not to say the shaping is easy- I won’t be trying these techniques until I’m less of a beginner, so I don’t know- but that once you understand it, you can apply it anywhere. This massively opens up the world of knitted clothing!
The tone is humorous, without any punching-down snark, and positive about both body acceptance/love and knitting. My only sadness here is that just one of their 25 knitting patterns is designated for beginners, and it’s a pair of socks. I see they have a second book with more patterns, so I hope they added more beginner-friendly knits to that. Otherwise, it feels like sizing/shaping for my body is something that requires intermediate skills (for me, perhaps years of knitting before I get there).
Overall, I definitely recommend this for plus-size ladies, whether you knit or not. It’s got helpful information and, after I followed the measurement guide, I better understood why some (non-knit) dresses look terrible on me despite having things like a v-neck. But if you knit, especially if you’re at least an intermediate-level knitter, it’s definitely for you!
Leave a Reply