Tropic House Indonesia
indonesian manufacturer of wooden houses, and exporter of quality wood-made pavilions & tropical bangkirai wood bungalows

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Nicky Epstein's Knitting on Top of the World: The Global Guide to Traditions, Techniques and Design

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Too weird for me... -
I peeked into this one at my local library because I wanted to see what Epstein did with supposedly traditional inspiration. I liked the first 'edge' book but the 2nd and 3rd ones were full of stuff an ordinary person with an ordinary life wouldn't wear. Well, the same goes for this book. Designs are too eccentric for a regular person to want to make and wear. I heard a podcaster reviewing this book say, "How come there are so many designs with no backs?" which gives you an idea of how useful they are. I am a pretty square knitter, I like items I can wear and use. This is not that.

Somewhat disappointing! -
Some of the patterns in the book are beautiful, but others leave a lot to be desired.

Interesting but impractical -
I agree with other reviewers who find some of the designs in this book to be bizarre. Epstein is creative for sure, but her designs can be impractical. If I'm going to spend the time making a garment by hand, I want to wear it often. That means the garment I make has to fit into my wardrobe in many ways. Several garments in this book don't fit that description.

Furthermore, the knitwear designs often look appealing only after being dressed up with accessories and/or paired with spectacular garments, such as the outfit on the cover. And that brings me back to the bizarre pieces in this book. The Edwardian lace coat on the cover has an odd open back, which is just one of a few strange, open-back garments in the book. Sometimes Epstein's efforts to be creative come at the expense of good design.

If you can get the book at a deep discount as I did, then go for it. Otherwise, I'd pass on it.

Hits and misses -
This book isn't nearly as bad as some of the reviewers indicate, but it's also not Nicky Epstein's best. Epstein is best know for her distinctive and often creative use of embellishment. That's visible in all the patterns here. If you like her overall style, you're likely to appreciate this book. However, if you prefer plainer knits with less "in your face" decorations, you'll be disappointed.

The subtitle states that the book draws on ethnic knitting traditions, but its designs are by no means traditional. Some of them tend toward high fashion, as other reviewers have pointed out, but not all of them are so haute couture as to be unwearable. The problem is that the styling of the book makes it very difficult to figure out which is which. There is so much clutter in the pictures that it's sometimes hard to get a real feel for the designs.

There are some nice designs here (the cover pattern is one), but they won't be to everyone's taste. As with all pattern books, check this one out at the library before you decide to buy.

The Tams! OMG! -
I love Nicky's work and own almost all of it. I usually buy sight unseen. I saw this in a bookstore and sat down to review it. Nothing spoke to me. Some of the items looked oddly amateurish. But the capper was the Big-Tams-as-a-Breastplate. Holy smokes, who dreamt that up? I'm still laughing. But not buying.