Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Book Review: Knits that Breathe

©  Zoë Lonergan
I've had the great pleasure of working with Julie Turjoman in the past. She's the author of Brave New Knits, in which she brought together designers both new and established from around the internet.

This time, she's published a book full of her own beautiful designs! Happily, I was able to cross paths with Julie at TNNA a few weeks ago, and she agreed to send me an e-copy of Knits that Breathe so that I could review it here for you all. AND host a giveaway! But more on that shortly.

Knits that Breathe: 12 Breezy Projects to keep you cool is a book that you want to get. Inspired by knitter's desires to keep on knitting even in the hot hot heat, this book is filled with sweaters/tops for women that are graceful and pretty.

“[L]ife in a warm and humid climate, an unpredictable internal thermostat, or sensitivity to animal fibers – KNITS THAT BREATHE has you covered.”

I like this book because:
  • It has a fibers resource guide: I LOVE charts, and this one gives nine different fibres, and info like drape, hand, elasticity, source, antibacterial, strength, and more. VERY interesting.
  • Large size range: “More than half of the projects are sized up to a 54" bust or larger, with special instructions where necessary to achieve optimal fit.”
  • Gives you sweaters you can knit for the HOT weather for those of us who love to knit sweaters, and don’t like the idea of working solely on accessories in the summer.
  • Each pattern has a nice intro, clear diagrams/schematics and the  ebook has links from each pattern to its accompanying page on Ravelry
  • The book is styled in such a way that I want to just have it on my shelf; it’s aspirational and achievable beauty, making THIS summer-hater think more kindly on the season
  • ©  Zoë Lonergan
  • These patterns are the sort of designs that can suit a very wide age range of women.
If I had to pick a favourite pattern: hard to choose, but I think the Flutterbye Silk Tunic is a good example of what this book has to offer.
This design shows you what a silk lace yarn can do. It's for more than just shawls; it has the drape and beautiful sheen to make a top that can in turns be a relaxed casual piece and a more formal, feminine piece depending on how you style it.

Knits that Breathe group on Rav

Buy the book in hard copy or ebook form

But wait! You could win a copy of the ebook.
I highly recommend you enter yourself into this giveaway. It's a great book.
To enter the giveaway, just comment on this post with your favourite warm-weather fiber (eg: cotton, silk, bamboo, linen, etc…)
Please remember to leave me a way to contact you, preferably your Ravelry ID should you have one.

The winner will be drawn and announced Wednesday May 28.
Good luck everyone!

18 comments:

Andrea said...

My favorite has to be bamboo! And living in the desert has given me lots of experience with hot weather knits. I've been knitting for 14 years and have only made one wool sweater that gets minimal use in the winter (less than a handful of wears) since its only cold enough 1-2 months or if the year. Sadly even cotton can feel hot and heavy here. And silk feels sticky when you're sweating... :(

Meagan said...

I am knitting my first warm weather knit right now, a tank top, I am using 100% cotton. I can't wait to try it on, but this is the only warm weather fibre I have tried. I am looking forward to try more, linen and a lace weight fibre sounds wonderful for a summer knit. Zephyr is my fave pattern from this collection. meagan(dot)radford(at)gmail(dot)com

MrsZuvers said...

I love a good cotton/bamboo blend. It's the best of both worlds.

Rav: MrsZuvers

Josiphine said...

I'm a cotton girl. writinwater@live.com

Anonymous said...

I'm almost done a bamboo cardigan and can't wait to wear it!

Rav ID: -Theresa-

Anonymous said...

Cotton all the way! In Florida cotton has great breathablility with the wicking power to catch the inevitable sweat!

Rav: ferventknitter

Unknown said...

Rav-URCM8
I love bamboo, but a cotton and silk blend is always nice

Blithe Spirit said...

My favourite hot weather yarn is hemp. I love how it gets softer in the wash but is as sturdy as linen (also a fave). This looks like a lovely book. I'm blithespirit on ravelry as well.

koreakiwi said...

It looks like a lovely book :) My fav is linen and I also love bamboo. I live in Korea~ very humid in the summer.

Sarah Montie said...

I realize I don't do a lot of summer knitting and need to experiment with some more fibers and more fiber combinations. This book could be the perfect start.

Dana (DanaRae19 on Ravelry) said...

I have already favorited the cover piece on Ravelry (the tunic), love it! I am partial to linen, and the way it transforms after washing. Thanks for the chance to win!
Dana (DanaRae19 on Rav)

Sheila said...

I love linen. Well, I love the final product, tho it's not always fun to knit with. I recently bought some Anzula Breeze, a silk/linen blend, that seems lovely and is going to become a summer top. Haven't had a chance to knit it yet tho.

Seni said...

I think I prefer cotton.Sadly, I don't have any tank for warm weather, only cardigans for spring. Where I live the heat in the summer is unbearable, so, most of my knitting is for cold weather.My ravelry ID is seni

Quiltgirl said...

Lovely designs in this book. I'm wanting to experiment with linen a bit - but it is hard to beat bamboo for drape and shine....

Sue Bradford Edwards said...

I'm creating my first warm weather piece now, a tank top in a cotton/bamboo blend. So looking forward to wearing it.

Connie K. said...

Cotton blends for me. I would love to use 100% cotton but the blends (especially acrylic)make my sweaters keep their shapes better.

greyowl60 @yahoo.com

Cassandra said...

I like cotton - bamboo blends - knittingpessimist on ravelry!

Anonymous said...

I love bamboo for shawls rather than tops because of the drape. I have explored cotton much yet.

Manda-Jane , ravelry ID