Harry Potter: Knitting Magic: The Official Harry Potter Knitting Pattern Book

The book over all is an A+. It has far more pages than I would have guessed and it is high quality with many pictures from the movies. It also has movie trivia. The garments go into great detail - I printed 8 pages for each of the things I planned to make and put in my peechee - the owl post pullover and the expect patronus mittens. While the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic blue caplet is lovely, I wouldn't have anywhere to wear that and can't think of an event for it. The chamber of secrets beanie is also an awesome looking beanie. It's a no frills easy to knit beany - level beginner but looks fantastic. I don't like the super fine #1 weight yarns they are using on several projects Including Hermoine's timeturner sweater, and have to change the pattern for the Expecto Patronus mittens because I refuse to do them in 1 weight yarn. Most of the projects were DK 3 Weight, but the owl post sweater uses worsted medium 4 weight as does the Weasley sweater.The project that is most lacking in this book is professor Umbridge's cat scarf which was really awful. All of the other projects including the dish cloths - which struck me as filler, did look very well designed.It's a beautiful coffee table book. The sweater patterns do look solid and there are some lovely objects that are obviously inspired by the movie.

The estimable Tanis Gray assembling and leading a cast of lauded knitting designers...Harry Potter film trivia and behind-the-scenes jewels provided directly by Warner Bros...Insight Editions pledging to plant two trees to replace each tree used in manufacturing...The stars have truly aligned to present this enchanting Knitting Magic book!I pre-ordered this book at the earliest opportunity, and my every expectation was met or exceeded upon its delivery! The beautiful book itself is quite a good value with 28 patterns on more than 200 stunningly photographed pages, and would become a treasured coffee table book for any Harry Potter fan dreaming of future knitting adventures!But let's put it to its good and intended use, shall we? Even the book's binding technique (which allows it to lie completely flat when open) and the pleasing weight and gloss of the paper (substantial but not overly heavy) combine to make this a practical and usable pattern book.The 28 captivating knitting patterns are well and thoroughly detailed, covering home decor to toys to accessories to garments. Some pattern designs are taken directly from the films, and others are fanciful and delightful interpretations from scenes, characters and objects in the films. Each design is introduced with background notes, and a knitting skill level is assigned to each project. Size inclusivity for garments is rare in pattern books because of all the extra and detailed design work required, and here a diverse adult size range from XS to 6XL is presented!But there's more, making this book a wonderful reading experience rather than merely an exceptional pattern book. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Harry Potter films by savoring the "Behind the Magic" segments presented with each knitting design, and seeing the film sketches and concept artwork included in this comprehensive book.Part of the fun was the difficult task of ranking the projects in the order I want to knit them up. Accio needles and fiber! Mrs. Weasley's bewitched needles be banished -- I want to enjoy every single stitch of this exceedingly magical adventure!

If you or someone you know is a fan of HP, and you know how to knit, this is a great book. It is written in English, so it does take some knowledge (as in England) of their instructions. With a little help from the internet, these projects can be completed.

Honestly, I jumped head first when I saw this book for pre-order. I don't regret it one single bit! First thing you will notice is the heft of the book. There are 27 patterns in here, most of which span several pages. 27! That's a buck a pattern. Very rarely do you find such well written patterns from knitwear designers like Tanis Gray, Tiny Owl Knits, and Susanna IC for that price. Next, the beautiful, full color photos. I'm impressed at how well the photographs display some of the unique features of these pieces. Check out the bell sleeves of the Buckbeak Pullover! Third, and this is a part I'm most impressed by, all of the sweater patterns have a fair sizing range. 1 goes up to a 65" bust, 2 are up to 66", 2 more go to 68" and the house cardie and Weasley sweater both go to 70"! I would have liked to see alternate colors and sizes on the models and not your normal, "I wear a small, maybe a medium sweater" people. But I do recognize the challenge of having that sample knit in a timely fashion and the yarn cost involved.One of the other things I will mention is that this book was published through Insight Editions. There's even a blurb about Insight on the copyright page which reads, "Insight Editions, in association with Roots of Peace, will plant two trees for each tree used in the manufacturing of this book." I love this!One thing I did notice was that on the back, there is a misquote saying there's 28 patterns. I'm good with 27.

I love all the patterns, and I hope to make all of them eventually. I think that most of them aren't beginner friendly, though, except maybe the scarf. The main problem for me is that when there's a pattern in the project, it tells you to refer to the chart. That's probably fine for most people. But I can't tell if I'm supposed to knit or purl when looking at the charts. It's probably easy for people who know what they're doing, though.I view it as a challenge and learning experience, but I would've preferred both words along with the chart. Other than that, it seems easy enough to follow along. There is a reference at the end of the book to help, too. Overall, I really like this book.