This book contains some very basic sweater styles, and a few that are more unique. All are very wearable, although most of the cardigans looked a little baggy and sad to me. The basic styles are adaptable, so a more experienced knitter could play around with the stitch pattern or styling. The patterns are provided for a wide range of sizes. Most of the sweaters are seamless. There are a few with cables and one with a little lace. The lace pattern is presented in a chart that I did not understand at all. All of the rest of the patterns are written out.

The beginning of the book provides basic knitting techniques. There are no illustrations. If you don’t already know how to knit I think that you would have a hard time figuring it out from these instructions. The photos of the knitting patterns are problematic. They do not appear at the beginning of the pattern. There are few closeups showing the stitches, colorwork, cables etc. A white cabled sweater is photographed against a white background. The cables are invisible.

I liked many of the sweaters and would make them since I have a strong preference for patterns that do not require sewing. The photography is a disappointment. Many of the patterns are suitable for beginners, but they will need another book to learn how to knit. There are a lot of better knitting books that combine basic patterns with informative illustrations and helpful techniques. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I was hoping to get a chance to try making one of these sweaters before leaving a review but things became hectic and I didn't get the chance. The instructions looked like they would be relatively easy to follow, although some of the diagrams seemed a bit confusing at a glance. Perhaps they would be easier to follow/understand if I was actually making the project and using them as a guide rather as I go. Overall I think this would be a great book for someone looking to make their first sweater.

Unsure If Issues Were Due To Being An ARC/Early Release Provided By NetGalley

Not sure if it’s the advance copy that I received, but the layout was difficult to follow when viewing the patterns. Pictures would follow at the end, and at other times, in what appears to be out of order, so I wasn’t feeling confident in working one, not sure which sweater it went to. I also had issues in determining what yarn was being used, since the basic identifiers generally used in the knitting industry, were not included. Was it a 2, or fingering weight?

I’ve also never seen knitting charts and abbreviations depicted in the way this particular author describes them:

"LACE CHART
rrurrrxrqrrrurr 22
rrruquqrxuxurrr 20
rruquqrrrxuxurr 18
Etc."
There is no other chart to refer to outside of this.

Doesn’t exactly read easily when written in this format.
Also some of the pictures show as white, with bare minimum shadowing almost in the background.
When I try to copy the photo, I receive an error message telling me basically nothing to copy.

I realize this is an unreleased copy, but it’s hard to complete a fair review when it’s limited on some of the final print.

There’s a tremendous amount of detail, from the most basic, to the more advanced, regarding the crafting of knitting. At 24% of the book, she suddenly began to share the patterns. That’s a lot of taken up space, which could’ve possibly been applied in a more useable manner.
Although the information provided is necessary, informative, and well written, I’m not sure if someone just starting out as a newbie would make the attempt toward the costs and the investment of time toward the project of an entire sweater.
It’s difficult to write any sort of manual, and to think you’re going to appeal to all markets which may possibly be available. At some point, you need to come to the distinct conclusion as to who your target is.

I’ve provided this review solely upon my own discretionary opinions, and have received an advance copy prior to release.

I did not make any of the sweaters in the collection, although I had hoped to before my access to the book expired. Since that did not happen, I have to provide a brief review of the book without any additional input.
The instructions looked easy to follow. There are multiple photos and diagrams for each individual sweater.
What I liked most about the book was the fact that there were different types of looks, with yarn types ranging from thin to thick, making for an actually wide range of everyday.
I think people who collect patterns, especially regular ones would find this a valuable addition to their collection.

Being a beignner knitter and having only done scarves so far, I was very excited to get my hands on this book.
I'm glad it explains some of the basics you need to make sweaters and cardigans, with some drawings to get the point across if needed.
The sweaters look really good and the patterns easy to follow. I'm already planning my next project!

Thank you NetGalley, Globe Pequot and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I jumped at the chance to have a look at this book, being a knitter. This is a great book, starting with ‘knitting basics’, a guide to knitting, right from casting on through to buttonholes and finishing off. With advice to overcome problems, like knitting too tightly or too loosely.

The patterns are a variety of designs, from traditional to contemporary and coveting a range of body shapes. They are shown in neutral shades so readers can ‘visualise’ their own favourite colours. I enjoyed reading about ‘top down’ patterns which can be adjusted to fit as the knitting grows, totally new to me.

This book will help readers expand their overall knowledge of knitting, with some really useful tips, although personally I would have liked diagrams alongside some of the descriptions of stitches to help. I loved the explanation of terms, for instance mattress stitch.

The patterns are grouped into chapters rated by difficulty level, from easy, to intermediate and then advanced. A great book to dip in and out of, translated from German. The author is also on instagram @frauluknits

A very good knitting book. It can be used by beginners as it explains how to cast on along with explaining abbreviations and what to do. The patterns are very nice they are items that I would wear.

In her latest knitting tome, Frauke Ludwig presents a collection of timeless sweater designs that cater to knitters of all skill levels. Entitled "Essential Knit Sweaters," the book offers a comprehensive selection of classic sweater styles, each meticulously crafted with unique details that elevate them beyond the ordinary. Ludwig's vision for this book is to provide knitters with fundamental sweater patterns that form the foundation of any well-rounded wardrobe. From the versatile jacket cardigan to the cozy turtleneck, from the oversized tunic to the slouchy cardigan, from the comfortable hoodie to the classic raglan pullover, each design embodies an essential sweater type that every knitter should possess. What sets this book apart is Ludwig's meticulous attention to detail and her ability to transform basic stitches into visually striking garments. While the patterns are accessible even to beginner knitters, they incorporate subtle design elements that add a touch of sophistication and individuality. Intricate cables, eye-catching textures, and unique shaping techniques elevate these sweaters from mere garments to works of wearable art. To ensure that knitters of all levels can embark on these projects with confidence, Ludwig includes comprehensive knitting tutorials and detailed instructions. These invaluable resources provide clear guidance on techniques, stitches, and construction methods, enabling even novice knitters to achieve professional-looking results. Moreover, the book encompasses an extensive range of sizes, from XS to XXL, catering to a wide variety of body types. This inclusivity ensures that knitters can find a pattern that perfectly complements their unique measurements and preferences. In conclusion, "Essential Knit Sweaters" by Frauke Ludwig is an indispensable resource for knitters seeking classic and stylish sweater patterns. With its accessible designs, detailed instructions, and stunning photography, this book will inspire knitters of all levels to create timeless garments that will become cherished pieces in their wardrobes.

As a competent knitter, I knew most of the stitches featured at the start of the book. It was however a good reference section that many would be able to remind themselves of not just how to do the stitch but also the abbreviation that is routinely used in patterns. That could have been included in the crochet section too as frequently patterns use either the abbreviation or even the symbol, both of which were missing.
As for the included patterns, these left me very disappointed. If I have been looking for the chance to knit some interesting designs I would hard pushed to be inspired here. On the plus side, the garments that were given are shown in multiple models of differing sizes so you can get the feel for how they will look on you.

This is a down and dirty collection of knit patterns for all skill levels. Perfect for all occasions, even better for capsule wardrobes. These are timeless styles you can knit again and again.

Essential Knit Sweaters is a versatile collection of knitwear designs with tutorials and patterns by Frauke Ludwig. Released 5th March 2024 by Rowman & Littlefield on their Stackpole imprint, it's 192 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.

There are 21 designs included. All are styled and sized for female wearers, though there are some more neutral unisex designs which could be adapted for non-female wearers. The silhouettes are basic and mostly casual. There are some tees and basic designs which could be adapted to business/professional wear, but only a couple.

The sizing is -very- adaptable and inclusive from XS to 2XL and with a variety of shapes from fitted to very loose and flowing. The author has a presence on Ravelry, but none of the designs in this book are available or previously published on the website. All of the sweaters are "normal" and none of them are too "artsy-fartsy" or "out there".

Each sweater's tutorial is written into its own chapter with construction notes, tools and supplies, and with lots of process and assembly notes. The photography is in color throughout the volume. The brands used are heavy on European manufacturers, Rico, Lang, Lana Grossa, etc, but the gauge and yardage are given, so it should be moderately easy to substitute.

Approximately 25% of the book's volume is given to a general beginner tutorial and how to knit. It's not clear why the editorial decision was made to include the info, but the included lessons will be useful to any readers starting from scratch. The illustrations are clear, line drawn, and easy to understand.

Four stars. Nothing extremely out of the ordinary, but a good, solid, workhorse of a book. The designs are basic and general enough that it would be a good jump-off point for customizing or designing sweaters.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

In Essential Knit Sweaters some of the sweaters were not shown in a way that would feel like an invitation to knit them. They were displayed in a way that seemed drab. In addition, the very lengthy beginning introduction was lacking illustrations which even a very experience knitter would have welcomed. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this as an “essential” book.

This is a book of "essential" sweaters - sweaters that you could wear everyday. There are designs for comfy and classic silhouettes, as well as some sweaters with design touches that might even feel a wee bit "edgy".. The sweaters are modeled by models of different sizes, so you can get a sense of what they might actually look like on you. Sweaters are sized from XS to XXL,

I'm a Frauke Ludwig fan - I very much like the style that shows up in her accessory and kids' sweater patterns on the knitting site Ravelry. That same sense of solid techniques used to create very wearable things applies here.

The sweaters in the books are organized in logical fashion, beginning with seamed construction, and then moving on to top down raglans, circular yokes and other constructions. Each pattern includes multiple photographs (although more back views would have been lovely) and a schematic, which is key.

All that said, I didn't love the book overall. I think the issues are probably less with the designer, and more with the layout choices in the book.
The opening "instructional section" of the book is too long, and needed more photographs to go with the explanations. It's very text heavy. Including photos of a sweater in the book where the technique was used would have been helpful. Often, I find that the "how=tos" can go at the end of the book, or possibly divided up to go with each chapter. If I'm looking at a sweater book, I really want to see the sweaters first and foremost.
All of the sweaters are done in neutral yarns, which is an odd decision. I understand that they are meant to go with everything, and be worn everyday, but it makes a huge difference when a designer shows how much a design can be transformed with different colour choices.
My final concern is that the recommended yarns in the book are fairly high end - including one in 100% cashmere - and there are no suggestions given for what you might substitute. There is a section in the technical part on how to change yarns, but it is more about substituting a different weight of yarn rather than substituting a different same weight yarn.

This is not a book I would recommend to a beginner. I think a confident knitter who really liked the silhouettes featured here would be able to make the patterns work, but it would be challenging for someone who was just getting started, and that may not be the target audience.

Mixed bag. Some of the sweaters were cute and/or stylish, but some of them were downright ugly. Some of them seemed doable by an advanced beginner (myself), but others maybe not - however, it was hard to tell as there weren't any difficulty ratings listed on the patterns. Also, Ludwig mentions stranded colorwork in relation to the yoked-collar sweater, but there are no patterns involving colorwork - seems like a missed opportunity.

Great book. Nice well written patterns. The best instructions I have seen. This book is a must have for your knitting bookshelf.

Perhaps I am not the right knitter for this book. I already know how to do most of the stitches included, but reading the instructions for basic stitches, I would quickly become confused if I were trying to follow along. That might not be a knock against the book-- different people learn in different ways, and I struggle with instructions that seem to be the standard for knitters and crocheters. I read this as an eARC, and there were blank boxes were presumably instructional photos or diagrams will appear. These were so few, however, than this book will likely be best for crafters who can learn well from written instructions-- unless a lot of photos are added that aren't reflected in the current preview, visual learners will quickly become frustrated.

All patterns focus on one-piece knitting, with very minimal sewing. Most patterns are top-down; pull-overs are knitted in the round and cardigans are knitted back and forth. There are patterns that require the knitter to pick up stitches along edges; more experienced knitters would do well to modify a few patterns requiring this, such as using a provisional cast-on, or a similar method along side edges (I struggle to pick up edges; adding markers or provisions as I go would be much easier for me, but that's generally not included in the pattern instructions).

The knitted items modeled in the photos are difficult to see clearly. They are all produced in black, gray, or white-- in order to allow the reader to imagine their own colors, according to the text. However, these colors don't always show up well, or the detailed stitches aren't clear to see on these colors, in the photos. Pattern instructions include sizes XS through beyond XL, but the models only wear XS through M; representing more body types would have been a plus.

The book explains how many of the parts are interchangeable-- knit this sweater, but substitute these sleeves or this collar. This is *not recommended for absolute beginners! Although the patterns are marked from simplest to most complex, "simple" in this case does not mean "easy"-- knitters should approach these patterns already having done at least a few items that require shaping and knitting in the round, at a minimum.

It's hard to gauge (ha!) the quality of the patterns, as there were a lot of issues with the eARC file-- lines of text being repeated (*not* an instruction to knit this row twice, but an actual duplicate of the text), or a line or multiple lines were misplaced into the paragraph below (that's kind of hard to describe, but like there was a lot of random cut-and-paste issues, sort of thing). While eARCs tend to come with a disclaimer along the lines of "we assure you that grammatical errors and formatting issues will be fixed in all final editions," this was a lot of errors, and it would make me nervous about the final product.

eARC from NetGalley.

This book was really nicely laid out, with a good outline of basic concepts talked about in the first third of the book, and beautiful patterns in the later half. I really enjoyed that each pattern included construction breakdowns and a full color image of the finished garment with sizing shown on the images. I also really appreciated that there weren't just one size of model shown for the patterns, but I do wish there was more than just size diversity. 4.5/5

I was very interested in this knitting book because I've never had the best of luck making sweaters and was looking for a better guide. However, I must say that the the lack of color in the book really turned me off. Nearly every sweater is grey! While this color might show the stitchery better than some brighter color (and neutral is intended as a "canvas" as noted in intro), I have to say that it made some of the sweaters look downright ugly.

There are lots of different patterns and levels of difficulty within the book. While the instructions seem detailed enough, I'd have liked to see specific yarn weights mentioned in each materials list. That would make it easier for someone to find a yarn that would work for that pattern. There are lots of nice diagrams to illustrate various stitches.

Thank you to Pequot Books and NetGalley for providing an advance review copy. My opinions are my own.

Essential Knit Sweaters Patterns for Every Sweater You Ever Wanted to Wear Every Day by Frauke Ludwig
This book is fantastic, so many ideas and different ways to put sweaters together. There are so many chapters about the basics, even stitches and how to make them, along with tips and tricks with specific instructions for particular necklines, sleeve construction, etc that are included in the book.
Each sweater has a title that starts the pattern of. includes sizes, chest circumSize, sleeve garment length, construction notes, special stitches used, tools and selvedge stitches and gauge.
pictures are shown and starting notes are included.
there are NO charted patterns in this book. written out row by row instructions.
What I like especially are that parts of the sweater have dark background with white lettering that make it stick out so much more for me.
There are so many different patterns, from top down to bottom down, yoke style, etc. Quite the selection and variety. Love flare and drape!
A KEEPER for the simplicity of the patterns, not hard and for experts and beginners alike.
Received this review copy from Globe Pequot, Stackpole Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion
e #EssentialKnitSweaters #NetGalley

First of all, just a bit of back ground about why I chose this book, I used to knit many years ago but only simple stuff with the help of my mum. Sadly, my mum is no longer alive but I would love to revisit knitting. My daughter taught herself how to crochet and is also interested in the art of knitting.

The book has some lovely patterns within it for both jumpers and cardigans. The patterns read like they should be fairly easy to do and follow. There are the great instructional parts at the start of the book which I think will help and I am certain my daughter would find both interesting and helpful being a complete beginner.

I loved the way the book is set out, the photograph of the completed garment, then the items needed to make it, diagrams etc & obviously pattern. Its so well set out.

One thing I should point out though it is from personal choice I think this book would be even better in the form of a physical book. I find it much easier to flip back and forth in a physical book than ebook. I’ve gone through the ebook a few times and there are patterns I would be interested in making, the issue I have is the sizing’s, they do not seem to cater for the curvier figure. I’ll be totally honest I still feel a little intimidated by the thought of knitting a jumper or cardigan though I think this book could guide me through the process fairly well.

I did try to download this book to my compute so that myself or my daughter could perhaps try knitting one of the jumpers or cardigans and then come back and add to the review but it refused to download, so as I had to review on Netgalley Shelf App meaning sadly that the book will soon disappear and we won’t have time to try any of the patterns.