Review on Unleash Your Creativity: Sock Knitting Master Class with Cutting-Edge Techniques + Patterns by Top Designers by Heather Shaw

Note: I have not knitted a single sock, not even a practice sock. I have been knitting mainly gloves, scarves, hats and baby clothes for three and a half years. It will take time before I have the experience to critique a knitting book effectively, so I hope my beginner's perspective is helpful. With all the books and information available about sock knitting, I just decided to start with this book. I gave it four stars because it was missing some of the information I was hoping to find. There can be several reasons for this: My expectations were too high (as a beginner in sock knitting I don't know what one can reasonably expect from a book about socks) - or - What I wanted to know could be learned simply by experience - or - I misunderstood what this book was supposed to contain (again due to lack of experience on my part). I read the book three times, it was quite fascinating. Liked: - examples of regular heel stitches, functional loops and toes - examples of knitting socks with different types of needles and their positions - design tips for your own creations - designer notes on why they did what they did - how to measure foot and how much yarn to use for leg size and yarn count - yarn ends for each pattern. Example: if you want an X result/effect with a Y design feature, use a Z fiber/yarn - lots of instructions and technique instructions (some clear and simple, some a little more complicated but I'm sure I'll understand if I actually try) - the templates selected use a mix of components (heels, toes, top down / toe up, etc.) to illustrate possible combinations / settings. - Multiple components/variants for both socks explained - Up and down directions including on and off options. Dissatisfied: - not as comprehensive as we would like. As far as I know, they only included the most common heels, toes, etc.; but at least as many options were left out as were included. Maybe they tried to reduce the number of pages or the price or for other reasons, but I'd rather have it all in one book. There is practically no comparison of the selection of components. Example: A/B/C heel is preferred for X heel size/shape or for Y purpose (work, hiking, etc.) -or- X heel is generally preferred over Y heel because [reason]. It would be helpful to even say that there is no real difference between them (if there was; I don't know!). I know this knowledge will come with time, I was just hoping to start with more tips. As for the DVD, it is a video/visual demonstration of the techniques/chapters selected. This isn't the whole book on video, but it can be very useful for some. I personally wasn't impressed with it and probably won't use it, but people learn differently, so the DVD has no influence on my ranking. Although I thought there was a wide variety of designs (top, braids, high hips, loose, etc.) I wasn't impressed with the patterns. There were only two (out of 17) that I wanted to do the way the book says. But the templates weren't really the purpose of my book purchase, so I didn't include them in my ranking either. I am very happy with this book. Yet again, I am very happy with this book. Yet again, I am very happy with this book. Yet again,