Knitting Goes Large by Sharon Brant, softback, published by Rowan, price £16.99. ISBN 978-1-906007-43-0, available from www.thegmcgroup.com
Designed for size 16+, these knits are on the easy side. All in all it is perhaps the poorest of the Rowan books I have seen (I have not seen them all). There are several reasons for this: if you can knit, you probably are unlikely to need a knitting pattern to knit most of these. There are exceptions, but I don’t feel, overall, or should I say by and large, that the knits flatter the more voluptuous figure.
This book is beautifully produced to the high standards one has come to expect from Rowan and utilises their popular yarns. The knits include cardigans, jackets, sweaters, tunics and tops as well as scarves, stoles and bags. A variety of stitches, styles and techniques such as cable and fair-isle are used in over 20 designs from various designers. With a generous 20cm (8″) ease of fit on some garments, these knits are very loose fit. They could, of course, provided you have the knitting skill, be adapted to smaller sizes if you wished. Instructions are clearly laid out with size charts.
Dawn French was featured in a similar book some years ago, so this is not a new idea. The introduction includes a step-by-step guide to finding the right garment shape for you. Other useful information is given on ensuring a good fit. This does not quite press the right buttons for me but then I am a size 12 (just).