Irresistible Vests --- Reviewed by Tina Mancuso
House of White Birches
5 different vest patterns made from thread or yarn

For Ordering Info Click Here

 At first glance, this would not have been a leaflet I'd have bought for myself; the vests are very nice, but most aren't really the style of clothing I'd usually wear.

• If the vests are your style buy it, but share the cost with a friend.
• Look through the leaflet before buying. "The vests in here are not for everyone and they might not be your style"
• Place for Project Notes

Assembly and Design: The patterns in this booklet don't look very difficult; three of the five vests are motif patterns, which cuts down on the headache for shaping. Two of the three motif vests are join-as-you-go, eliminating the even bigger headache of sewing the pieces together. There are skill levels listed for each pattern; all say "Intermediate" except for the Celtic Cross which is "Advanced"

There is an interesting lacy vest with 3-D flower accents called "Embossed Flowers" -- this one is really nice. The "Field of Daisies" is a pullover tunic-length vest made of white daisy-centered motifs. The "Long & Lacy" vest has a flowery border; it appears to be about knee-length and has a button-down front. Next are two more motif vests: "Shells & Flowers", which is a pretty open-fronted vest, and "Celtic Cross", the only one of the lot that I actively dislike...perhaps due to the awful bright-teal-blue and purple used in the pictured model.

A Nice Extra Touch: This pamphlet has something I've never seen in a crochet book: at the back there is a page for project notes, with spaces to fill in the vest name, dates started and completed, costs, yarn used, to whom it was given, and any notes you want to make. I think all pattern books should have a page like this!

Supply List: Some of the supply lists are confusing. For example, the Embossed Flowers vest merely called for "100 percent mercerized cotton (117 yds/50 grams per skein) Mercerized cotton could refer Cotton #10, Pearl Cotton in various weight, Cotton Worsted, etc. With no specific weight to the cotton specified, this baffled me at first. I had to read the starred footnote that said that the sample was made using Hayfield Classic Mercerized Cotton DK. It would be helpful if the weight appeared in the materials list.

I also didn't like the fact that two of the patterns called for DK-weight yarn, which is difficult to find in the regular craft stores where I usually shop for my yarn. It would have been helpful if they'd suggested an alternative. Two others used for sport-weight yarn. You wouldn't this know unless you happened to know that Luster Sheen, with which the samples were made, is sport-weight. Only one vest actually specified the thread weight!

All in all, I'd recommend looking at this leaflet before buying -- the vests in here are not for everyone and they might not be your style. If you do like them, then it's probably a worthwhile purchase. Overall, I'd give this a rating of "good, but split the cost with a friend."

Reviewed by Tina Mancuso for Crochet Partners tina@castle.net||| Tina's Web Site || The reviewer's address was accurate when posted. If you're trying to reach reviewer and address is no longer correct, please try one of the very fine internet search engines.