Review & Giveaway: Curls 2 by Hunter Hammersen

Earlier this year, I was sent two copies of Curls 2, the newest book of shawl knitting patterns by Hunter Hammersen. One copy has already found a treasured place in my knitting library, but the second one will be given away to one lucky blog reader (keep reading to find out how you can enter).

If you're already familiar with the first Curls book (see my review here), then you already know the deal: each pattern is customizable for any yarn gauge or yardage, and they produce a shawl shape that is gentle curved on each end - it's probably best described as an asymmetrical shawl, because you begin with the smallest number of stitches and increase regularly clear up until you bind off.

Since each shawl is knit with the same formula, it's best to check out the Anatomy of a Curl section at the start of the book to help you understand the patterns themselves, which are mainly driven by the cleverly color coded charts and their accompanying color-coded schematics (all of which are explained clearly in this section of the book). This section is particularly handy if you want to modify any of the designs.

There are 14 designs total, each knit in gray yarn - I can recall the post on Hunter's blog where she shared several gray swatches and hinted at what was to come of them - I am pretty excited to see it carried through to completion, since I am also a lover of gray yarn. As far as I can tell, all of the pattern names are synonyms for one another, leaning towards some of the more fun/fanciful word choices (Taradiddle, Perfidy, Equivocation). By my count, there are 9 lacy patterns and 5 textured/cabled stitch patterns total.

As in the first Curls book, it looks like the patterns in this book are arranged from simplest to most complex. For the purposes of this review, I wanted to have at least one project knit from the book, and I had originally started Prevarication, which is the third pattern in the book. For some reason, I just couldn't get the hang of it, and it wasn't due to any shortcomings in the pattern; you know how sometimes you just can't stop messing something up despite your best efforts? That was me with this pattern - I think I've just been very distracted this fall in general...

Anyway, I ended up frogging that and restarting Perfidy, which is the 5th pattern in the book - and while I did make a few mistakes here and there which I had to rip back and fix, on the whole, I had a lot more success with this design - here it is blocking:

I'll be sharing the finished photos this Friday once I get a chance to take modeled shots. I am super pleased with how it turned out, and I would definitely give Prevarication another try if I knew that I had a quiet month without travel/holidays/etc ahead of me; I think the internal pressure I put on myself to hurry up and finish the project for this review probably didn't help either, so I am not willing to give up on that pattern just yet. It's so pretty!

The other patterns in my queue are Equivocation:

...and Chicanery:

Trickery looks like it's earned its name a bit, by that texture is pretty hard to resist:

Here are some other things you need to know: each print copy of the book comes with a download code so you can get the PDF version. You also have the option to buy the PDF only, if you prefer.

It's available directly from Pantsville Press or via Ravelry and also on Amazon (perfect for adding to your holiday wish list)!

Giveaway Time! 

As promised, one lucky winner will get a print copy of Curls 2. To be eligible in the drawing, just leave a comment saying which pattern from the book you'd like to knit (see them all here); be sure to also mention your Ravelry ID or email address so that I can contact you if you win.

I'd also appreciate it if you followed me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, though that is not a requirement for entry/ I also recommend signing up for my newsletter, which I send out only when there is something newsworthy (such as a new pattern or blog giveaway).

I'll randomly select a winning comment to announce here on my blog on Friday, December 2. Also, this contest is open to people worldwide. Good luck!