Well-known knitting designer Sally Melville has a gift for explaining knitting techniques in simple, easy-to-understand language. Her previous books (e.g., The Knit Stitch, The Purl Stitch) are deservedly popular. With KNITTING PATTERN ESSENTIALS, Melville has done it again. She has created a book of pattern templates for knitted garments that is the easiest to follow of any that I've seen.This book is NOT a book for beginning knitters. But knitting isn't exactly rocket science. Any moderately experienced knitter who is motivated to draft custom patterns--patterns that will really fit--should be able to make good use of this book. Aside from basic knitting skills, all that a knitter needs is the ability to read and understand schematic drawings of knitted garments; to take accurate body measurements; and to perform basic math calculations (e.g., to multiply a width-in-inches measurement by a swatched stitches-per-inch number, in order to determine how many stitches will be required at a given place in a garment).What sets KNITTING PATTERN ESSENTIALS apart from other books of pattern templates, is Melville's explanations of WHY you need ease, of HOW MUCH ease you need in a particular garment style, and of WHY you do (or don't) need certain kinds of shaping (e.g., shoulder shaping) in a specific garment style. Melville teaches you to understand the patterns that you draft, which of course makes for better custom patterns. The basic garment shapes discussed in the book are drop shoulder, modified drop shoulder, set-in sleeve, and raglan. However, the book contains much additional discussion of shaping of necklines (funnel, v-neck, etc.), hems (diagonal, shirttails), sides of garments (A-line, hourglass, etc.), sleeves (puffed, saddle shoulder, etc.), cardigans (no overlap, banded, etc.), and finishing bands (armhole, collars and hoods, etc.). Melville also explains how to combine various garment elements successfully.Personally, I like to use computer applications for drafting knitting patterns, because the apps do all the math calculations for me. But any template-generated knitting pattern is only as good as the information typed into it, and the assumptions made by the basic template. With this book, you can fine-tune any template-generated pattern to ensure that you get the desired custom fit.KNITTING PATTERN ESSENTIALS also includes eight Sally Melville knitting patterns that are suitable for advanced-and-adventurous beginners, or for intermediate-level knitters. These are the Three-Bow Pullover, Marsha's Top, Uptown Jacket, Lace-Paneled Top, Escher-Inspired Vest, Bordered Lace Pullover, Carrie's Wrap, and Cee-Cee Wrap. My favorite is the oh-so-elegant Lace-Paneled Top (shown on the book's cover)--which by itself goes a long way toward justifying the book's purchase price. Some other good, fairly recent books on drafting knitting patterns are Custom Knit Jackets, Vintage Design Workshop, and The NEW Knitter's Template.