I really like the patterns in here, but all call for very expensive yarns and some (like the jacket calling for the Rowan Denim) are so tailored to the specific yarn, they're not amenable to substitution. As a result, the book isn't quite as useful to me as it might be.

I've made one sweater from it (the "Sam" striped sweater) using a worsted acrylic. It's almost definitely not as soft as it would have been had I used the Rowan the pattern called for, but it turned out pretty well.

I had a little trouble assembling it as there was very little guidance on how to join the different pieces. Having not made this type of sweater before, the way the sleeves joined to the body of the sweater was not immediately apparent to me. I managed to figure it out with some trial and error, though, so it all came out fine in the end. I'm looking forward to cooler weather when my toddler might actually let me try this sweater on him. ( )