Loopy Mango Knitting: Book Review

I‘ve been lucky enough to meet some incredibly special crafters over the last year. But some have stood out from the rest and made a real impact on me. Luckily, many of those people have new books coming out this fall. Over the next few months, I’m going to dive into my favorites and give you my reviews. I’m only going to be reviewing products and books that I truly love. If I don’t like something you won’t see it here. There’s enough negativity in this world. I only want to focus my attention on the positive. So I guess you can say that this is less of a review series and more of an Oprah’s book club-style celebration of awesome creatives. But that’s just not as catchy as calling it a book review. First up is Oejong Kim’s new book Loopy Mango Knitting.

Last January I decided to host a panel discussion during VKL NY. I was still super new to hosting events but I decided to reach out to companies that I loved to see if anyone would be interested in participating and sharing their knowledge with my community. To my shock and immense gratitude, Anna from Loopy Mango agreed to participate. From her perspective, there were very few tangible perks to helping me out. It was on the Thursday before VKL, she still had to finish setting up her booth, it was after a long day of traveling, she didn’t know me, and again my reach was very small. But she did it anyway. Because that’s just who the women at Loopy Mango are. At the time it seemed like such a surprising decision. But I’ve had the opportunity to work with them a few times since that day and every time I’ve been reminded just how normal that decision was for them. When given the choice to help they choose to do it. They are incredibly kind and good hearted women. It’s easy to forget the people behind a brand once it becomes a household name. But even though Loopy Mango is Loopy Mango, at the end of the day it is still a small business run by two incredibly talented and inspirational women.

(I can’t promise that the rest of this review will be any less gushy, so if you want to skip ahead to the part where I tell you that you should buy this book… here it is. You should get this book! It’s available for sale through this link.)


Still with me? Wonderful! Let’s get into it. Their spirit comes through in this book and it might be one of the rare times that you should judge a book by its cover. I’m the kind of person that loves the details. When I saw that the pages of this book are YELLOW I knew that I was going to enjoy the experience of reading it. I should say most of the pages are yellow. The how-to sections are pink. Which makes it extremely convenient if you are looking for a quick reference. You’ll be able to find what you are looking for in a matter of seconds without having to flip through the whole thing or folding down the pages you want to go back to.

Written by Oejong Kim who is the other half of the Loopy Mango team, this book takes you through her story, the story of Loopy Mango, several tips and techniques, and 34 patterns \”that you you can make in a day\”. The patterns are amazing and they are exactly what we’ve come to recognize as uniquely Loopy Mango. Each pattern comes with a short paragraph from Oejong where she tells you where the inspiration for the pattern came from and more information on her connection to the pattern. It’s a behind the scenes look into her design process that makes the book feel more personal.

But the thing I loved the most is that this book is made for beginners and yet as a knitter that is coming up on my ten-year knitterversary I still felt like I was getting a lot out of it. The further I fall down the knitted rabbit hole I’ve noticed that knitting has become something different for me. When I first started, knitting was a fun challenge. But as I became more and more comfortable with it that shifted and I’m not even sure I was aware of that shift. I use knitting now more as an escape hatch from stress in my life, uncomfortable situations, or just to fill a quiet moment. But as Oejong says on page 15 \”most importantly, knitting is fun, I want you to enjoy both learning to knit and your finished projects\”. Knitting should be fun and this book is just the reminder I needed of that.


From their chunky yarns, playful colors, and oversized… everything Loopy Mango’s new book is at its core about the joy of knitting. My personal favorites from this book are the Mohair Headband (which is already helping me to bring out my inner Blair Waldorf) and the My Favorite Coat. Oenjong describes how she feels when wearing this coat by saying \”I feel as if I’m wrapped up in a giant wool blanket.\” If that isn’t goals then I don’t know what is.

If you are new to knitting and looking to learn a new craft in a fun and easy to understand way then this is the perfect book to get you started. If you are already in love with the craft but are looking to reignite the spark of joy that you had the very first time you bound off a WIP then I highly recommend this book to you. I’m so proud of Oenjong and the Loopy Mango women. I can’t wait until you get you your hands on their new book.

Oejong Kim’s book, Loopy Mango Knitting, is now available on their website and at your local yarn store. I’m sure you will enjoy having this on your shelves as much as I do.