I have been knitting for years, but rarely using patterns. The cards are easy to transport and the patterns are fairly easy to understand (not single letter abbreviations). I have knitted the mittens already, and they are AWESOME (I had never made mittens before and the pattern made it so easy). I gave it a 4 out of 5 because I did have some problems understanding one of the patterns. Overall, I love these cards-- I love all of the author's knitting books!