A Busy Couple of Months
In the past two months, in addition to lots of other books I reviewed over on Mystery of a Shrinking Violet, I tried out a number of books about crochet, which is a craft I love, but it had been so long since I’ve crocheted that I felt I needed a refresher. I crocheted a lot when I was young, but had to give it up in my 30s due to tendinitis. I want to take crochet up again in a small way.
As I’ve mentioned before, I craft on a tight budget, and because I’m not near a bookstore and find most of my books online these days, sometimes I check ebooks out of the library, or borrow them through Kindle Unlimited, in order to see which ones I’d like to own in print or digital format. This works surprisingly well for craft books, as a way of evaluating which I would be satisfied with if I purchase them. So I flipped through a large number of craft books this month and last, though I didn’t finish all of them (I won’t list those) , and I haven’t tried any of the patterns yet.
Here’s a short list I intend to go back to, and below that list, some reviews. All or most use US crochet terms. Note, none of these are new titles. Most have been available for years, one is out of print and now only available used or as an ebook. I accessed them by way of Overdrive via my local library system, or borrowed them through Kindle Unlimited at Amazon. So far, I’ve gone back and purchased one as an ebook.
8 Favorites List
Feng Crochet by Nikki Van De Car
Mindful Crochet by Emma Leith
Knit-and-Crochet Garden by Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison (Arne and Carlos)
Crochet Market Bags by Salena Baca
The New Crochet Stitch Dictionary by Nele Braas and Eveline Hetty-Burkart
Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman
Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman
The Crochet Answer Book by Edie Eckman
Reviews
Knit-and-Crochet Garden by Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison (Arne and Carlos)
If you’re already a fan of Arne and Carlos, you’ll have an idea of what to expect here, when I say it’s chock full of projects for the house and yard, all garden and nature related. There are knit and crochet projects as well as some sewing, embroidery, and more. Many would be fun to do with kids, though they’re not the types of projects younger kids are likely to be able to do on their own.
If you’re not familiar with Arne and Carlos but love handcrafts, especially knitting and crochet, you might want to read their blog or look them up on YouTube, because you don’t know what you’re missing. They are Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison, two designers who live in a converted train station next to a lake in a mountainous region of Norway, and they cover lots of home crafts, including cooking traditional Norwegian holiday foods. I especially like to check out their YouTube channel over the holiday season, but they’re lots of fun year round. I love their garden tours, and their trips to thrift shops, and they have lots of patterns for lovely objects to knit or crochet.
This particular book is out of print, so only used print copies are available (at the time I read it), but it’s still available as an ebook.
The pattern for Magnus the Garden Mouse is included here, as well as the Hippies, a few throw blankets, chair and table mats, a pincushion, needlepoint pillows, even a doll house for the garden, and wind chimes. I’ll definitely be revisiting this book for more fun projects to try out.
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The New Crochet Stitch Dictionary by Nele Braas and Eveline Hetty-Burkart
An amazingly extensive collection of crochet stitch patterns and motifs, from solid fabrics in various textures, to openwork, to shell patterns, to granny squares, and other motifs. I would say, with one important caveat, that this is one of those books nearly every crocheter would benefit from having in their library. Uses US crochet terminology.
The exception is if you don’t work from charts. Of course, nearly anyone can learn to work from charts, but there are a few more complex charts here that I and some other reviewers couldn’t quite decipher without additional written instructions, or without some fiddling around with yarn and hook, doing, undoing, redoing to get it right. So that is the one drawback. But if you’re comfortable crocheting only from a chart and you don’t mind the occasional puzzle to figure out, this is an excellent crochet stitch dictionary. It would help if some of the photographs were also either larger or clearer. Possibly that’s a problem only with the ebook, which is what I read.
I would say that especially if you occasionally make something without following a pattern, this has a lot to draw on for those more creative design-it-yourself projects. Nice to have on hand for experienced crocheters.
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Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman
Excellent book on crocheting with motifs of all shapes, and connecting them in various ways. Includes motif and project patterns, and encourages creative experimentation. Uses US crochet terms.
This is the kind of modular crocheting I learned to love most when I used to do a lot of it. I’m trying to come back to crocheting now, in a small way, after having to give it up many years ago due to tendinitis. That was when I took up knitting instead. When I looked around for books to help me refresh my memory about crocheting, this title came up along with the entire series it’s a part of. Intrigued at first by the beautiful cover, I gave it a try, and immediately realized I’d found exactly what I was looking for.
Other reviewers have said this isn’t for beginners, and while I tend to agree, that’s also a matter of opinion. I can see a beginner getting some use out of it, in combination with other basic sources. It does go through all the basic stitches, but it is also mostly about working in the round with shapes that are connected, either as you go or after the fact, and most of the shapes here are a bit complex. If you want to learn to make a flat fabric, worked back and forth, another book will be better. It just depends on where one wants to start. If you want to make a blanket worked in pieces, or a table runner worked in pieces, this could be a definite help. I can see wanting some direction from a person or a YouTube video, but there’s no reason not to start with this book as well, if it’s what inspires you. For me, that’s the key to learning anything, wanting to learn because I’m inspired and intrigued. If you prefer beginning with a simple, basic granny square, there are also books on granny squares, and slightly more complex variations. Some I found that I want to look at more closely are those by Margaret Hubert.
Connect the Shapes includes instructions for all the basic stitches, as well as starting from a chain ring or a sliding ring. It uses US crochet terminology and uses both written instructions as well as charts. I have the ebook version. It’s also available as a paper, spiral-bound book.
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Have you found any new favorite crafting books recently? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.