Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on Crochet for beginners & anyone with experienced, 14 Feb 2007
As a beginner to knitting, I wanted to try crochet as well. Having read the encyclopedia of knitting book, and finding it a brilliant book, I decided to take a gamble and buy this encyclopedia of crochet book in the hope it would be as good. I was not dissapointed.
Chapter 1 covers basic skills, giving easy to follow instructions with lots of colour photographs.
Chapter 2 covers techniques and stitches, and covers a lot of variety. E.g. shell stitches, bobbles, popcorns, puff stitches, loop stitches, lace, chevrons, tubular crochet, circular motifs, hexagons, cords, etc. Most start with a step by step guide to the stitch, with colour illustrations, and then gives a row by row instruction, to at least one example of each.
Chapter 3 covers projects for you to try, covering a scarf, bags, pillow etc.
Finally chapter 4 gives a gallery of garments and accessories to inspire you, as well as a glossary and a list of suppliers.
N.B. A word of warning to beginners. In the basic skills section, for the half treble crocket stitch, step 2 reads "Draw the yarn through the chain, leaving three loops on the hook." This should be re-written as "wrap the yarn over the hook and draw it through the first loop, leaving three loops on the hook." This also needs changing in the 1st step in the treble crochet stitch. Hence the drop to 4 stars.
Overall an excellent book and worth getting.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much more than an encyclopdia., 27 Nov 2007
Crochet is a wonderful craft as it the material are fairly easy to find and very easy to transport. That means that you can carry the equipment around in your pocket or bag do it on the bus to work, at the local pub or up a mountain
All instructions are clear and informative. There are fabulous diagrams and pictures. The tables of abbreviations are fairly comprehensive. It is incredibly user friendly.
My only criticism is that books for beginners rarely show EACH step in the creation of a stitch. We beginners really do need 20 pictures where someone more experienced might need 3. I would also prefer diagrams as well as text as they are easier for me to follow. I believe that diagrams can be better understood as the names for stitches can vary from country to country and don't see why, with some revisions, Jan should't sell this book abroad.
There is a huge range of stitch types to try out and several projects. There is even a gallery of finished pieces created by artists at the rear. I would quite like a few more example of finished pieces as practically anything that can made from fabric can be crocheted: dress, hat, teddy bear, bowl to put wool in, blankets, babies' cloths etc. Then they can be embellished with embroider, ribbon, beads and sequins or felted! I am also amazed at how I can see something in one colour-way and ignore it, but when seen in a different colour-way I find it breathtakingly beautiful. There is a good selection of completed examples here, but I am hungry for more.
I want to know more and this book has done that to me! It is a brilliant starting point.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Breadth but not much depth. . ., 18 Oct 2008
I agree with rantinghousewife: this is a nice book for beginners, but doesn't offer much for the experienced crocheter. I feel that to call it an encyclopedia is rather overstating the case -- "Guide" or "Compendium" would be more accurate, as there's breadth here but very little depth.
Basic techniques are nicely shown but there's no information on better or more advanced methods, such as using foundation stitches instead of a starting chain, or the adjustable ring method of working in the round.
The section on seams and joining I thought very disappointing and sketchy, advocating less-than-optimum methods, and there aren't any tips on how to overcome common problems, such as the "hole" at the start of treble crochet rows (visible in the pictures), or what to do if your filet grid isn't square.
On the plus side, the book is very nicely produced and has good, clear pictures. For a new crocheter, or someone who wants to learn, it's a good overview, showing the huge variety of effects crochet can produce, but if you've moved beyond the basics, this book is not for you.
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