Crochet Workshop: Learn How to Crochet with 20 Inspiring Projects

by Erika Knight

Crochet Workshop is a must-have for all beginner crocheters. Under Erika Knight's careful guidance learn how to make 20 gorgeous projects to wear and for the home. Each of the 20 projects in this book will teach you a new stitch, technique, or trick that will help you to build on and consolidate new crochet techniques, until you have mastered a wide repertoire of skills and an enviable collection of crocheted items. This book showcases the incredible variety of finishes that different crochet techniques can produce. You will learn a variety of stitches from double and trebles to the more delicate lace and ripple shell stitch. With exquisite photography by Yuki Sugiura that perfectly shows each of the beautiful designs, and supported with clear diagrams and illustrations, this is the ultimate book for all enthusiasts of this remarkable craft.

Genres: Crochet, Nonfiction, Crafts

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Keep it simple, chic and contemporary! So says Erika, textile designer and fashion design consultant, whose trademark has been the traditional with a twist. Coming into knitting via fine art training, she is highly regarded in her field and works for many international companies designing ready-to-wear ranges. Author of Comforts of Home (Martingale), her latest book is Simple Knits for Cherished Babies (Collins & Brown).

Reviews

[Tamara]

Has some lovely, interesting patterns, while some I found quite unattractive or strange. Projects to plan for the future. I liked the natural look of the book and the best designs.

[Fernleaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent how-to book for learning how to crochet, this book has three main 'parts.' Part 1 is all about the materials, basic and more advanced stitches, and technical points. Part 2 is a beautiful stitch library with gorgeous photos. Part 3 is the project workshop, with 20 projects ranging from very basic to moderately advanced and rated with a simple bar system. The book is large and has easy-to-read type without too much crowding on the page. The directions are accompanied by both drawings and photos where appropriate, most of these are relevant to the text and easy to follow.

One of my favorite things is that whole book keeps a very neutral color palette. Each project is shown mostly in a basic ecru worsted yarn. This makes it easy to see the stitches and how the project should look without getting distracted by bright colors and funky novelty yarns. I didn't know how to crochet before I started using this book, and my first project was one of the 'intermediate' ones. It took a few trial runs and some practice stitches before I jumped into the project but it's not overly difficult to figure out.

The only thing that would make this book better was if it had a different spine. As an instruction book it's harder to use in a paperback format that does not lie open on it's own. It is big enough that if you add a small weight to the middle it will stay mostly open, but I found it easier to photocopy the pattern to use (and mark up.)

[Anne-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good introduction to crochet.