Customer Reviews

Crochet Liberation Front First Ever Book

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a really awesome book with projects for all skill levels! There is amazing variety in patterns from fingerless gloves, scarves, bags, and clothing to key chains and cat toys. The book is also interjected with helpful hints and funny stories. There are 36 patterns and 13 articles that end up providing something for everyone. You can learn why swatching is important and how to play the freeform game. This is the hottest new book to hit the world of crochet in years.

The big reason to buy this book is because of the patterns. The pictures are sharp, the instructions clear, and they are easy to read on the page. They come from all over the world and there's probably things you don't know that this book will teach you.

But there is much more to the book in essays and personal stories, and those are by turns touching and funny. They are good reading.

You have never seen a book like this one before because there has never been a book like this one before. I imagine that the flying pig on the cover comes from when someone said, "there will be a book that good when pigs fly."

Here it is.

Thank you Crochet Liberation Front!

P.S. The flying pig also indicates a certain attitude!

P.P.S. The real cover is pretty, not ugly like the one shown here. For starters there's no big black rectangle.

I love this book! I have to say that though I'm no expert (I own my fair share of crochet pattern books, stitch dictionaries, techniques, etc) this book is the best I've seen in clarity, descriptions, & extras (personal stories, thoughts, how-tos). I wish every publisher would take pointers from what was done with this book!

The patterns are unique, interesting & different - in a good way. I love the variety & fresh look at a craft I love.

Kudos to those who submitted their designs or thoughts to the book. I can't wait for the next one!

So a couple of weeks ago I had Laurie Wheeler, Fearless Leader of the Crochet Liberation Front, as a guest on Getting Loopy! (a weekly crochet podcast). The CLF started as a Ravelry.com group, then as it got bigger and bigger it inspired a web site, and now Laurie has edited the first of several planned multi-author books.

This book has not just patterns, but also essays and articles about the crochet lifestyle. And make no mistake, for these avid crocheters, it's a lifestyle not a hobby:-)

The first few patterns are CLF related - if you aren't particularly interested in the group, you won't care much about the patterns. But there are also a variety of projects included, from fingerless gloves, to shrugs, to hats, bags and scarves, to my personal favorite, a tapestry crochet bucket shaped bag with a skull and crossbones pattern done by Carol Ventura. A photo gallery of projects from the book is available at the web site. Skill level required seems to be beginner to intermediate, overall.

While each designer was responsible for her own technical editing, the patterns are all neatly and consistently laid out; the alternate rows are printed in shaded boxes, which makes them very easy to read. Photographs are included (although they aren't huge), and in most cases symbol charts and schematics where needed. Most of the charts were not professionally designed, but they are readable and functional.

Articles run the gamut from personal essay form to technical help, and are scattered amongst the patterns.

Overall I am really pleased I bought it. While not every single thing in there is something that appeals to me, I love that these people got together and when they couldn't find the crochet book they wanted, made their own. They literally put their money where their mouths are.

In years past, crocheters have complained about the lack of respect many of us feel from knitters and the fiber industry in general. There seems to me to be a bit of a backlash coming from certain store owners about those `damned whiny crocheters'. While the CLF book is going to do everything it can to foment the crochet revolution - as Laurie pointed out - it isn't that they are anti-knitting it is that they are unabashedly pro-crochet.

The book isn't cheap - most indie publishers cannot use the economies of scale that large publishers do, bringing up their wholesale unit price. But I think $30 or so is a small price to pay to support some folks I admire. And I am SO making a pair of fingerless gloves soon.

Viva la revolucion!

First of all, full disclosure: I am a contributor to this book. That being said, all I did was to write up something I make and send it to the editor--I had nothing to do with any of the rest of this book.

This is a totally unique book in the world of crochet. It is written by crocheters for crocheters. Being self-published, it contains the sort of things crocheters wish mainstream publishers would put in their books, but are afraid to for fear it won't sell. It is worth supporting for that reason alone.

There is no "how to" section, something most publishers of crochet books seem to think is necessary, no matter how advanced the book is otherwise or how many other places that information is available, so the space normally wasted on that is devoted to interesting work.

The contributions, by the Crochet Liberation Front group formed on Ravelry, include patterns, recipes (general blueprints, rather than specific how-to's), essays and memoirs. The variety is amazing. So are some of the techniques and patterns. Don't miss the tapestry crocheted fingerless gloves--they're very innovative. There's something for everyone in this book; it's worth a look and worth supporting.

This is not a book for beginners. You will find no "how to" basics here, which is one of the best things about this book. I've got numerous other books in which half of the book is taken up teaching people how to do the stitches, leaving no space for what we actually want to buy - the patterns!

Want to know how to make a pair of socks without going in a circle & making a tube? Buy this book.

Want a good intro to crochet jaquard techniques? Buy this book.

Want to make a sexy little thing to wear for those "special" occasions? Buy this book.

Last but not least, this book also includes quite a few essays from crocheters all over the country. Part of the allure of a crochet book is that it reaffirms that yes, there are more of us out there.

We're here, and we're not going to be ignored. This book is a great example of what crochet books really need.

I buy a lot of crochet books, and lately have limited myself to books on techniques or stitch dictionaries, rather than pattern books only. This one was an exception. There were patterns for advanced crocheters, for a change, and intermixed with the patterns were articles. This is the first crochet book that I read from cover to cover the day I got it, and enjoyed every minute of it.

This isn't a professional quality crochet book with professional photos and layout. It has the look of a home published book which it probably is. The patterns could have been helped by better quality photos and a more professional layout. Some pictures are so poor you can't really see the detail of the work.

That being said, it made me laugh like no other crochet book before it. Which is why it's got four stars rather than three. Set my picot free! As a rapid hooker of yarn, I can completely understand the sentiment of the author. I too have been frustrated by going into a LYS and the staff not even knowing that crochet takes a 1/3 more yarn than knitting. It's time we stopped being the red headed stepchild of yarn craft and took our place as sisters(or brothers) of the craft.

I am just getting back into crochet but didn't want to make stuff that looked old lady. I love the socks and the wrist warmers, I cannot wait to tackle the cables, I love the look of them and the instructions are not intimidating. Additionally I have been looking to branch out with different types of yarn and the projects use all types and are small enough that I can experiment with fiber types without breaking the bank. One down (pedicure socks) next up either the Dragon Scale socks or the Phoenix mitts, project order to be determined by which yarn I get first.

I love crochet- and found the idea of this book very amusing....after all, the world does seem to be run by knitters, and when you say you crochet you get that 'look'....so I ordered the book to support the cause so to speak.

But the reality is that this was fairly expensive- understandable since it is self-published....but there were a lot of typos in the book, and what bothered me the most is that there were a rather large number of patterns that were devoted to putting the group's 'flaming crochet hook' design on various things. I really would have liked just one of these patterns, then practical tips on how to make caps, afghans, etc.

I also thought it would be a fun 'read' with some stories by the authors, but most of the funny stuff is in the intro. and is very short.

A nice effort, but needs a lot of thought and work to go into it if the group plans a 2nd volume.