Customer Reviews

Crochet Your Way

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I teach crochet and I see plenty of patterns for afghans, baby clothes, and doilies. But, other than "Glorious Crocheted Sweaters", this is the ONLY book I've found with patterns for good looking sweaters. (I haven't had a chance to see Lily Chin's Mosaic Crochet which I hear good things about.) I'm usually disappointed when I do find patterns because the sweaters look dated at best and a good number are downright ugly. And, many use the cheapest yarns available. It's so refreshing to see designs that I would actually wear. The book is laid out logically with excellent diagrams for BOTH right and left-handers. If you are a beginner, Crochet Your Way is easy to follow and has many tips that took me years of trial and error to learn. What makes this book truly outstanding is that it is an equally good resource for intermediate and advanced crocheters.

My students like this book so much that they want me to devote a series of classes to making the sweater shown on the cover (the cover picture on the Amazon website must be from an older edition?).

For years I've complained that it is easy to find patterns for fashionable sweaters to knit, but next to impossible to find ones to crochet. I'm elated that Crochet Your Way is filling that void. I can only hope that this book encourages designers, publishers, and booksellers to give us more.

I had in mind to learn to crochet in order to make a baby blanket for my brother. I wanted to learn a variety of techniques but didn't want to tackle an ENTIRE article comprised of just a few stitches. In my search to find a good book to learn from, I had purchased several but none of the learner projects did what I wanted. I got bored too quickly. Then I found this book. The afghan they feature has 20 different squares, each square features a few rows of new stitches/techniques in ever escalating difficulty levels. They are sized so that each section is enough to get the hang of what is being asked for, and then moves on. In addition, when the squares first start they not only explain the stitches in plain english as well as throwing in the abbreviations commonly used, but they also have a row by row diagram. As the squares progress, they gradually replace the english and the diagrams with the typical language you'd find when reading a crochet pattern. I can also tell by looking at the organization and how the information is arranged that if a new crocheter skips the afghan, they are going to be thrown into the deep waters (so to speak) of funky patterns, abreviations galore, and little explanatory text. That would be confusing as all heck - and that's not how this book is intended for teaching. It's in the afghan squares where the user picks up all the crochet pattern and technique training, so skipping around would not be advised for this book.

I also changed the thread type and colors. I figured the "recommended" colors and thread were just that, so I changed them to suite my tastes. I'll be doing the lovely shawl pattern in the book in a rough woolen alpaca blend, not the tiny worsted thread they used. This replacement of suggested items has had no effect on the learning of this art. The only thing I had difficulty with was attempting to translate the pictures - which were nice and clear - into actual ACTIONS. For this, I found just the help I needed at http://www.stitchguide.com which features little Quicktime videos of the basic stitches. Better yet, site is FREE! Once I actually SAW someone make a few stitches, now the pictures in the book were fully translatable. I'm currently on square 13 of the 20 and am going strong. When I'm finished with the learn-to-crochet afghan, I KNOW I will have the confidence and skill to begin on some of the clothing they feature.

The only thing I would have recommended is that they take the "How to Tie Off" Tip OUT of the "tips" boxes and make it a make more obvious section. They go over color changes and adding/dropping stitches, ways to tie off should be just as obvious but it isn't. I interupted my learn-to-crochet blanket in order to get the baby blanket done, but I had no idea how to make good strong knots to end the piece with. It will eventually unravel as a result, and I'm not too happy about that, but live and learn (this is why I rated 4 stars instead of 5).

So - in essence - clear language, good organization, fast paced without going TOO fast, and challenging without being overwhelming. All in all, I would say excellent book for fast learners who don't want to do that same thing over and over again without going so fast that they loose you!! I would definitely recommend this book - coupled with looking at the basic stitch videos on the mentioned site - to anyone with the gumption to actually sit down and figure this craft out for themselves.

Clear, concise instructions, both in text and pictures -- including international symbols (and how to read them). Everything is explained several ways so if you don't get one explanation, try another. Beginners can make the stitch sampler afghan, then go on to a full project using favorite stitches. Definitely a book that will help beginners, but advanced crocheters will benefit from great patterns and at least one tip that's new to them. A fine job of laying out this book means advanced folks can easily skip familiar instructions without fear of missing something new. The cost of this book tips the scale to make this a 5 star recommendation.

I have made several of the items in this book. The instructions are the clearest I have seen. This book has the most comprehensive stitch guide I have seen. Patterns include a gorgeous afghan, shawls, hats, scarves, purses, sweaters, and baby things. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in crochet.

Lovely yarns and color selections for the patterns - the colorways for the learn-to-crochet afghan are especially nice. For all of us crocheters who love the lacy look of the fine gauge shawls that have been featured in several recent knitting collections, there is a WONDERFUL shawl pattern in crochet... I just started it this week. There is a variety of yarns featured and the instructions are written clearly. Nice variety of hat patterns; there is even a sweater that I might try.....

This book is divided into 3 sections. The first section covers technique, including instructions for left-handers as well as covering the symbol equivalents for each pattern stitch. At first I thought all the technical info was of great value but after having this book for a while now, I have not found it to be the best of references for everytime I had a technical question, I could not find the answers I was looking for.

The second section is an afghan project achieved by practising the techinques from the first section to make afghan squares which will be joined once completed. Though the concept is good, I personally do not like the look of this afghan and would have preferred it to be made up of smaller squares. I would have liked the authors to include information on the number of stitches required for each pattern stitch such as is done in the Harmony Guide pattern stitch books, or Lily Chin's Mosaic Afghan book. That way, I could actually get some good use when referencing the pattern stitches should I want to adapt a WIM (work in mind).

The third section takes all the stitches learned in the sampler afghan a step further by implementing them into various projects. A few of the projects are gorgeous but many, if not most of the patterns are outdated. I have to agree with one of the other reviewers that you will prefer Melissa Leapman's sweater designs. Something I also did not like about the pattern section is that many patterns did not use easy to find yarns and the authors did not simplify the task of finding a replacment yarn as the yarn weights were not specified.

I went out and bought this book because of its outstanding reviews but after having accumulated a lot of different crochet books, this one I could have done without.

I thought this would be a great book to teach my adult left-handed daughter to crochet, I was very dissapointed! I attempted the sweater on page 156 only to find conflicting information in the pattern. While the diagrams indicate both front and back pieces are the same size, the written instructions call for 19 additional rows for the front than the back. I can't see how you can make it the same size with an extra 19 rows! I stopped working the body and made the sleeves hoping they would give me a clue as to how this was supposed to go together but it was no help. The cap went together as the directions were written but I had to take out almost half my work on the sweater and go with the short sleeved version because the instructions were clearer.

I have to say that I have not tried any of the other patterns in this book and I am not likely to in the near future.

I don't recommend this book for beginners even though it appears to be written for them. The patterns are complicated to follow and leave a great deal to assumption and guesswork.

Despite all the pattern complaints, I find the book to be excellent and although I have not made each and every pattern, so far I have not found any mistakes. This book is full of clothing design information, which makes it worth a place amongst your crochet library.

I read the review about the "mistake" in the pattern on page 156. This review is unfair because there is no mistake. If you follow the direction and read it properly you work 33 more rows after armhole shaping for the back. You then work 19 more rows after armhole shaping for the front! You then begin to shape the neck. I feel sorry that this pattern got a bad review when it is uncalled for.

About half (121 of 218 pages) of CROCHET YOUR WAY is devoted to a really beautiful Afghan you can compose of large blocks constructed of various shades and patterns of Blue OR Aubergine colored yarns. To me this Afghan is the most beautiful I have seen in all the many years I have been constructing these things. I like the idea of blocks. You can go round and round and end up with some very strange concoctions when the Afghan is all of one piece, but making blocks that you then assemble is a measured, ordered process that is a bit easier to handle. Besides, you can take individual blocks with you and work on them elsewhere as they are small enough to fit in your tapestry bucket or bag.

The blocks on CYW are not the standard 6x6" variations on the Granny Square. These blocks are larger --as large as you want them to be -- depending on the yarn and needles you employ, and each block is a composite of various Crochet stitches, including a few the authors introduce that they suggest seldom appear in other books. Their Afghan is scrumptious, and the authors suggest their book is a suitable tool for teaching crochet. It very well may be, however, in my experience, students want something they can realize almost instantly, and a large project like this Afghan will take the beginner months if not years to make.

The authors include much basic material, including instructions for making each crochet stitch using a right-handed or left-handed approach. I find this section of the book the most distracting and least helpful. While you might use the book to learn the crochet basics, I already know them, which makes me happy, because it would drive me crazy to follow their diagrams. I would characterize this book as a "mostly" design book, however, and I remain unconvinced that design books are great books for beginners.

The remainder of the Tracy and Levin book includes the "Over 40 Projects for Home and Family" segment. With the exception of a bathroom rug and toliet seat cover, most of the items are articles of clothing such as chunky jackets, tunics and shawls, as well as hats to match in some cases. I was elated to find a beret pattern reminiscent of the hat my grandmother knitted for me many years ago, I've been looking a while for this item, with no success. I know my own granddaughters will find this hat `funky'. (It also reminds me of the hat the Johansson girl wears in the film 'The Horse Whisperer'.)

The author also includes some smart vests for the nimble fingered. Crochet sweaters and vests can be as svelte as the knitted variety when constructed of fine yarns and smaller needles. The short jacket on the cover is a prime example of how creative one can be with this craft of crochet. **** for design and *** for basic instructions.