75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colorful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet [Paperback]

Jessica Polka (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 17, 2012

A captivating collection of knit and crochet patterns taken from the shoreline and the deep!

 

Dive into a beautiful collection of aquatic wonders to knit and crochet---from lovely shells, lush seaweed, and eerie anglerfish, to elaborate and colorful coral reefs.
Each creature is beautifully presented in the directory at the front of the book; here they are shown living in their different habitats, including the beach, the tidepool, and the open ocean. Each is cross-referenced to the instructions chapter, where an easy-to-follow pattern, complete assembly and finishing instructions, yarn requirements, and charts for crochet designs can be found.
The book also includes a host of inspiring ideas for how to use your creations in a wide range of settings---elegant jewelry and accessories, unusual home accents, and large display arrangements.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With items this small (the smallest being a ten-row fish, six stitches at its widest), don't be afraid to dive right in." ---Knit Simple

 

"Dive into an ocean's worth of underwater creatures with Jessica's wonderful patterns.... We really love that each project is silhouetted in multiple views, taking the guesswork out of what your work will look like." ---Crochet Today!

About the Author

JESSICA POLKA is a designer of soft sculpture and embroidery based in San Francisco. Her online shop, Wunderkammer, opened in 2007, and her designs have been featured in galleries and stores throughout the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Original edition (January 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781250003089
• ISBN-13: 978-1250003089
• ASIN: 1250003083
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fun book! February 28, 2012

By Rudy Fan

Format:Paperback

I really appreciated this book's overall design and thought going over each section would help in 'seeing' what it has to offer. First, the beginning of this book has a very short section devoted to an overview of knitting and crochet skills. This is just an overview.

The next section is a very useful gallery or 'Directory' of the projects set in various habitats (The Beach, Tidepool, The Shallows, Octopuses' Garden, Coral Reef, Atoll, Open Ocean, and The Deep). It shows all the finished creatures, shells, coral, or seaweed at a glance over 16 pages.

Following this is the main pattern section of the book. There are 42 knitted and 33 crochets items. Each pattern features a picture of the finished item, clear directions and font, and a chart to follow if necessary (not all patterns have charts). There are many unusual creatures featured in this book. They are well done and very realistic looking (my only complaint is the Great White Shark is all white, which in reality, it is partly gray...easy to fix). I love 'The Deep' ones, especially the Anglerfish, whose mouth could, just for fun, be used as a place to store a ring or bracelet. The Brine Shrimp, Zebra Dartfish, Blue Line Grouper, and Pufferfish are just some of the fishes that look fun to make.

The last section shows 7 projects. They are: Sea Fig Corsage, Atoll Ceiling Mobile, Sea Shell Beach Hat, Seaweed Scarf, Shoal Necklace, Deep Sea Diorama (my favorite), and Coral Cushion. It's nice to see some suggestions as what to do with these kinds of items. You usually don't find that.

I would recommend this for someone who loves the sea, or lives by water and wants to do some cute decorating, or for those who just want to create novel knitted or crocheted items. Have fun with it!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Cute patterns but the pattern instructions are terrible. June 7, 2012

By SarahM

Format:Paperback

I like that this book includes patterns to make all sorts of sea creatures, categorized by habitat, with little tidbits of info about the real creature. Very cute.

However, the written patterns are terrible. Absolutely horrible. I used to work in a yarn shop and have taught countless knitting classes, and have never seen such poorly written patterns. The author did not write these patterns in typical knitting shorthand, which is more or less standard throughout knitting patterns, making reading these simple patterns way more complicated than it should be. There are awkward graph-like things to describe some of the patterns, which are a poor attempt at combining a traditional graph and a drawing. Even the patterns that are actually graphed are wrong. The copy editor for this book seriously needs to re-think their profession.

In several places the author fails to communicate steps and/or instructions, so I am left with a fully knit fiddler crab that I have no idea how to assemble. Also the anemone in the photo clearly has more spiney things than the pattern says. I'm beginning to think the author doesn't actually know how to knit.

The photos are better than some knitting pattern books I have seen, but the lack of instructions makes this book not worth buying.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars crochet cool marine life April 3, 2012

By Patricia R. Andersen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

First off, 75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colorful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet, this book has 43 knit patterns and 33 crochet patterns.(Yes the book states "75" but there is really 76.) I am disappointed that over half of the patterns contained in M's Polka's book are knitted. It's the same sort of balance to M's Polka's other book, 75 Birds, Butterflies & Little Beasts to Knit and Crochet. Some look cute, but not cute enough that I want to knit them. This review is all about the crocheting.

The patterns are well written and well photographed. The instructions are clear and correct. Some people do better with a diagram, so some of the patterns use crochet stitch symbols to give another level of understanding to the pattern. I don't know but I presume (from the other reviewer) that colors match what is found in real life. I think my favorite is the puffer fish but all of the crochet patterns look good.

There is a section of projects at the end of the book that combine both the knit and crochet marine life. But you could always switch the patterns around to make it all crochet if that's what you want. I'm not sure when I will need to create a deep sea diorama but it's good to know I could create one. I liked the seaweed shawl - it's a show piece and it would look good dressed up or dressed down.

Despite the fact that 75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colorful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet is not more crochet oriented, I am happy I bought this book. I have great-nephews who are into "fishy" things and I'm sure I will be crocheting the patterns from the book.
I would recommend this book to any crocheter 0 and you'd get an added benefit if you were a knitter.
enjoy