Customer Reviews

Uncommon Crochet: Twenty-Five Projects Made from Natural Yarns and Alternative Fibers

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

 

 

This book has patterns that use materials such as leather twine, wool, etc.....you will not find any arcyllic in this book, which is why I bought it. For something different. . I love the paper it is printed on, and the photos are gorgeous. All of the projects are very creative. Although, most require you to do more than just crochet though.... a lot of the projects require sewing in fabric liners, or sewing fabric to the items, and I hate sewing! 6 of the patterns also require felting. But, the reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the variety. While the projects themselves are beautiful, and interesting 12 of them are some type of bag/purse--that is almost half of the patterns! There are 4 patterns for some type of a basket, 3 patterns for vases (which are really just decorative rather than functional), and then a few random items: pin cushions, a non-functional sake set, faux sushi and a wire flower. The inside flap of this book leads you to believe there is a better variety than there is, and even says there are projects for "jewelry". There are not any patterns for jewelry in this book, unless you count the one wire flower pattern that you could use as a pendant or pin. Overall the book is beautifully done, and has a lot of instructions/how-to's, etc....might be good for a beginner. I just wish I had known beforehand that nearly every pattern in this book is for some type of a container--whether it be a vase, basket, bag or even sake set --- almost all of the patterns are for some type of a container. Will keep for my crochet library though because there are some inspiring ideas.

...you know what I mean, particularly if you grew up during an era when mom (or grandma) crocheted orange-avocado afghans and toilet roll covers. Now, I see the kitsch is back again with an entire BOOK of crochet recently published devoted to roll covers, and other such silliness. But...crochet deserves so much better than to be a fiberarts punchline.

Holetz is making interesting choices here for her crochet media - as in, "I've seen plenty of shopping bags crocheted from plastic store bags, thanx." It's nice to see a little imagination with bags crocheted from gift-supplier raffia (meant to be bows but reasonably priced), also luxe/pricey material such as leather cord. LOTS of leather cord go into an elegant decor basket that is Martha-Stewart exquisite. - that is, if that's how you want it to be.

Me, I'd haunt the thrift shops and see what opportunities for interesting crochet-able material present themselves. I'll bet this author would do/has done the same. In any case, the projects she has planned out almost beg for substitution and experimentation. (Example: for the aforementioned basket, I have a ton of cut suede "fringe" from some long-ago project that I am daisy-chaining together into "barbed wire" - it will be different, but attractive, and I don't mean in a "look what I made at camp, mom!" kind of way.)

A beautiful book that respects a too often dismissed or "dumbed down" craft.

To a crochet enthusiast this book brings little new and unseen but for a beginner it gives a nice collection of modern patterns and good tips for crocheting beyond afghans or lacy doilies. The author encourages to designing and gives great lessons as well in the basics as using various materials. Especially the very clear photos are enjoyable.

I really love this book. The best thing about this book is the fact that you are encouraged to design your own projects. I am a self taught crocheter and I always find it hard to make projects in the size and kind of yarn I want. This book gives a lot of suggestions about how to go about designing a project with the materials you have in hand. If you are a creative crocheter get this book to get ideas and learn from it.

This is a very interesting book. It definitely goes outside the box. It has some very nice projects made with a variety of unusual materials. I especially enjoyed reading about all of the alternative materials that can be used in crocheting - materials that I would never have thought about using prior to reading the book. Now I look at everything I encounter from a new viewpoint - "Can I crochet with this?"

Most of the projects in this book are handbags and a good 1/3 of the book is a crochet primer, so if you're not interested in those two things, it's probably not the book for you. However, if you do need a crochet primer, this is probably the best I've ever seen--and I've got several. The yarns are interesting and the handbag projects in here are unlike any I've seen elsewhere. I think the book is definitely great for reference AND as an intro into using different fibers.

What a treat to get a book that delivers exactly as promised: great projects using non-traditional fibers such as jute, leather and common kitchen twine. The photographs are beautiful and the book is printed on really nice stock - this is important if you want to have a good shelf life for a book. And this book will be on my shelf for a long time - that is, when I am not using it for making these amazing projects: uncommon bags, jewelry, felted items, baskets, vases, pincushions and SUSHI! - yep, cute little crocheted sushi.

I love the extensive explanations of how to use the various suggested fibers - and how to go with more traditional yarns if you want to. The basket with the cloth top and twine bottom will be my first project. It is adorable! Oh, and the twine market bag - what a great idea!

I like that this book contains a lot of info regarding materials and crocheting techniques (even felting) with "uncommon" materials. This is great for beginners like me for that reason; the designs are inspirational, colorful, functional - love it.

My comment about this book is that when I want to buy a book about crochet patterns, I need to see the pictures of the projects. This detail is of outmost importance to me. I see no picture, I will not buy the book, regardless the 5 stars comments from readers/owners. I would appreciate Amazon or the publisher/author will take this comment into consideration for future "look inside this book". I have been very, very disappointed with books I have bought in which only one or two patterns where suitable for my taste.