Book Reviews: TVY Crocheting and The Crochet Answer Book
Teach Yourself Visually: Crocheting
Kim P. Werker, Cecily Keim
(this review previously posted on Amazon.com)
I learned to crochet as a child and was perfectly content to make blobby pieces of fabric to wrap around my dolls as avant-garde fashion. Later, as a teen, I wanted to learn more, and went through every book I could find in the public library and in the used bookstores. From multiple sources, I managed to learn what I wanted to learn.
This is the book I wished I could find back then, and the book I wished I had when I taught others to crochet. The step-by-step photos are nice and clear, the writing is uncomplicated, and all the basics are covered quickly in just two pages each (no flipping back and forth in the book). When people tell me they want to learn to crochet, this is the book I recommend first. For so many people, it's much easier to learn visually!
In addition to the instructions, the patterns include the basics and are arranged so that you know what skills you need to make the finished item (the chapter on rectangles and what you can make with them is great!).
So why only 4 stars? It's a quibble that's not with the contents but with the binding. Getting the book to lay flat when open involves things like getting someone else to hold the book, weighing down pages and trying not to block out text or photos, or breaking the spine. While you can take the book to a print shop and have them do a spiral binding for you, it would be even nicer to be able to buy the book that way.
UPDATE:
Crochet VISUAL Quick Tips (Teach Yourself VISUALLY Consumer)
The Crochet Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask (Answer Book)
Edie Eckman
Go through a crochet forum (like Crochetville and the Crochet me forum), take a look at the questions that get asked (especially the ones asked repeatedly), and then take a look at this book. I think Edie Eckman has answered every single one. I'm planning to buy multiple copies! I still think that Teach Yourself Visually: Crocheting is the best learn-to-crochet book I've ever seen (and would think so even if it hadn't been co-authored by Kim Werker) and The Crochet Answer Book has just become the book I will be recommending as a companion, especially to those who want to create their own patterns. I described TYV: Crocheting as the book I wish I'd had when I was learning to crochet and teaching people to crochet. The Crochet Answer Book is the other book I wish I'd had back then - and now I do! There are good, clear illustrations sprinkled heavily through the book, giving great visuals for things like counting rows and joining circles. The explanations are simple, straightforward, and very informative, arranged in chapters. Anecdotes are strictly limited to one-line voice of experience; no short stories to wade through when all you want to know is how to do crab stitch. The basics are covered well (I would make the section on gauge required reading for every crocheter who wishes to follow a pattern), and include explanations of how to crochet flat shapes in the round (square, circle, triangle, oval) and how to calculate yarn amounts when designing your own pieces. The resources in the appendix cover standard crochet abbreviations (including symbols), terms and phrases, standard body measurements and sizes, suggested sizes for accessories and household items, and yarncare symbols. The tone of the book is one I enjoy, and if I ever get the chance to, I think I'd like to take one of the classes Edie Eckman teaches. Added bonus: this book is compact enough to tuck into a project bag.
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