The Crochet Stitch Bible - The Essential Illustrated Reference

Billed as having "over 200 traditional and contemporary stitches with easy-to-follow charts" and having 256 pages it certainly delivers.

A spiral bound book encased in a hard cover this is the ideal set up for a stitch dictionary as you don't need to battle to keep it open as you practice your stitches!

Author Betty Barnden, who has also written many books on knitting, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery and quilting, starts by explaining how to use the book. Each of 14 sections is broken down into having one or two stitches illustrated per page.

Each page shows a swatch in the chosen stitch, written instructions and a stitch diagram with a key of the crochet symbols used. Abbreviations, brackets and asterisks are all explained .

Next comes a short guide to 'crochet essentials' and then we're into stitching.

Betty clearly explains everything from how to begin by holding the yarn through basic stitches and techniques. She also briefly covers gauge and blocking.

Then we come to the juicy bit - the stitch selector! There is an 8 page spread of all of the stitches included with thumbnail pictures of each. They are sub-divided into the following sections...(the numbers indicate the number of stitches shown in each section)

1. Basic Stitch Patterns - 8
2. Textured Stitches - 21
3. Fans and Shells - 18
4. Mesh and Filet Stitches - 17
5. Openwork and Lace Stitches - 24
6. Trims and Edgings - 15
7. Clusters, Puffs and Bobbles - 19
8. Spike Stitches - 9
9. Relief Stitches - 10
10. Tunisian Stitches - 10
11. Multi-color Patterns - 17
12. Squares - 10
13. Shapes and Motifs - 18
14. Special Stitches - 12

Each stitch is allocated both a stitch number and a page number which can be quite confusing as the stitch number never appears on the relevant page with the stitch - curious?! So, look for the page number to find the stitch you like.

Betty finishes off with a listing of abbreviations matched to each symbol, a brief explanation of the arrangements of symbols, a few US/UK equivalent terms and a glossary.

All in all an excellent resource for the beginner crocheter. This book is a great introduction to learning a sampling of various crochet stitches. Supplying both written instructions and charts allows the reader to use their preferred method of working. Great for the beginner or those looking to expand their skills, but may be a little less interesting for those who are more advanced in crochet.

Very nicely presented, easy to follow and super easy to use (being spiral-bound).Thumb's up!

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