This review is from: The Granny Square Book: Timeless Techniques and Fresh Ideas for Crocheting Square by Square (Spiral-bound)
(This review is part of a series of reviews of books in my granny square collection. For these reviews, the # of granny squares refers to the number of patterns for squares that are crocheted in the round, not the total number of patterns in the book.)
Summary: An ode to the granny square, with 75 motif patterns and 25 projects using granny squares, along with tips for construction, design, and finishing touches. Uses U.S. pattern abbreviations for motifs and projects, and international stitch symbols for motifs.
# of granny squares: 74
What I like: The spiral binding allows the book to lay flat so you can read and crochet at the same time. All motif patterns include both U.S. pattern abbreviations and international stitch symbols. The introduction includes reflections on the Hubert family’s love of grannies, as well as personal quotes from other crochet designers about granny squares. The “Crochet Basics” section includes descriptions with photos of crochet stitches (including basics and special stitches), so the book is very beginner friendly. This section also includes an overview of crochet pattern reading, multiple techniques for starting a motif (adjustable loop, slip knot, and chain ring), joining and seaming working with multiple colors, and edgings. This section includes plenty of text and also some step-by-step photos. This chapter is something you can skip over and just dive into the patterns, but it includes the types of tips and tricks that can make your work look more polished. There are many really pretty floral themed grannies. Three of the motif patterns include matching half square (triangle) patterns. Each motif pattern includes a difficulty rating. The project section includes some design tips and suggestions for “graphing out” project ideas.
What I didn’t like or what’s missing: Six motif (5 granny) patterns were already included in The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet: *All You Need to Know to Crochet *The Essential Reference for Novice and Expert Crocheters *Comprehensive Guide … Charts, and Photos for 200 Stitch Patterns, another book by Hubert published by Creative Publishing International. There is a fair amount of overlap in content in the Crochet Basics section of this book and the Crochet Motif Workshop section of Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs: 144 Circles, Hexagons, Triangles, Squares, and Other Unexpected Shapes. The motif patterns are different enough to make it worthwhile to own both books, though. Most of the swatches are made with mercerized cotton, and there is a lot of “shine” visible in the pictures. The project patterns don’t include international stitch symbols.
Type: Spiral-bound hardcover book.
Overall rating (out of 5 stars): 5 (If you already own Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs: 144 Circles, Hexagons, Triangles, Squares, and Other Unexpected Shapes, remember that you will already have a lot of the same content, but different motif patterns.)
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Overall, I really enjoy using this book. The squares are beautiful, and there’s a decent variety of designs. My major concern, however, is that the designs were not edited well. On several occasions, the written directions do not sync up with the charted directions. For example, for flower garden square IX (pg 76) in the written directions it tells you to create chain 3 spaces at the corners, but in the charted directions, it tells you to create chain 2 spaces in the corners. Additionally, there is a misprint in that same design that tells you that you should have 98 tr rather than 8. This is not the only square where I have seen similar mistakes. Obviously, you can figure out what is correct through trial and error, but I find this very frustrating; especially since I consider myself a beginner/intermediate crocheter, so I don’t always know the correct way to fix the directions. I would hope that any book selling patterns would be checked and double checked for accuracy.
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This review is from: The Granny Square Book: Timeless Techniques and Fresh Ideas for Crocheting Square by Square (Spiral-bound)
I LOVE this book! The illustrations and photos are beautiful and inspiring. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. I am planning to crochet one block a day untill I have finished every block in the book. For an almost beginner like me who have not crocheted for many years, it is a fantastic book.
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Great patterns along with tips and tricks,
Summary: An ode to the granny square, with 75 motif patterns and 25 projects using granny squares, along with tips for construction, design, and finishing touches. Uses U.S. pattern abbreviations for motifs and projects, and international stitch symbols for motifs.
# of granny squares: 74
What I like:
The spiral binding allows the book to lay flat so you can read and crochet at the same time.
All motif patterns include both U.S. pattern abbreviations and international stitch symbols.
The introduction includes reflections on the Hubert family’s love of grannies, as well as personal quotes from other crochet designers about granny squares.
The “Crochet Basics” section includes descriptions with photos of crochet stitches (including basics and special stitches), so the book is very beginner friendly. This section also includes an overview of crochet pattern reading, multiple techniques for starting a motif (adjustable loop, slip knot, and chain ring), joining and seaming working with multiple colors, and edgings. This section includes plenty of text and also some step-by-step photos. This chapter is something you can skip over and just dive into the patterns, but it includes the types of tips and tricks that can make your work look more polished.
There are many really pretty floral themed grannies.
Three of the motif patterns include matching half square (triangle) patterns.
Each motif pattern includes a difficulty rating.
The project section includes some design tips and suggestions for “graphing out” project ideas.
What I didn’t like or what’s missing:
Six motif (5 granny) patterns were already included in The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet: *All You Need to Know to Crochet *The Essential Reference for Novice and Expert Crocheters *Comprehensive Guide … Charts, and Photos for 200 Stitch Patterns, another book by Hubert published by Creative Publishing International.
There is a fair amount of overlap in content in the Crochet Basics section of this book and the Crochet Motif Workshop section of Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs: 144 Circles, Hexagons, Triangles, Squares, and Other Unexpected Shapes. The motif patterns are different enough to make it worthwhile to own both books, though.
Most of the swatches are made with mercerized cotton, and there is a lot of “shine” visible in the pictures.
The project patterns don’t include international stitch symbols.
Type: Spiral-bound hardcover book.
Overall rating (out of 5 stars): 5 (If you already own Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs: 144 Circles, Hexagons, Triangles, Squares, and Other Unexpected Shapes, remember that you will already have a lot of the same content, but different motif patterns.)
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