BEYOND THE SQUARE CROCHET MOTIFS

This colorful book may make a nice addition to your crochet library if you don’t already own a bunch of crochet square books.  While these ‘squares’ are not all square, many are repeats of those seen in other books.  However, there are a few in this collection that I find to be especially appealing.

I like hearts.  They speak to me.  Motif #127 is a unique heart motif with a trefoil in its center.

Motif #130 is an oval that I’ve not seen before.  There are several stars, but Motif #144 is an especially charming two-colored star that would make an excellent applique. Motif #17 is a very unusual circular flower motif using picot stitches (not my favorites but very effective).

Each motif is pictured in color with an accompanying symbol chart plus an inset with directions on THAT PAGE for any special stitches.  Most motifs cover a single page, so keeping this book on your lap while working is comfortable.

The motifs are organized by chapter – circles, hexagons, triangles, squares, and unusual shapes.  In addition, there are the usual ‘how-to’s’ at the beginning and a stitch key in the back of the book.  All photos are full color, which adds to the visual appeal of this book.  There’s also a very cute 7 page lay-out of color drawings demonstrating how the motifs in this book might be used in and on garments, as appliques, and edgings.  Lots of creative ideas!

Book Specs:

Beyond The Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman

Storey Publishing, 202 pages, 144 motifs.

ISBN 9781603420396

Hardcover with SPIRAL BINDING (yeah!!) and slick cover

There are several other advantages to this book over other motif books.  The appendix contains two elements that I find especially helpful – the circular graphs for drawing one’s own symbol charts and the full color motif arrangement guide.