While I’m not a huge fan of calling people ‘idiots’ or ‘dummies’, these series of books are often helpful for learning a new skill. In this case, I believe the ‘idiots’ do a better job than the ‘dummies’.
This edition of the ‘Idiot’s Guides’ even has great color photos which were lacking in some previous editions. You just can’t go wrong with color pix for inspiration. Some ‘bare boned’ books like Maggie Righetti’s “Crocheting in Plain English” are wonderfully valuable without a single color picture. But, for the most part, photographs, especially color ones, bring out the best in crochet and make me want to pull out a hook right away.
“Crochet Projects Illustrated” by Marcy Smith is 223 pages packed full of useful information and lots of inspiration. The unique inclusion of two tables of contents is very helpful. There’s one Table of Contents has a thumbnail photo and page number with a brief explanation of the chapter. The other Table of Contents contains detailed, page by page, listings of content. So, if you’re taking your first look through the book, the more detailed Table is helpful while the simpler one will quickly direct you to the page you remember having seen something on.
Of course, actual content is more valuable than a listing of it. There has to be some meat there. This book takes the crocheter from novice to advanced with instructions, pictures, and projects. You can find a great copy of this in any number of used book vendors online. It would be a great gift for a beginning crocheter or someone who has expressed interest in learning.
SPECS:
The Idiots guide to Crochet Projects
LIST PRICE $22.95USD (widely available online for a few bucks)
Published by Alpha Books, a Penguin subsidiary, in2007.
I agree- don’t like referring to myself or others as an idiot, but I have found the “dummies” books to be a great resource. I’m sure this would be a wonderful book to own. 🙂
I love this book. I keep a copy in my crochet basket for inspiration–and sometimes reminders!