Crochet

Patterns, projects and techniques

Crochet Yourself A Monster

by

If the cover photo isn’t enough to interest you in this book, there’s more!  This insanely cute book is full of the designs of Brenda K.B.Anderson who designs costumes for the extremely popular Sesame Street Live.  So, she’s got the credentials, right?  I can’t get over how cute some of these ‘monsters’ are.  I bet you’ll agree.

Looking for more Monster patterns? Check out these ones we found on Etsy.

Included in this book are such beastly objects as a Frankenstein lookalike, complete with bride, a large colorful fish bag, a tiki monster pillow, and a scary-cure skull shaped purse.  There are monsters to wear, monsters to store candy, and monsters to hug.  Overall, these 23 designs pretty much cover the whole monster universe.  There’s even a Zombie marionette!

cro robot afghan 0913

My absolute favorite project – and the one that will be the favorite of your little boy – is the Robo-blanky, an afghan showing six different robots.  You’ll get a chuckle out of this one.  In fact, the whole book will tickle your fancy.

After all the designs (great pictures, charts, instructions, and tips), there is perhaps the best couple pages ever written for anyone who wants to crochet animals or characters.  Anderson’s Special Topic, ‘Principles of Cuteness’, gives very specific information about creating cute crochet, quantifying very succinctly how things like eye placement and proportions of projects work to produce cuteness.  This information may well be worth the price of the book alone.  This gal creates those adorable – and sometimes scary cute – Sesame Street Character costumes as well as various sports team mascots, so I’m thinking she really knows her stuff.  This book proves that!

Book Specs:

Beastly Crochet by Brenda K.B.Anderson

Published by Interweave Press, September, 2013

ISBN:  9781596685741

Large softcover, 168 pages, cheerful and useful photographs and charts where appropriate

List Price:  $22.95 USD

Looking for more Zombie Themed Crochet Patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

Comments

  1. I’m really glad to see some more fun crochet choices and not just the traditional, older- style patterns and ideas that my grandmother would’ve done. This is a nice change! 🙂

Have you read?

Crochet Baby Beanie – A Sweet Beginner-Friendly Hat Pattern for Baby Showers and Handmade Gifts

This Crochet Baby Beanie is one of those simple little patterns that makes a really lovely handmade gift. It uses soft Bernat Softee Baby yarn for the hat, a fluffy Pipsqueak edging, and an optional crochet flower on the side, giving it that cute baby-shower-ready finish.

What makes this one appealing is that the shape is worked in easy rounds, starting with a magic circle and increasing up to 48 stitches before moving into the textured post-stitch section. The fluffy edging softens the whole look, and the added flower gives it a sweet decorative touch without making the project feel too fussy.

I also like that it feels like a pattern you could easily customize. You could skip the flower for a simpler baby beanie, change the colors for a more modern look, or keep the pink-and-white version for a classic handmade baby gift. It has that practical “quick weekend project” feel, which is always handy when a baby shower sneaks up on you.

If you’re looking for an easy crochet baby hat pattern with a soft, cozy finish, this one is definitely worth a look. It’s cute, giftable, and the fluffy trim gives it a little extra charm.