Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Sophie LaCroix was a prolific crochet designer and this
booklet is full of her designs billed as “nice, dainty articles entirely
different from the ready-made, ‘hand-me-down' variety of Christmas Novelties
usually offered for sale.” It makes me chuckle because it appears that
crochet is the hero being pulled into use for a wide range of household
necessities such as a spectacle case, safety pin holder, ribbon case, burnt match
receptacle, gentleman’s collar bag, in addition to the usual baby booties and
sachets we are more familiar with. Can you imagine a household today with that many items filling the house and all crocheted?
My crochet library, which includes over 300 volumes, is very personal to me. My books are my friends
and that’s because I personally know so many of the designers and
authors with books in my collection. A sizable number of the books are even
autographed and that increases their value!
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| Crochetqueen's crochet book collection of over 300 books! |
Deciding on which five books to highlight here was an
enormous, close to impossible, task. Because crochet is so diverse, there is a
wide variety of offerings in the books that grace the shelves of my large
bookshelf. I started out trying to pick a book that would be representative of
each of five decades. However, I quickly realized that my oldest book is from 1916 and I
have one from the 1920s, but there is a gap in which I don’t have any books
from the 20s, 30s or 40s. Booklets were common in the 1940s and probably very few
books were published.
I began crocheting in 1971 and as my skills grew, so did my wide-eyed excitement
about crochet patterns and designs. I was on a collecting rampage of both old and
new volumes that piqued my interest. As I looked over my bookshelf today with a discerning eye, I found that i have a very large representative selection of books from the 70s, 90s and a special place on the shelf for the most current books.
The following list of my Top Five Crochet
Books is purely emotional; I admit it! Each one has some meaning to me. Qualification for this list includes warm memories associated with meeting the author; well used and even tattered due to much use; a specific
technique of crochet that is of particular interest to me; or it is a good general
representation of crochet history and technique.
1) A Living
Mystery – The International Art & History of Crochet by Annie Louise
Potter. United States: A.J. Publishing International, 1990. AUTOGRAPHED
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| A Living Mystery - The International Art & History of Crochet, 1990 |
This book is the quintessential story of Annie’s love affair
with crochet and at the same time it is an amazing reference on the history of
crochet all brought together in a full-color coffee table book format.Annie is recognized as one of the world’s masters of
crochet. It was an incredible honor meet Annie when she attended the first-ever Chain
Link Crochet Conference in 1994. She spoke about her travels and adventures while
writing this book.
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| Crochetqueen with Annie Potter (R) and Deborah Hamburg, 1994 |
Annie spent many years traveling around the world with a
research team and professional film crew to find the roots of crochet. The endearing photos of her meeting crocheters along the way and the images of artifacts she discovered in museums and collections
makes it easy for the reader to feel like he/she actually accompanied Annie! Newly created crochet reproductions beautifully photographed and styled are quite inspiring.
A bonus leaflet,The International Collection of Crochet Patterns, was included inside the book as a bonus and my copy is
well worn as I made several of the patterns inside. My most triumphant
accomplishment is Antique Baby Dress by Emma Jones worn by my granddaughter at
her christening.
As the Founder of Annie’s Attic, Annie developed a
multi-million dollar enterprise whose roots are still firmly entwined in the
newly branded Annie’s, a division of
DRG. Annie’s incredible design skills are still in demand by crocheters and are
published under the trademark, Annie Presents.
22) Old and
New Designs in Crochet Work Book No. 5 by Sophie T. LaCroix. St. Louis, MO:
St. Louis Fancy Work Co., 1920.
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| Old and New Designs in Crochet Work, 1920s |
I am in awe of this book and suggest it as an exercise in
testing one’s crochet skills. The projects are small but the vintage-style
method of pattern writing is challenging, to say the least!
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3) Crochet Workshop
by James Walters. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Limited, 1979. AUTOGRAPHED
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| Crochet Workshop by James Walters, 1979 |
James Walters is an
amazing man and brilliant crocheter. He is my friend and has been my mentor off
and on over the years. His tome, Crochet Workshop, personifies the James I know.
For the serious crocheter or the beginner, I daresay that you will not find
another book (or man) like this, past or present!
I have often thought that if I had no other book in my
library, I’d be fine with just this one because if I started at page one and
crocheted my way through the book, I’d be an exceptional crocheter in the end! Right
off the bat in the introduction, James makes his approach very clear without
apologies: “There are no fully developed or completely worked out parcels of
designs or even ideas, for you merely to regurgitate. The various stitch
patterns for instance are never included simply because of their prettiness,
but because they each illustrate at least one separate, identifiable basic
principle of quality/constructions, etc. This is a workshop: there are no
discussions about art and no aesthetic value judgments. If your study is going
to be fruitful, let it be because you use the information as a set of tools to
take the lid off your own creativity."
James’ personality and British sense of humor flows through
the book and reading it is like having James standing over your shoulder
teaching, supporting, encouraging! To view a photo of James in his body suit is well worth the price of the book!
4) Crocheting
in Plain English by Maggie Righetti. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988.
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| Crocheting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti, 1988 |
I often turn to Maggie's book as a reference when I need crochet help or want to confirm a fact about something
I may be blogging about. A definitive classic for years, Maggie is another
author that offers friendly advice in her book as if she is in your home giving
you a private crochet lesson!
The book is organized in such a way that
beginner’s can use it as an introduction and guide book; skilled crocheter’s
will use it as a reference tool and source for the finer points and pattern
stitches; and teachers will use it as a text. In the introduction Maggie says,
“My purpose in writing this book is to ive confidence, courage, and creativity
to crocheters everywhere. Thank you, Maggie!
A long-time designer and teacher, Maggie died in 2006 at the
age of 94. In 2008, she was honored with the release of the 2nd
edition of her book, updated and revised and it is available here:
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5) Crocheting
with Beads by Kate Coburn. Gilbert,
AZ: KTB, 1995 AUTOGRAPHED
Because of my long-standing interest in bead crochet – I
crocheted my first bead crochet necklace in 1986 - I must highlight Kate
Coburn’s self-published book, Crocheting
with Beads. No mean feat at the time, she did a wonderful job with this
full-color spiral-bound guide to crocheting with beads.
Kate was my mentor and friend and taught classes in
bead-crochet and exhibited her bead sculptures at the early Chain Link Crochet
Conferences. In the book, she starts with bead crochet basics and includes detailed
instructions on finishing, including backings, jewelry findings, tassel
fringe and assembly. Her book can be found here and be search for her other two books, Tubes I and Tubes II.
Obviously, this small survey is a drop in the ocean as
compared to my entire library! Try a small survey like this yourself; it is a good idea
for any crocheter to get the periodic boost of inspiration will come their way and
add to the “to-do” list as well! Whether you categorize your books by genre,
author, year or some other clever category doesn’t matter; just be sure to visit
your books often. They are like old friends and need to be visited when you
crave an idea, when you’re feeling down, or when you just want to see fantastic
images! Have fun and be on the hunt for your own book collection! As you can see by the photo of my bookshelf, I still have room for more!
I am the author of The Fine Art of Crochet 2013
Kids Can Do It Crocheting, co-authored with Jackie Young, 2003.
Magical Misers Purses Crochet Patterns with Victorian Inspiraion, co-authored with B.J. Licko-Keel, 1999.
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