Book Review: Cute Crochet World ~ A Little Dictionary of Crochet Critters, Folks, Food & More by Suzann Thompson

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Cute Crochet World: A Little Dictionary of Crochet Critter, Folks, Food & More

By Suzann Thompson

Cute Crochet World

Starting with the intro, readers will get the feeling that Suzann is right beside you to help with whatever crochet needs you have! Frequently crocheters are tempted to jump in and immediately start to crochet, but she pleads with us to pay attention to the “read me first!” section found in bright red letters at the beginning of the book.

I’d say it is well worth the minimal amount of time needed to read these thirteen pages. They are chock-full of valuable tips not only for making the motifs in the book, but for a lifetime of future crochet projects as well!

Suzann draws her inspiration from her daily life, but often consulted illustrated children’s books or Google images to find out things like “Where exactly do a sea turtle’s flippers attach to its body?”  The resulting motifs show the immense imagination and almost architectural skills that she used in this book! Suzann has not just re-cycled familiar motifs as is often the case; but she has created new themes and provided some very interesting combinations of stitches that make truly unique shapes.

Robin's Eggs

Once and for all, Suzann has given crocheters the best advice on how to create the challenging bullion stitch. I took her class on this topic at a recent Chain Link Crochet Conference  and I can vouch for the ease of making bullions with the technique that she describes.

Grape Leaves with Bullions

Even if you think you would never want to make “Our Favorite Martian” or a 3 ½ inch “watering can,” I assure you that there is a wealth of crochet knowledge in this book that can be gained by considering these motifs as exercises in increasing your skills!

Our Favorite Martian

Cute Crochet World is published by Lark /Crafts (May 6, 2014). It is available in paperback and retails from $12.04. Reprinted with permission from Cute Crochet World © 2014 by Suzann Thompson, Lark Books, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by Lark Books.