Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crochet (Teach Yourself VISUALLY Consumer)

As mentioned in my title, this book is all of that and more. I would consider myself a very good beginner, or moderate intermediate level in crocheting and knitting. Many times I will have forgotten how to make the proper stitches, or where to turn the row without creating excess bulk or uneven lines. This especially holds true if I’ve put my yarn away for a season or two. I like to have a book to come back to for use as a quick reference guide, and with that being said, I am a visual learner so tutorial books such as this one is perfect for me. Authors loose me with too much wording. Additionally, the authors in the book will use a contrast color yarn to enhance the image of exactly what needs to be done within the stitch and exactly where. There are arrows which indicate which way your hook should follow so that you can make the stitch look like it’s supposed to look. The nice thing about crochet is that it typically “knits” fast and it’s super easy to rip back your mistakes. Yes, it’s not a fun thing to do after countless hours of work on your project, but it is a necessary step in making your project look the way it’s supposed to look (1) and it’s a learning process (2). 98% of my rows are even now simply by learning where I needed to place the next stitch before or after turning a row. Also very critical is knowing not to include the chain you have on your hook as a Stich and the Slip Knot, of course. This book is perfect on the most elementary levels, and can teach you all the way to an intermediate and some advanced levels. It’s very detailed (which I need) and rich in color. So, whether you purchase the E-version or the hard copy, you won’t go wrong. I highly recommend this book to any new beginner and one such as myself whom needs a little guidance after putting yarn to the side for a bit.

This is a great book for any beginner, everything you need to know.

If you're new to crochet, this is a fantastic book. It has clear pictures and the yarn is large enough that you can see it well in the photos. There are instructions on identifying parts of the chain (the foundation of crochet) and stitches, the basic crochet stitches (there are only 4) and many variations on how to achieve an almost endless number of shapes using the basic stitches. I now own about 5 or 6 books in print on crochet and just about as many on Kindle too. All different books. The truth is that NO book really shows you very well what you need. The thing about crochet is that the best way to learn is by another human sitting right next to you. In today's world, many of us didn't have parents or grandparents that were taught crochet and so we are forced to learn on our own. With that in mind, there are ways to help yourself, but I'll circle back around to that in a moment. Let me finish my views on this book. As far as being a very complete guide, this one is better than any other I've seen. I think the text is exceptionally well done. You'll not find any other book that describes it this well. I really cannot understand what is so confusing to some folks out there. She's very descriptive and the pictures are just what she is telling you to do. Just take it slow and don't think you have to rush. Think about when you were learning to write as a child. You couldn't just pick up the pencil and begin writing. It took practice. You wrote your letters over and over and over again. In the same way, make a chain over and over and over again, before you go to the next step, then do the single crochet over and over and over again. Pay attention to what it looks like and spread it out to see where it doesn't look right. I like to do all my practice stitches on one long piece. It's kind of like an endless sampler. You can see my progression from seriously clumsy beginner to intermediate and I hope that I'll grow to be an expert. In any case, I like looking back at what I've done in practice and learning from it. But I digress.... The one thing this book is missing is what NOT to do. There is a knitting book (outside the Teach Yourself Visually series) that I don't particularly like, but part of it is amazingly helpful. They demonstrate what is wrong to do by saying something like, "See this right here, don't do that... don't stick your needle behind there because you need to have it facing you, not behind you" or whatever. This book could really be improved on its next revision (mine is a 2nd edition). For those of you that are looking for a book expecting it to teach you everything you need to know in its one single volume, expect to be looking for a very long time. I say this because you won't find one. Sure, you can find an encyclopedic book even, with just about every variation known to mankind, but there will still be something that you don't understand. For this reason, any crocheter will tell you that they have several books. Expect to need another one. It doesn't reflect badly on this book, it's just that you'll need more than one reference. Now circling back to helping yourself... Youtube is an amazing resource and there are a ton of videos on how to do it. Get out this book and before you start your chain, watch a chain beginner on youtube. Then when you start the single crochet, watch another one. This will help you tremendously! All in all, this is my favorite crochet book. I have many, but this is the one I refer back to more than any of the others. Happy crocheting!

So glad I purchased this book...another one though which should have been in ring binder format for ease of use. Please will publishers and designers take note that crafters like to lay the book flat to refer to without the risk of breaking the spine of the book or having to use weighs on one side to keep it flat. Having moaned about that though I do love the the book. The step by step instructions are indeed easy to follow and to understand. I like the colour coded page format and particularly like Chapter 6' - 'Follow a Pattern' - which is what I personally find very difficult to grasp. This is a clearly thought out instructional piece and will help you considerably to learn the art of patterns. Overall this is a fantastic book and highly recommended...a great addition to your crochet library and a must have for the novice.

I found this book when looking for a gift for a friend wanting to crochet - and ending getting two, so that I could keep one for myself. I have just begun to learn how to crochet and this is my "go-to" book. I like the fact that it has lots of pictures to show how something is done. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words in this book. I've had this book for about a month now, along with a couple of other books, and this is by far, the best one. I do use other tools as well, such as video and a few web sites for crochet. The only thing I can find in the "con" side is the size - it is a fairly large book and wouldn't be convenient to slip into a bag to tote with a project. However, that is such a small concern, given the wealth of information in it. I would recommend this for anyone wanting to learn how to crochet the basics, as well as going on beyond beginner skills. I think I will be using this book as a reference for quite some time as I try new techniques or stitches.

This book is so good. the pictures are brilliant for people like me who like to learn in a visual rather than a written way.

Great fir a newbie to crocheting great illustrations and instructions

This book is amazing for beginners. The pictures show how to do everything, as well as learning to read patterns. I use this book for reference for a certaint stitch. Really good if you forget how to do a stitch. Step by step on how too do it alll

This book is very great for beginners! It's magical loop directions, however, failed to meet my standards. Most of the directions are very good, however for a few things, I found myself needing to use this in combination with several YouTube videos. Doing this worked perfectly, however, and I am glad that I purchased the book!

Loads of clear colour photos. Demonstrations start at the basics and go to more involved projects with interesting stitches that can be used anywhere. A great resource for starting out, as well as a jumping off place to go onto more complex patterns as skills increase. Love it!