Lily M. Chin

I have been crocheting for less than three months and I was ecstatic to find a copy of this book. Just what I needed! I had been trying to learn from an older crochet book (1980), which doesn't cover today's basics such as magic ring. I'd rather not have to depend on an internet connection (always nice to have but not always available in the back of beyond) for crochet instructions, so a good book on the fundamentals of crochet is a necessity. My only quibble (so far) is that although she has a good sidebar on US vs. UK crochet terms, neither "US" nor "UK" is found in the index. For some reason it's "British stitch names", which is not how people refer to the phenomenon ever. Props for covering UK hook sizes (and props twice over for recognizing that it's UK/Canadian: I shall have to be aware of that when I sort through my collection of loose hooks, anything of my step-grandmother's will likely be sized differently from the ones I've bought recently). A nod to the existence of the British and Canadian standard DK yarn (which we call wool) would have been appreciated when discussing yarn weights however.

Best quote from the book so far: "Never spit splice after drinking coffee or red wine... for obvious reasons." I'm looking forward to crocheting in the company of Lily Chin.… (meer)

I think the book might have been a little oversold, both in the publisher review and by the author herself. I had heard lots of things about how this was *the* book to get if you wanted to take your knitting to professional level. Unfortunately, a good part of the beginning of the book was taken up with very simple things that an intermediate or advanced knitter would already be familiar with. I don't even know if I would call myself an intermediate knitter yet, and I found it a bit too easy.

Where the book shines is near the end - Chin writes extensively about swatches and why they're important, and also what to do with a swatch once you've made it and BEFORE you start your project. Her advice will be familiar to anyone who also sews (as I do), but it boils down to treating the swatch the way you intend to treat the knitted garment, i.e. washing, drying, pulling in to shape. She does this to see how much the knit shrinks, whether it felts easily, etc.... all things you'd want to know before spending $100 and 6 months on a sweater, only to have it come out doll-sized in the wash. There are some other useful tips in there as well, but the gauge swatch information was what I found most useful.

If you're beyond the beginning stages of knitting, you might be better off getting this book from your local library (I couldn't find it at mine) and making notes.… (meer)