Oct 31 Book Spotlight: Design Your Own Crochet Projects by Sara Delaney

Synopsis:

You love to crochet, but you’re tired of the granny square and other predictable projects. Let celebrated crochet teacher Sara Delaney help you expand your skills while showing you how to create custom-fit wearable accessories. Delaney’s unique, flexible formulas let crocheters of all levels easily design scarves, cowls, fingerless mitts, mittens, gloves, hats, and socks. With fill-in-the-blank templates and a stitch dictionary, you can use your favorite yarn and stitch pattern, and make accessories that fit perfectly. Delaney offers a starter course in the technique with 18 of her own original patterns, along with the formulas she used to create them.

My Review:

Design Your Own Crochet Projects by Sara Delaney
Very high quality photos that sometimes take quite some time to load in, be patient they are worth the wait.
Like the Introduction and the story of the author and how she came to be a designer and learn while working. Also a section on the tech side of yarns. Important things that you will take by reading this book that are important for measuring right especially for clothing. Love the yarn weight charts.
Each category has its own chapter with a brief summary at the start. Shows the technical side of how to measure but in simple terms that we can understand.  The blank forms are very handy for keeping your own designs in order along with notes. Mine are in my head or on bits of paper all over the house.
Patterns themselves start with a brief summary along with color photos. Calculations for yardage using the particular pattern, formula used and row by row instructions.   Chapters are for scarves, cowls, hats, fingerless mitts, mittens, gloves, and socks.
Love the names of the scarves. The items made are going to fit like a glove for the intended wearer. My problem is I never know who my items are going to as I crochet and knit for charity for those less fortunate and sold also at bazaars.
Love that the color photo of the items as they are laying down flat on a table and the next page is of a model wearing them, outside-excellent contrast so you can really see the item.
Stitch dictionary along with a swatch is also included and at the end where the row by row instructions are given also.
There are 31 in total-what a resource of knowledge!  Makes it easy to pick out a pattern first then go to the area you want to make.
Stitch abbreviations and definitions are included: Shows step by step color photos of the steps involved along with the words.
Love that they use a white background so you can see the instructions as they move along. I am a published crochet designer myself but I don't go into all this detail to do the hats and mittens for others.
My favorite to try would be the fingerless mitts as most everybody can wear them and they don't have to be a perfect fit.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.