Skill-Building Books to Take Your Crochet to the Next Level

To celebrate World Book Day (April 23), I’ve pulled together a list of my favorite crochet skill-building books. One of the things I love most about crochet is that there seems to be a never-ending supply of stitches and techniques to try. From broomstick lace to mosaic crochet, there’s a little something for every style and mood. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned veteran looking to try something new, one of these books might just unlock for you a whole new world of stitches and techniques.

Look for these books at your local or online library or wherever you buy new and used books.

The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet by Margaret Hubert

This is the book that helped me advance my skills beyond the basics and encouraged me to take up designing almost fifteen years ago. It gives you everything you need to know, guiding you along from the first time you pick up a hook to tackling more advanced techniques.

This book contains some of the absolute best crochet photography out there. Each stitch pattern is accompanied by a stitch chart and a full-color, crystal clear photo of a generously sized swatch.

Inside You’ll Find:

• How to read a pattern and stitch charts

• How to work in the round and in rows

• How to execute finishing techniques like seaming, buttonholes, zippers, and pockets

• An extensive history on the origin and development of crochet

• More than 120 pages of stitch patterns

This book is great for beginning crocheters.

350+ Crochet Tips, Techniques, and Trade Secrets by Jan Eaton

This book delves deeper into the topics presented in Margaret Hubert’s book. In addition to covering the basics, this book is like getting a one-on-one chat with an expert. Jan Eaton’s technical know-how and troubleshooting tips are presented with step-by-step photographs, diagrams, and clear instructions so that you can follow along as you work your project or refer to a certain step for help with a particular problem when needed.

Jan provides great advice for selecting and substituting yarns and accurately estimating the amount required, as well as adapting patterns to create tailor-made garments. Her checklist for a well-fitting garment is priceless.

The section on design—which includes design basics like gauge, evaluating drape, garment shapes, and fit—will provide a good introduction for any aspiring designer.

Inside You’ll Find:

• Advice for choosing hooks, tools, and yarn

• How to read patterns, stitch charts, color block charts, and filet crochet charts

• Introduction to design and designing basic shapes

• 58 pages covering crochet techniques, including an exploration of scale with stitch patterns, basic shaping, edge treatments, trims, and fringes

• Tips for working with color, including setting up a dye studio

This book is great for new designers or those interested in creating their own projects from scratch, as well as crocheters looking to refine their techniques.

The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop by Dora Ohrenstein

This book contains such a wealth of knowledge! Dora Ohrenstein covers much of what is presented in the first two books I mentioned above, but what I find especially useful is her advice for fixing mistakes and solving problems. For instance, she shares what to do if you run out of foundation chains when working the first row, what to do if your tension is too loose or too tight, and how to use extended stitches to transition between stitches of varying heights.

Inside You’ll Find:

• Tips for choosing yarn and tools

• Fundamental techniques

• An introduction to shaping, as well as an exploration of more advanced techniques

• Tips for crocheting in color, including complex colorwork and tapestry crochet

• Finishing techniques

• More than 70 stitch-along swatches that teach specific crochet techniques

• Patterns for 5 projects to help you try out your new skills

This book is great for crocheters looking to level up their crochet skills and for designers looking for an introduction to shaping for garments.

Perfect Crochet Finish by Jane Crowfoot

Jane Crowfoot is best known for her distinctive blanket designs, featuring fanciful flower motifs and embellishments. What I love most about this book is that it includes a lot of the basic information of the books I’ve mentioned previously, but as the title implies, it’s heavily slanted toward embellishment, focusing on the stitches and techniques that will add visual appeal to your project.

Inside You’ll Find:

• Essential crochet tools and techniques

• Troubleshooting advice for how to fix mistakes

• “Jane Says” panels are peppered throughout, providing insider tips from the expert

• Beading

• Textural and decorative stitches

• Colorwork, including intarsia, tapestry, and mosaic crochet

• Borders, edgings, and embellishments, including surface crochet, embroidery, pompoms, fringes, tassels, and decorative flowers

This book is great for anyone seeking inspiration and instructions for how to add a decorative touch and a bit of flair to their crochet projects.

Crochet Every Way Stitch Dictionary by Dora Ohrenstein

I snatched up this book as soon as it was published in 2019, and it opened my mind to a world of crochet that had only been a mystery to me before. You can tell how much I use it just by all the bookmarks!

In this book, Dora lends us her expert advice on everything you need to know about shaping and how to apply it to garment design.

The bulk of the book is dedicated to an exploration of the stitch patterns themselves (a whopping 125 in all). Each stitch pattern is presented on its own 2-page spread with a detailed description, patterns for edge shaping and internal shaping, a beautifully photographed swatch, and stitch charts to illustrate edge shaping and internal shaping (where possible). Some stitch patterns do not lend themselves to internal shaping. In these cases, Dora has been generous in her explanation of why the stitch pattern makes shaping impractical.

Each pattern also includes a quick reference guide with the number of stitches and rows in the pattern repeat, stitch multiple, and whether or not the fabric is reversible.

Inside You’ll Find:

• An extensive introduction to the concept of shaping in crochet design along with instructions for a few basic swatches to get you started

• 125 stitch patterns, including closed stitches; mesh, filet, and easy lace stitches; textured stitches; shells; classic lace stitches; and ripple and wave stitches

This book is great for crochet designers who want to learn the nuances of shaping.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this short roundup of some of my favorite crochet books and that it inspires you to learn something new!

Show Some Love for Our Local Yarn Shops

Small businesses in the yarn industry need our support like never before. Recognize your favorite yarn shop by adding their name to our list, which we’ll share with everyone on April 25.

Simply reply to this email with the name of your favorite shop. Feel free to include yarn shops outside your neighborhood too – like Marina did with this shout-out:

“I travel for business a lot and if I have time I like to check out local shops. Was just in St. Paul and stopped by The Yarnery on St. Claire. A wonderful shop. Well organized and inspiring. Friendly staff too. I recommend it!”

I know where I’ll be headed the next time I’m in the Twin Cities. Share the name of your favorite shop, or any great shop you’ve discovered, and help them invite visitors too.

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Having you in my crochet circle means so much to me. Sent on the first Friday, the monthly newsletter features new patterns, new stitch tutorials, tips and tricks, hot topics in the yarn industry, book and yarn reviews, customer projects, and a peek into my design process. Additional special mailings (like this one), which delve deeper into these topics, are sent on the Fridays that follow. In the meantime, you can contact me by replying to this email or crochet@JenniferOlivarez.com. I would love to hear from you!

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