Sharon Hernes Silverman

Anyone who reads my blog regular knows that I've been rather hooked (pun intended) on tunisian lately. Besides devouring the net for patterns, hints, & tricks, I've been taking out books from the library, & so far I've been really disappointed with what I've been able to find. Most of them show the same 3 or 4 stitches that are easily found on the internet, & most of the projects are pretty much the same things: the scarf, the placemats, a plain bag, blah blah blah, using the same 3 or 4 show more stitches. They've all been so similiar I haven't even bothered to blog about them, because I had nothing positive to say. So when I took out Silverman's book, I wasn't expecting anything great.

but I was wrong & pleasantly surprised! Of course, there's the usual primer section with the same old boring basics & stitches that are in every crochet book on the market, it seems. But... the projects... are ones you'd actually want to make - using yarn you'd actually WANT to use!

yes, there is the usual scarf & bag (though the spin here is a felted clutch) -- but there's a very cute skirt, some nice wraps / shawls, a gorgeous duster (why are they called dusters, anyway? It's a cardigan) that I would actually wear, using affordable & easily found Lion Brand Cotton Ease. There are some very nice afghans & other wearables, too. I like this book enough I ordered one from amazon to keep in my personal craft library - and anyone who knows me, knows that's saying something! show less

It’s not easy to find patterns for Tunisian Crochet, so I was thrilled when I found several in this book! The patterns aren’t the easiest to read, but I’m assuming it’s because this is a digital/advanced copy. Most of my issues were with formatting. Since I’m fairly advanced in crocheting, I was able to figure out anything that I didn’t easily understand.

It includes patterns for cowls, cardigans, shawls, necklaces and more...with beautiful intricate stitches. It’s a nice book show more with beautiful patterns, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a beginner.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
#DelicateCrochet #NetGalley show less

Many thanks to Netgalley, F&W Media, and Sharon Hernes Silverman for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Delicate Crochet contains 23 patterns from 11 designers, focusing its designs on light and airy, and uses no yarn heavier than lightweight (#3). In the introduction, Silverman states that she assumes everyone using this book already knows the basics and at most might just need a refresher. show more The patterns range from easy to experienced, with some using Tunisian Crochet. There are some illustrated instructions in the back, with some attention being paid to the Tunisian technique. The patterns themselves are written out with charts and diagrams as needed. The illustrations of the patterns are okay, but nothing too inspiring. They mostly show off the design, but this is one area that could have been improved. Almost half of the patterns are wraps, shawls, scarves, rounded out with some cardigans, vests, tees, and one of each a skirt, gloves, and necklace thrown in for variety.

There are some heavyweight designers like Vicky Chan and Robyn Chachula just to name a few. Some of the patterns are cute, but overall I found it standard fare for what you see with crochet. There are some I would want to make, but I’m not sure if it would be enough for me to pick up and buy if I came across it in a store. As with any pattern book, it is how they fit that counts the most.

It is worth checking it out and if the patterns speak to you - happy crochet-ing! show less

Well laid-out, probably worth buying if you want to get into working with Tunisian Crochet, minor quibbles about illustrations being on following pages without clear labelling, but overall this is one of the best books on the topic that I have come across so far.

Will be reviewing it for my knitting blog.