Reviewed by Sabine Schneider.

Most crafters like their “crafty” books and often have a small library of useful guides. My stash of craft books is fairly small because styles and colours usually change faster than I can buy the often expensive books on knitting jerseys or crocheting blankets. There are, however, a few books that every crafter should consider keeping in their reference library – how-to guides for starters.

Finishing Techniques for Crochet by Pauline Turner is such a guide. It’s a smallish paperback packed with useful information on taking your crochet project to the next level. Seven chapters guide readers from basic know-how to perfect garment.

Chapter one is all about equipment, yarns, tension, measuring for garments, changing patterns and calculating yarn requirements.

Chapter two provides technical instructions for different foundation chains, edges, increasing and decreasing, avoiding unsightly gaps, raglan shaping, darts and the different techniques required for different yarn weights.

The third chapter deals with the actual finishing techniques, such as pressing, lining and different ways of joining pieces.

Cuffs, bands, edgings and pockets show a crocheter’s skill and often lift a garment from nicely homemade to show-stopper. Chapter four shows how to work and where to use them.

Good design usually requires an eye for colour. Chapter five gives instructions on how to use colour in crochet, lists tips on how to avoid mistakes and shows ways of camouflaging stripes of colour that don’t find your approval after the piece is completed.

Chapter six guides crafters through the process of creating shapes and motifs for embellishment. It gives instructions on how to join shapes to make a fabric, how to make buttons, trims, plaits, flowers, cords and tassels and also briefly mentions surface and three-dimensional crochet.

Finally, chapter seven offers five garments so readers can practice all their newly-acquired skills. The clothes are timeless classics: An easy wrap tunic, a figure-hugging vest, a cozy jumper, an Aran-style cardigan and a lacy, feminine dress.

All chapters are illustrated with clear step-by-step photos and tips and key points in coloured boxes. Anyone who enjoys crocheting garments – beginners and more advanced crocheters alike – will gain useful information from this book. It truly deserves a place beside the crochet stitch library.
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Sabine started writing when she was about seven – and only minutes later she started to cook and crochet. Since then she’s been writing, cooking and crafting steadily, producing (more or less) attractive results. Born in Germany, Sabine has trained as a cook, kindergarten teacher and graphic artist and worked in Germany, England and France. For the last decade she has been here in New Zealand, working as a graphic artist, writer, baker and cook. As time allows she produces gorgeous hand painted yarns (sold on Felt), as well as bags, beanies and eclectic wrist cuffs that are sold at Nuddy in Palmerston North.

50 projects for turning found items into contemporary design

“Without leaving the mall, you can buy pre-faded T-shirts with “vintage” graphics, distressed furniture with factory-applied patina, or home accessories that mimic the style of decades ago. Each gives the appearance of having a history and a soul. In reality, it’s just the same mass-produced stuff that everyone else is buying”

Re-Creative is an inspiring collection of ideas to recycle, restore and repurpose found objects. If you’re the sort of person who likes all the ingredients laid out and readily available before starting a new project, this is probably not the book for you. For those who frequent garage sales and second-hand shops, getting their kicks from the thrill of the hunt, Re-Creative will have you itching to get out and find precious junk to assemble into a masterpiece of design and ingenuity.

The first part of the book gives tips on coming up with your own projects and sourcing materials, as well as a section on craftsmanship, Shaker design and product design in the twentieth century. It’s more of an overview than a detailed synopsis, but it’s an interesting read and provides easily digested food for thought.

Part two is dedicated to “ready-to-make” projects, although these are best treated as a source of ideas rather than step by step tutorials, because many of them include materials that you’ll require elements of either luck or dogged persistence to find the exact right thing. That said, there are some great ideas here using simple materials and methods to create really lovely finished products. The cardboard tube vases caught my eye, as did the section on novelty clocks, which features a “perpetually incorrect bathroom scale”, gutted to make a stylish wall clock.

Re-Creative is well worth a browse if you’re between projects and seeking inspiration for what to do with your stash of interesting junk that was too cool to pass up. It’s a nicely designed book with great photographs and an easy-to-read style.

Focusing mainly on fibre arts and textiles, Crafty Girls’ Road Trip is a guide around New Zealand’s treasure troves for embroiderers, patchworkers, knitters, spinners and other crafty types. Organised geographically, it includes recommendations of good places to eat and nice places to stay as well as suggested itineraries for a day, a weekend, a long weekend or a week in each of the regions.

Crafty Girls’ Road Trip is a fantastic idea and a great book to have in the car on your summer holidays. It had me all inspired to call up a few girlfriends and plan an excursion. I was a bit disappointed that most of the shops and artists featured were based in fibre and textile crafts – it would be nice to see a more comprehensive guide (or perhaps a series) covering a few other crafts as well, although perhaps it would be a bit more difficult to keep up to date!

The regions covered are: North of Auckland; Auckland; Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Taupo; East Coast North Island; Taranaki/Manawatu; Wellington/Wairarapa; Top of the South Island; Canterbury; Dunedin/Central Otago/Southland.

From the moment you pick up Debbie Stoller’s third book Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker, it’s pretty clear that this is no traditional approach to crochet. Full of puns and double-entendres (”voulez-vous crochet avec moi?”), The Happy Hooker is an engaging and well-designed instruction manual for your crochet hook.

Candidly written and easy to follow, The Happy Hooker is ideal for beginners. Unlike many instructional books, Stoller dispenses with difficulty ratings, suggesting instead that it’s more rewarding to work on something that you actually like, rather than getting hung up on whether you can do it. And amongst the 40 original patterns, the temptation to take on a challenging project is definitely there.

Each of the patterns is accompanied by a paragraph about the inspiration behind the project and a mini biography of its creator.