Crochet: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide, Essential Techniques, More Than 80 Crochet Patt

322 Pages·2014·56.68 MB·English

by  Dorling Kindersley

Crochet
The complete step-by-step guide

Essential techniques More than 80 patterns

Crochet

Crochet

The complete step-by-step guide
Essential techniques More than 80 crochet patterns
LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH,
MELBOURNE, DELHI
DK UK
Senior Editor May Corfield
Senior Art Editor Glenda Fisher
Editor Katharine Goddard
Managing Editor Penny Smith
Managing Art Editor Marianne Markham
Jacket Designer Rosie Levine
Producer, Pre-Production Sarah Isle
Producer Che Creasey
Creative Technical Support Sonia Charbonnier
Photography Ruth Jenkinson
Art Director/Stylist for Photography Isabel de Cordova
Art Director Jane Bull
Publisher Mary Ling
DK US
Senior Editor Shannon Beatty
US Editor Margaret Parrish
US Consultant Jennifer Wendell
DK INDIA
Senior Editor Dorothy Kikon
Art Editors Zaurin Thoidingjam, Neha Wahi
Assistant Editor Aditi Batra
Assistant Art Editor Pooja Verma
Managing Editor Alicia Ingty
Managing Art Editor Navidita Thapa
Pre-Production Manager Sunil Sharma
Production Manager Pankaj Sharma
DTP Designers Neeraj Bhatia, Rajdeep Singh
First American Edition, 2014
Published in the United States by DK Publishing
4th floor, 345 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
14 15 16 17 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001—192555—Feb/2014
Copyright © 2014 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part
of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without
the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above
publisher of this book.
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4654-1591-2
DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for
sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details,
contact: DK Publishing Special Markets, 345 Hudson Street, New York,
New York 10014 or [email protected].
Printed and bound in China by South China Printing Co. Ltd
Discover more at www.dk.com/crafts
Contents
Introduction 6 Project patterns Child’s edged slippers 220
Flower blanket 142 Ladies’ soft slippers 222
Tools and techniques Lap blanket 144 Ladies’ ankle socks 224
Yarns 12 Colorful granny blanket 146 Men’s chunky socks 226
Hooks and other equipment 18 Baby blanket 148 Baby’s crossover cardigan 230
Basic stitches 22 Chevron pillow 152 Child’s poncho 234
Beaded necklace 28 Granny pillow 154 Striped sweater 236
Chunky bracelet 30 Owl pillow 156 Child’s hoodie 240
Striped washcloths 34 Desktop storage pots 162 Summer tunic dress 246
Cell phone covers 36 Structured baskets 164 Cropped sweater 250
Self-fringing scarf 40 Hanging toy basket 166 Ladies’ textured cardigan 254
Textured pillow 44 Round stool cover 168 Animal rattles 260
Pretty headbands 46 Rustic ottomans 170 Giant play ball 264
Party bunting 54 Cat basket 174 Mother elephant and baby 266
Coaster set 58 Fruit bowl 176 Rag doll 270
Pot holders 60 Filigree bookmarks 178 Polar bear with scarf 274
Circular pillow 64 Fish and starfish garland 180 Floppy-eared bunny 278
Following a crochet pattern 66 Flower pin cushion 184 Jungle finger puppets 282
Care of crochet 75 Chunky rug 186 Granny square bag 288
Stitch techniques 76 Baby bonnet 190 Straw beach bag 290
Flower garland 80 Child’s hat with ears 192 Super-stretchy shopper 292
Embellishments for crochet 86 Men’s beanie hat 194 Everyday bag 294
Working crocheted edges 96 Child’s hat with earflaps 196 Diamond granny bag 296
Crochet-edged pillows 98 Women’s beret 198 Clutch bag 300
Circular crochet 100 Lacy scarf 200 Child’s turtle backpack 302
Openwork 108 Broomstick lace shawl 202 Change purses 306
Shell mesh scarf 116 Tweed stitch cowl 204 Tablet sleeve 308
Colorwork 118 Men’s chunky scarf 206
Intarsia pillow 122 Child’s wrist warmers 210 Glossary 310
Unusual stitches 124 Child’s mittens with string 212 Index 312
Unusual yarns 126 Ladies’ wrist warmers 214 Acknowledgments 320
Crocheted toys 130 Baby girl’s booties 216
Teddy bear 132 Baby boy’s booties 218
Felted crochet 136
6
Introduction
This book is suitable for all crocheters—beginners with no previous
experience, as well as those with more advanced skills. If you have never held
a crochet hook before, but want to learn, this book will take you through all
the basic crochet stitches to enable you to make beautiful items, both small
and large. If you already know how to crochet, you will find a wonderful
collection of unique and attractive, good-value patterns to try out.
Crochet
guides you through the basic techniques and stitches—presented clearly
and simply with step-by-step photographs—covering the relevant abbreviations and
symbols on the way. Beginners can work through the comprehensive and easy-to-
follow techniques section in the first part of the book, stopping along the way to try
out a mini project to practice the stitch they have just learned. More experienced
crocheters can dip into this section to revisit stitches they already know. The mini
projects include items ranging from a simple chain stitch bracelet (pp. 30–31) to
a stylish intarsia pillow (pp. 122–123).
Once you are confident with all the crochet stitches, you can launch into the projects
chapter and begin making crocheted items as diverse as a traditional granny blanket
(pp. 148–151) for a baby, a tiny flower pin cushion (pp. 184–185), and a little girl’s
summer tunic dress (pp. 246–249).
With more than 80 projects to choose from, there is something for everyone: from
blankets and pillows, to hats and scarves; gloves, socks, and slippers; items for the
Crochet
home; garments and bags; plus a range of charming toys to make. will enable
you to make your own unique, custom-made crocheted pieces for yourself, your home,
and your family and friends.

Crochet know-how
Each project shows the yarn and stitch gauge used (if relevant), but the
main yarn recommendation is a generic one, to enable you to make an
item in a yarn that is easily available to you. For example, the simple
beaded necklace on pages 28–29 is made with DMC Petra Crochet
Cotton Perle No. 3 yarn, but you can use any yarn that you have for
this, as long as you ensure that the thread you are using will fit through
the holes of the beads. Similarly, for the chunky rug on pages 186–187,
we have used an acrylic yarn for its durable properties, but you could
use another super-chunky weight yarn with a synthetic content to get
a similar effect; just bear in mind that the size might be slightly
different, depending on the yarn weight.
A note about yarn and hooks
It is also important to consider the fact that for some projects, for
example, the filigree bookmarks (see pp. 178–179), and the jungle
finger puppets (pp. 282–285), you will only need a certain proportion
of the ball of yarn recommended for each color, and you will have yarn
left over. However, look on this as an opportunity to make more of the
same, or use it for a new project!
When making items such as garments, or other projects for which
gauge is important, it is always advisable to crochet a gauge swatch first
in the yarn you intend to use; if your gauge swatch is smaller than that
recommended, you may need to use a larger hook; if it is larger, use a