Book Review–Little Crochet

Little Crochet by Linda Permann

For some reason it's really hard to find baby/children's pattern books that I like. Actually, I'm having that problem with most crochet pattern books lately, but that's another post. Mostly what I don't like are the projects themselves (how many frilly layette sets do you need, and who uses them, anyway?) and the pictures (make it look awesome, or I won't want to make it). Anyway, I really like this book. Linda has come up with some very cute patterns in a great variety, including things that you don't see everywhere. There are 24 patterns in the book, and so far I've made (or at least attempted) eight of them. There are leg warmers, booties, a mobile, a jingle ball, and nice variety of clothing items. Definitely something for every gifting need here.

So, here's what I love:

1) As I said, a great variety of patterns!
2) Yummy pictures. I see way too many books with poor-quality photos (and I mean poor color, poor staging, etc). That's not a problem in this book. The baby models are adorable, and the projects themselves look so cute and well-made that immediately you start dreaming of making your own.
3) Cost. I was more than happy to pay $21.99 for the half-dozen patterns that I immediately knew I would make, plus the few more that grew on me later.
4) There are lots of stitch charts and detailed schematic drawings with lots of measurements. SO important!

What I didn't love:

1) I was glad for so many schematics and measurements because for a couple of these patterns I thought the sizing was really goofy. I have two little children myself, and I know that sizing children's clothes is a seriously sketchy project to begin with, but the leg circumference suggested for even the smallest size in the Cozy Crawlers Leg Warmers and the chest circumference sizes for the Boatneck Sweater just seemed way off to me, especially when I compared my own child's measurements. Careful here.
2) Typos. I found a few awkward ones. The Star Booties pattern says that gauge is not important even though it obviously is. Fortunately the finished sole length is given, so you can work around that. The other typo was sort of a major one in the Sock It To Me Sweater Vest, which called for the wrong stitch at some point. I looked for errata online but didn't find any.
3) An awful lot of the patterns call for counting the turning chain as a stitch. I can't stand this, especially for patterns worked in the round, because joining to the top of the turning chain just never looks good. This was an issue for me in the Star Booties pattern. I ended up disregarding the directions and doing it my own way. Even then, my stitch count was ALWAYS off, but it's a simple enough pattern that it didn't REALLY matter.

Overall, though, I heartily recommend this book. It doesn't matter if you only have a couple hours to make an emergency gift or if you have weeks to plan something truly special, you will find great ideas!