50 Cents a Pattern: Mini Christmas Crochet

Praise

Like the other booklets in this series, Mini Christmas Crochet is a book focused on projects, not techniques. The book opens with a biography of Val and a short introduction highlighting Val’s love of Christmas and the joy of handmade gifting and decorating. She notes that all of the patterns in the book “can be made quickly and easily using scraps and oddments of yarn,” which is definitely true. As the title and introduction of the book suggests, it focuses on small “stocking stuffer,” ornament, and decoration projects that can be pieced together quickly by both newbie crocheters and time-strapped pros. After the intro, the book has a short Hints & Tips section. Val notes that most of the patterns are made using cotton threads and a U.S. Sized B-1 (2.25 mm) crochet hook, but larger hooks can be used if you choose to substitute a thicker yarn. She also shares the tip that you should be stuffing projects as you go. The book continues on to the patterns, which are written in US pattern abbreviations. 9 patterns are for ornaments (which include both stuffed, amigurumi-style ornaments and motif ornaments), 5 are for Christmas characters (including a snowman, animals, and an angel), 2 are for table decorations, and the remaining 4 are for a Christmas cracker, gift wrap, a magnet, and a table-top tree.  The patterns don’t indicate a difficulty level, but most use simple stitch combinations so should be within the reach of any beginner crocheter who can crochet in the round. At the same time, a more advanced crocheter could work on these projects while watching streaming shows or during errands.
Each pattern uses a large, styled photo of the project as well as a photo of the project against a white background with easy-to-read text. The booklet is a larger size that the original version but is still slender enough to fit into a project bag for portability. Though it’s a paperback, you can spread the spine easily to read and crochet at the same time. This book is ideal for crocheters who love making handmade holiday gifts, wrap, and decorations, or those who enjoy small, portable projects.
The down sides: Unfortunately, all patterns aren’t listed on Ravelry, but you can see many of the patterns on the book cover. The book uses only pattern abbreviations and no stitch diagrams, so crocheters who prefer visual patterns may not enjoy this book as much.
Overall, this is a fun book for a Christmas pattern collector who would like some projects for crocheting on the go.
– Underground Crafter Dec 2017