I’ve built up a crochet reference collection over the past couple of years, and thought that some of you might be interested in what it contains.  Firstly,  if you like yarn and crochet (or knitting or weaving or spinning) you really ought to be on Ravelry.  It really is the most astounding website.   As well as being a terrific way to keep track of your own projects, you can queue projects, keep track of your stash, keep track of your library, favourite other people’s projects or patterns, participate in forums, access the myriad of free patterns available on the web, buy patterns, etc etc etc.  The list goes on!  One of the best things is the way that everyone’s projects, yarns and patterns are cross-referenced with one another.  Just marvellous in every way.

I subscribe to Interweave Crochet magazine.  It’s an American publication and I think it has the most fashion-forward crochet designs around.  Love it!  You can often buy single copies here in Australia at the newsagent.  I also subscribe to  Crochet Today!, another American publication.  It comes from a particular yarn company so only used their yarns, but has a good mix of projects.  Not as modern as Interweave Crochet in my opinion but the yarns used are often much more affordable.  That isn’t really an issue for me anyway since I always substitute yarns for those I can buy easily here in Australia.  I’ve also just bought a copy of Inside Crochet from the local newsagent.  It’s a UK publication, and I really like lots of the designs it contains.  I’m definitely planning on buying this one regularly.

So, onto the books!  These are almost all Amazon links but if you’re interested you could also try Fishpond or your local bookstore or library.  In no particular order:

• Stitch’n’Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller
• Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan
• Crochet Me by Kim Werker
• The Crochet Answer Book by Edie Eckman
•  Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan
• 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton
• Vintage Crochet by Susan Cropper
• Basic Crochet Stitches by Erika Knight
• Crochet Boquet by Suzann Thompson
• A-Z of Crochet by Country Bumpkin publications
• 150 Crochet Trims by Susan Smith (hubby bought me this one as a birthday present without any sort of prompting!)

What I like about my personal library is the mixture of technical, reference type books with fashionable patterns.  So far the ones I’ve used the most have primarily been the reference books, but I have quite a queue of garments that I want to make.  I also have a few more crochet books in my Amazon wishlist, including these:

• Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs
• Finishing techniques for crochet
• Crochet Adorned
• Wrapped in Crochet
• Crochet stitch motifs
• Crochet that fits
• Blueprint Crochet

and about another ten, all waiting for the Aussie dollar to get higher, higher, higher, one day.

My crochet library reflects the type of crochet I like to do – scarves, hats, bags, garments, blankets.  I don’t make toys, as cute as I think other people’s amigurumi can be.  I like the challenge of lace patterns and making things that my girls can wear.  I also like learning new techniques and ways to make my crochet look as professional as possible.  Good reference books are really worth purchasing.

Then there’s the vintage crochet pattern books and magazines, but that’s a whole other post!  As is the one about all the crochet blogs I read….