Geek Chic Crochet - Book Review

After successfully teaching me how to knit when I was about eight or nine years old, my mum tried, with limited success, to teach me how to crochet.  In fact it has only been in the last year or so that I have rekindled my desire to learn to crochet and have since been scanning the shelves of my local library and newsagents for books or magazines about crocheting (as well as pretty much stalking several crochet-themed blogs).  So it won't surprise you when you see that today's book for review is Geek Chic Crochet by Nicki Trench, the author of quite a few exciting-looking books on handmade.

This book is filled with retro-inspired crochet projects for bags, clothing, hats and more.  It has a very helpful tehniques and crochet stitch section, made all the better by the fact that there are accompanying illustrations.  As a relative crochet novice, I love that the projects in the book have been graded into three skill levels, named "beginner", "improver" and "experienced".  The pattern instructions are very well written and easy enough to follow and the photography and styling are wonderfully done to add to the retro and "geeky" feel of the patterns.

There are so many great aspects of this book that it is hard to find anything wrong with it.  This is a book which would be great for novice crocheters as they can tackle harder projects as they improve and gain confidence.  There are also enough "experienced" patterns to make this book suitable for those who have been crocheting for a while too.  Unlike some books I have read, there is a good variety of patterns in Geek Chic Crochet and harder patterns can still be tackled by more inexperienced crocheters with the help of the "techniques" section of the book and a little patience.  Really, about the only thing I can find to say against this book is that those who only want to tackle the simpler patterns would probably do better to search online for a free pattern an experienced crocheter has written up on their blog.

Overall I would recommend this book to those who love to crochet, no matter what their experience level.  The fun collection of retro-style as well as more "timeless" and modern patterns is sure to have something for most lovers of crochet and/or handmade.  If you are on the lookout for more crochet patterns to work on, then I would recommend adding Geek Chic Crochet to your wish list!