Pocket Book of Crochet by Claire Gelder

Most people who want to learn crochet do not stop because it is difficult. They stop because the very first steps are unclear, and nobody explains what a ball band actually means or why tension matters before you have made anything at all. This little book starts there, at the beginning, and walks you through it properly.

Written by Claire Gelder of Wool Couture, it is a small illustrated guide that covers the groundwork first: how to read a ball band, how to get your tension right, how to choose hooks and yarns, and how to make sense of abbreviations and written patterns. Everything is explained plainly, with illustrations alongside, so you are not left guessing what a step is meant to look like.

How it is structured

The book works as a simple three step course, moving from bronze to gold as your skills and confidence grow. You start with the basic stitches and techniques, then add a few more stitches to your collection, then bring in some simple shaping and pompoms. Each level ends with a project, so you are always making something real rather than practising swatches with no purpose.

Bronze level: colour blocked scarf Silver level: pompom slippers Gold level: teddy bear Bonus level: granny square blanket

What is inside

Getting started, knowing your yarn and choosing crochet hooks. Your first stitches, covering the slipknot, chain stitch, double crochet, counting rows and stitches, measuring tension, fastening off, weaving in ends, joining a new ball of yarn, understanding terminology and following a pattern. Your next stitches, covering the magic circle, half treble crochet and making pompoms. Other techniques, covering decreasing, treble stitch, slip stitch and changing colour.

Perfect for

Complete beginners who want one clear place to start, and anyone picking crochet back up after a long gap and wanting a refresher on the basics. It is small enough to carry with you, so it suits crafters who like to work on the go or want something to keep in a project bag for reference.

There are positive affirmations woven through it too, which is a small thing, but a nice one when you are learning something new and your first few rows look nothing like the picture.

A gentle, no nonsense introduction to crochet that gets you making from the very first level.