Book Review: Melissa Leapman's Indispensable Stitch Collection for Crocheters

It’s no secret that I have abandoned my crochet hooks for knitting needles. I had all but given up on crochet because I wasn’t feeling as excited about my creations but with the addition of Melissa Leapman’s Indispensable Stitch Collection for Crocheters to my collection I have dusted off my hooks to give some of these stitches a try.

In this book crochet expert Melissa Leapman shares 200 of her favorite crochet stitches with easy to follow written and charted directions. Everything from introductory stitches to Melissa’s own original stitches are featured and this book will serve as a reference guide and it has gotten me hooked.

Melissa opens the book with tips to get the most out of using the stitches in the book. There are ideas for incorporating the patterns in projects, a helpful symbol to highlight patterns that will look great from both sides, and a chart for how to how to shape pieces when working stitch patterns.

There are so many possibilities with this book! The stitches work up quick and fast and can be mixed and matched to create so many projects. I’ve been randomly picking stitches fro the six chapters to create swatches (SWATCHES!) and it’s been fun.

As I have worked up some of the stitches, I have found crochet to be fun again. The mix and match of stitches and new ways of putting stiches together, along with Melissa’s clear directions have given mea new found excitement for crochet.