Crochet Motifs & Pokémon

Crocheting has been a passion of mine for most of my life. I absolutely love it and have made innumerable projects over the years. I usually have one or more projects on the go at any one time. Sometimes I’ll just flip through some of my craft books and get inspired to start a new project. Although I have a plethora of pattern books, I will never stop adding to my repertoire. And with the abundance of new craft books hitting the market every month, we have a broad range of topics to get inspiration from. I recently added two fun crochet books to my collection that share new tips, techniques and enchanting patterns.

Amigurumi crochet is all the rage now. It’s the latest trend in crocheting or knitting fun toys, animals, people or stuffies. They have more of a cutie and cartoonish look and both kids and adults love them. Talented crocheters have used their skills to create some of the most adorable patterns of our favorite characters. Pokémon hit the world back in 1996 with video games and toys, and now crafters can crochet these much-loved personalities. Inside Pokémon Crochet, you’ll get instructions to make 20 Pokémon patterns.

The onset of the book shares all the material you will need to create any of the included projects. It’s followed by step-by-step stitch instructions for beginners, including some special stitches, embroidery how-tos and sewing techniques. The patterns are divided into skill levels, so you can start with a beginner project to get the feel of crocheting if you are a newbie.

Each pattern features a full-color finished project so you can see the end result. Included are color shades (so you match yarn exactly), materials, graphs with templates, and easy-to-follow instructions. What I like is they show what each of the pattern pieces should look like as you are making them. What they don’t show is how to assembly each piece skillfully. Some of the patterns you can make include Jigglypuff, Pichu, Dragonite, Meowth, Squirtle, Jolteon, and Vulpix! If you have lots of kids in your family or circle of friends, this book will be popular.

100 Micro Crochet Motifs is filled with an abundance of beautiful patterns and charts for mini crochet creations. These motifs are ideal for embellishments, making your own jewelry, or decorating other projects.

The onset of the book walks you through the different threads and hook sizes that you will need to make the motifs. Because you will be making tiny creations, you’ll be using finer thread and smaller hooks. But, all projects can be made with thicker yarn and bigger hooks depending on the desired size. Each pattern includes a color image of the finished project, along with a chart if you prefer this approach to crocheting.

All the tips and techniques are at the back of the book and these include useful stitches, stuffing, blocking, and stiffening, and specific advice for creating small-scale items. There is also a Crochet Stitch Terminology chart that features the symbol, abbreviation, and meaning of each. If you are making jewelry, the needed tools and materials for your creations are also at the back of the book.

Each pattern features a full-color image, written instructions, and a graph to follow. Some of the motifs you can make include pansies, poppies, oak leaves, four-leaf clovers, ivy strand, stars, rainbows, watermelon, mini blankets squares, goldfish, turtles, manta rays, skulls, pumpkins, mandalas and so much more. It’s an awesome craft book to have because you have endless possibilities.