Crochet Noro: 30 Dazzling Designs (Knit Noro Collection)

So why the stars? it's an idea book, a thoughtful book. I design a lot of my Crocheted items and this book brings my head into a place where there are possibilities I never thought of before. The items are dazzling, as the cover says and do-able by your average crochet buff. The written instructions come with the schematics and that is number one for me. I vastly prefer the diagrams.The only beef I have is the Lacey Capelet on page 78 is either ill-fitting, or poorly blocked. I believe this pattern has potential, but perhaps not in this yarn choice. I do use some Noro yarn, but not often. I love their designs, but not always the yarn. It can be scratchy. That's an opinion and I urge you to make a small project and see for yourself.I made a version of the Bobbled Hat, but with far fewer bobbles, this is one of the reasons I don't follow patterns to a T. I loved the colors, the feel of the hat, but there was so much going on, that you could not appreciate the stitches. Most of the items are very approachable and there is not a lot of food for the very experienced crochet enthusiast, but most crochet books lack in this area. I would purchase this for the advanced beginner to intermediate enthusiast who wants to work with good yarn, on reachable projects.For newer crocheters there is the, Strawberry Lace Scarf, Bobbled Mitts, Swirl Tam (needs more thought), and Shell Scarf, to name a few. Overall this lovely book looks best right where everyone can see it and you in a creation that is made from it, or adapted from it. Do not be afraid to change yarns, as long as they are the same weight and have fun. I think this is a very fun idea book and wonderful to have in actual paper. I love my Kindle Fire, but some books were meant for a hardcover and paper.

Crochet Noro is a great book for all you crocheters out there! The yarn is absolutely stunning and the patterns are actually cute! I love how they take these beautiful silk and wool yarns and make the colorful clothes and accessories! There is a wonderful hat pattern in there that turned out beautiful (although I didn't use Noro brand yarn). The patterns are easy to understand and the whole book is well organized! I am planning on making more of their patterns in the future, and yes, some with Noro yarn. There is a similar book for knitters with different patterns as well. I wound up buying that too! Both were great purchases and you will enjoy looking at the lovely ideas. This is not just boring crochet- this is stylish, modern and original clothes that you will actually wear after all of your hard work! There is also a purse in this book that turned out well. I used the suggested yarn and it turned out gorgeous. I just need to add a liner and I will be using it as a daily accessory. There are patterns for scarves, sweaters, skirts, hats and shirts in there. I hope someday they make a children’s Noro book because the colors are just so awesome. I like the quality of their yarn. A good place to order the suggested yarn (although they do discontinue the last year’s yarn) is Dharma Trading. They have a great selection. These patterns also work great with other yarns, but if you are looking for the original yarns, sometimes they can be hard to find. Scour Ebay. Hotyarns.com and discontinued brand name yarn are also great places to look.

I initially purchased this book for the Shades of Blue Shawl pattern. Much to my surprise when I researched this book on ravelry.com I found many patterns that I would love to crochet. There is a beaded shawl, a skirt, a cardigan, a sweater/tunic, scarves and purse/tote bag. Wow! The designs are packed into this beautiful book. I purchased the hard cover because I use my crochet books and once purchase them do not part with them. I think my roommate may crochet a few things for her granddaughters from this array of patterns. Yeah! Just buy it. Spoil yourself and make lots of goodies!

What can you say? Gorgeous, easy to follow patterns with the general Western style text instruction as well as lovely charts, which are so easy to learn and when you do, you can look up Japanese crochet charts just like these and it won't matter that you can't read the language, you'll be able to read the chart! This book actually made it easier to envision each project in my mind because of how nice the charts and photos are.And the photographs in the book are definitely lovely! Noro yarn is so varied and rich and they captured it well. However, you can still use a lot of these patterns with other brand yarn... But try some Noro!