I wasn't surprised at all when I read that at a recent yarn festival, Karen and Susan from Mrs. Moon had completely sold out of their latest book "Simple Chic Crochet". As soon as I received my review copy of this gorgeous book, I knew from the cover that I was going to love it. It's so fresh and inviting that I couldn't wait to dive straight in. "Simple Chic Crochet" proves without doubt that crochet is just as versatile and stylish as knitting.
The book was sent to me by the lovely ladies at CICO books because I'm on their list of craft book reviewers. This means that CICO send me a copy of their latest knitting or crochet titles, and in return I read it through them and post my views (which are all my own). It takes me a couple of hours in total, as I like to look through the projects fully, see how the patterns are written and assess the book in terms of variety of projects, range of difficulty, ease of reading etc. Sometimes I pass the books around friends or offer them up as a giveaway, but I think I will be holding on to this one for a while myself.
Simple Chic Crochet is exactly as described - simple stylish and very chic indeed. The book contains 35 projects, which represents fantastic value for money. Many of the projects are perfect for new crocheters, including bed-runners, cushions, scarves and a beautiful granny square hot water bottle cosy that could be tackled by an absolute beginner.
WHAT YARN DO I NEED?
Yarn used ranges from crochet cotton through to double knitting and super chunky and there's even a gorgeous doormat made from twine. It's so beautiful that I would need a sign above mine say "DO NOT WIPE FEET".
Many of the projects use Mrs. Moon yarn which is so soft and fluffy - it's like a giant marshmallow just waiting to be eaten. I think it's the softest and squishiest yarn I've seen. Admittedly, it is a luxury yarn at £8 per 50g skein for the double knitting weight and £16 per 100g skein for the super chunky weight. However, the great thing is that all yarn used is standard weights, so you could dive into your stash and re-create most of the projects in your own favourite colours instead. With careful substitution I'm sure you could achieve the same "WOW" factor. If you can treat yourself to a single skein then I can recommend the cosy fingerless mittens, which are a one-skein project.
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BOOK?
The Book ISBN is: 978-1-78249-425-6
Number of Pages: 128
Book includes: 35 patterns and a full 'Techniques' section
Publishers are: CICO Books
Buy the book at Mrs. Moon online here: Mrs. Moon online
So, next time you attend a yarn festival - pop Mrs. Moon on your list of stalls to visit and go and have a squish and a smoosh of their gorgeous yarns, buy their fantastic books or just have a lovely chat with Karen and Susan.
I hope you have a great week and thanks for reading - if you would like to join me on social media, I'm @the_woolnest on Instagram; @thewoolnest on twitter and @thewoolnest on facebook. It would be great to see what you're all up to.
Don't forget to tag me and use the hashtags #makeandbehappy and #knitcrochetcreate - I'll share my favourites.
Happy Crafting,
Lynne x
