Book Review: Tasty Crochet

Buy it on Amazon here.

I was perusing my local library for crochet books (as I often do) and I stumbled across Tasty Crochet by Rose Langlitz (North Light Books, 2009). Amigurumi! Food! Glossy photos! I was in love. I took it home and gave it a good once-over, then started crocheting. It features 33 crochet patterns for all types of food at a beginner to intermediate range of difficulty.

First, the good: This book has tons of gorgeous color photos and a very pleasing layout. The book is broken up into four chapters: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. How cute is that? The patterns span many different type of food and cuisines. It also has a great "Basic Crochet" section in the back which would be a terrific resource for someone just picking up crochet and amigurumi. I also liked that many of the patterns had multiple ideas for riffing on the original pattern, which helps the creative juices get going. Also, you know how much I like a good index, and this book passes muster.

Now, the not-so-good: The pattern instructions were a little busy for me--I think they could have been stated a little more simply, but all of the patterns I tried were accurate and fun. Also, some of the patterns border on absurdly simplistic (i.e. "Pancake" and "Green Beans") but many of the patterns are a bit more complicated and have multiple parts, which is really fun. The materials lists are called the "Ingredients," which I found to be a bit cheesy.

Bottom line: Beautiful book that would be great for someone trying to get into amigurumi, but might be a little on the simple side for experienced hookers such as myself ;).

Hit the jump to see my interpretations of two of the patterns in the book:

First, I tried "Chocolate Cake Slice." The book suggested varying the cake and frosting colors and adding rainbow sprinkles, so I did. I added the frosting rose and lit candle.

Next, I thought I would give "Pita Pocket with Falafel" a try. I changed a few things about this one: two tomato slices instead of one, one lettuce leaf instead of two, I added the onions, and the pattern calls for two whole falafels, but I just had to put a half falafel in there with its tasty green insides showing.