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Complete Crochet Course: The Ultimate Reference Guide
“Their approach is thorough . . . a well-organized reference, up-to-date with the different cable, ribbing, and pattern stitches that are now popular.” —Booklist (starred review)Filled with step-by-step photography throughout for an easy-to-follow and fully visual experience, this unparalleled guide teaches you how to crochet from the very first stitch—and will keep you crocheting as you gain experience! Complete Crochet Course explains all the tools, materials, and techniques you need, from choosing a hook and yarn to seaming, working in the round, handling specialty stitches, and adding details. Ten patterns are perfectly designed for novices eager to complete their first projects, while intermediates can enjoy mastering even more advanced skills.
731 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 20, 2018
736 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby
11 books9 followersShannon Mullett-Bowlsby is the co-founder of Shibaguyz Designz and The Shibaguyz. His partner and co-founder, Jason Mullett-Bowlsby is skilled in photography, graphic design, and layout can be seen in numerous published books and pattern lines including The Shibaguyz' own pattern line, which includes the books Urban Edge and Moonstruck. Shannon is an award winning designer having published hundreds of patterns for magazines, yarn companies, and the Shibaguyz Designz Pattern Line. He currently has six books published with another to be released in Spring of 2015 from Sterling/Lark publishing. Shannon's work has appeared on the covers of US and International magazines, including: Crochet! Crochet Today, Inside Crochet, and Knitting Today to name a few. A skilled instructor, Shannon's classes are often sold out and are highly recommended by his students. He teaches locally in the Pacific Northwest and at national fiber festivals, such as Dallas Fiber Festival and Oregon Flock and Fiber. When not in the studio Shannon can be found hiking in the Pacific Northwest wilderness with Jason and their 3 shiba inu: The Shibakidz
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 11, 2018
The Best
I found this great book on the 'new book's shelf at our public library. After reading though it, I have downloaded it to my Kindle library. I'm 76 , have crocheted since childhood and taught knit and crochet classes at a community college for years; This is the best crochet book I've seen. Thanks to the authors and to Lark books for this excellent comprehensive reference. The descriptions and the photography are superb. Well done guys.
I found this great book on the 'new book's shelf at our public library. After reading though it, I have downloaded it to my Kindle library. I'm 76 , have crocheted since childhood and taught knit and crochet classes at a community college for years; This is the best crochet book I've seen. Thanks to the authors and to Lark books for this excellent comprehensive reference. The descriptions and the photography are superb. Well done guys.
January 24, 2021
Great book
It's a really great book for reference but it is better to the hard copy because the pictures are so little
It's a really great book for reference but it is better to the hard copy because the pictures are so little
August 5, 2024
[This is the review I left on Amazon]
The authors wrote a book that gives an extraordinary amount of detail for virtually every step of every type of crochet stitch you can imagine (minus Tunisian/afghan crochet stitch descriptions, which are not in the scope of this book). The main problems I have with this book are:
- the book is printed like an ordinary hardcover, which is inconvenient to use rather than a binder type reference book (you need to mount this heavy book on a stand to keep it open while you're crocheting, which is annoying if you need to purchase an extra thick book stand)
- the print is quite small, anyone who is older with vision issues will require magnifying glasses; this can be avoided if you buy the ebook, but elderly people often can't figure out how to use ebooks or prefer physical books...
- the patterns are basically only covering clothing items, which is a bit boring for people who have a short ADHD attention span or no interest in making clothing
- some tips and techniques are not easy to follow at all for complete beginners, so I had to search for them on YouTube (which is annoying because I bought a book to avoid having to use YouTube all the time for crochet guidance)
- this really isn't an exhaustive or "ultimate" compendium of crochet stitches imho, because anyone who is interested in Tunisian crochet will be disappointed that no methods for Tunisian crochet are included in this book
My purpose for using this book was as a gift reference book for my mom, who is 75 and (re)learning how to crochet (she learned some things with errors before and I'm teaching her proper techniques). But she never uses it, partially because the print is so small. When she tried to use the book, she had so many questions that I had to guide her step by step at almost every turn (which isn't practical).
When I tried to use it, as a person who has been crocheting for around 26 years, I found some techniques indecipherable and had to use YouTube to get a better explanation (e.g., the Knotless Foundation Chain is difficult to understand in this book).
In order to help my mom, I bought some rechargeable special magnifying glasses that has an LED light, but it's really not user friendly to use a magnifying glass every single time you want to read something casually.
Basically, I recommend this book to people who are at an intermediate to advanced level of crochet (not beginners, because some techniques as described in this book are not easy to follow). This book is quite comprehensive for people who need some tips on how to make/tailor/adjust crocheted clothing items, do advanced stitches and read both written and drawn patterns (with or without diagrams). But if you are a complete beginner, or if you are an elderly person with vision issues, I would suggest buying another book, buying the ebook version, or relying mainly on video tutorials in addition to a simple stitch encyclopedia which is printed in more user friendly binder type format.
That being said, for people who are very interested in making crocheted clothing items or just want a stitch guide for the basics (including modern front and back post stitches, etc), I think this is a decent guide. Personally, I think it would be easier to use the ebook while using an iPad, tablet or Kindle since this is not printed in a binder type format, and you can zoom in and out while using an ebook.
P.S. Last comment on how comprehensive this guide is. I have searched through the guide and discovered that a few techniques employed in antique crochet patterns (the ones published like in the 19th or early 20th centuries) are not covered by this book. I can't figure for the life of me how to make a certain knot type of stitch that is used in lace crochet work, and every time I see it in an antique lace pattern I have to skip that pattern because the instructions for that evil esoteric knot stitch are vague to the extreme. If my grandma were still alive I would maybe be able to ask her, but unfortunately she died long before I was born.
This guide doesn't include guidance for anyone interested in delving into lace crochet work, but is having issues with tension. Like countless other popular crochet guides, the authors seem to think that every crochet hobbyist nowadays is only interested in using relatively thick yarn (yarn thicker than thread). There was ample opportunity for the authors to give tips about using, storing, and buying steel crochet hooks for lace work, or tips on how to regulate tension for very thin thread. Or even how to store doilies (it's best to roll them around a cardboard tube and cover with acid free tissue paper for long term storage). Not to mention, you really can't approach every size crochet hook with the same grip or technique. Because the tiniest steel hooks ranging from 2 mm and below don't work well with knife style grip and the largest 12 to 25 mm hooks work poorly with pencil style grip. All these types of details were not mentioned in their "comprehensive" guide.
The authors wrote a book that gives an extraordinary amount of detail for virtually every step of every type of crochet stitch you can imagine (minus Tunisian/afghan crochet stitch descriptions, which are not in the scope of this book). The main problems I have with this book are:
- the book is printed like an ordinary hardcover, which is inconvenient to use rather than a binder type reference book (you need to mount this heavy book on a stand to keep it open while you're crocheting, which is annoying if you need to purchase an extra thick book stand)
- the print is quite small, anyone who is older with vision issues will require magnifying glasses; this can be avoided if you buy the ebook, but elderly people often can't figure out how to use ebooks or prefer physical books...
- the patterns are basically only covering clothing items, which is a bit boring for people who have a short ADHD attention span or no interest in making clothing
- some tips and techniques are not easy to follow at all for complete beginners, so I had to search for them on YouTube (which is annoying because I bought a book to avoid having to use YouTube all the time for crochet guidance)
- this really isn't an exhaustive or "ultimate" compendium of crochet stitches imho, because anyone who is interested in Tunisian crochet will be disappointed that no methods for Tunisian crochet are included in this book
My purpose for using this book was as a gift reference book for my mom, who is 75 and (re)learning how to crochet (she learned some things with errors before and I'm teaching her proper techniques). But she never uses it, partially because the print is so small. When she tried to use the book, she had so many questions that I had to guide her step by step at almost every turn (which isn't practical).
When I tried to use it, as a person who has been crocheting for around 26 years, I found some techniques indecipherable and had to use YouTube to get a better explanation (e.g., the Knotless Foundation Chain is difficult to understand in this book).
In order to help my mom, I bought some rechargeable special magnifying glasses that has an LED light, but it's really not user friendly to use a magnifying glass every single time you want to read something casually.
Basically, I recommend this book to people who are at an intermediate to advanced level of crochet (not beginners, because some techniques as described in this book are not easy to follow). This book is quite comprehensive for people who need some tips on how to make/tailor/adjust crocheted clothing items, do advanced stitches and read both written and drawn patterns (with or without diagrams). But if you are a complete beginner, or if you are an elderly person with vision issues, I would suggest buying another book, buying the ebook version, or relying mainly on video tutorials in addition to a simple stitch encyclopedia which is printed in more user friendly binder type format.
That being said, for people who are very interested in making crocheted clothing items or just want a stitch guide for the basics (including modern front and back post stitches, etc), I think this is a decent guide. Personally, I think it would be easier to use the ebook while using an iPad, tablet or Kindle since this is not printed in a binder type format, and you can zoom in and out while using an ebook.
P.S. Last comment on how comprehensive this guide is. I have searched through the guide and discovered that a few techniques employed in antique crochet patterns (the ones published like in the 19th or early 20th centuries) are not covered by this book. I can't figure for the life of me how to make a certain knot type of stitch that is used in lace crochet work, and every time I see it in an antique lace pattern I have to skip that pattern because the instructions for that evil esoteric knot stitch are vague to the extreme. If my grandma were still alive I would maybe be able to ask her, but unfortunately she died long before I was born.
This guide doesn't include guidance for anyone interested in delving into lace crochet work, but is having issues with tension. Like countless other popular crochet guides, the authors seem to think that every crochet hobbyist nowadays is only interested in using relatively thick yarn (yarn thicker than thread). There was ample opportunity for the authors to give tips about using, storing, and buying steel crochet hooks for lace work, or tips on how to regulate tension for very thin thread. Or even how to store doilies (it's best to roll them around a cardboard tube and cover with acid free tissue paper for long term storage). Not to mention, you really can't approach every size crochet hook with the same grip or technique. Because the tiniest steel hooks ranging from 2 mm and below don't work well with knife style grip and the largest 12 to 25 mm hooks work poorly with pencil style grip. All these types of details were not mentioned in their "comprehensive" guide.
November 13, 2018
I found this wandering my local library's shelf for holiday ideas. I have seen several books offering to teach crochet, this is one of the few that I want on my shelf. The basics are very well-covered, with wonderfully clear photographs to ensure understanding. Then, the authors set themselves apart by adding lesser known stitches that elevate one's skills, and the look of their work.
The bold subtitle: The Ultimate Reference Guide is a bit much as there are skills I wished were covered, particularly colorwork. For a reference guide, I do not feel patterns are necessary, unless it is regarding common pattern algorithms such as for making shapes such as circles, and squares, or demonstrating aspects of design reading. The both are done superbly, and includes a brief sample of symbol charts. It is often reading the pattern that makes a pattern difficult, not the stitiching itself.
Diving into the tools of the craft is helpful if one wants to make their best fabrics, which includes blocking. These I learned the hard way. The author introduced "tapered" as a wonderful alternative to the unimaginative "non-inline" term used for a type of crochet hook. I prefer tapered for shaft, and throat type, so this is a welcome addition to my vocabulary. The portin on fiber, to my preference, should be much more detailed as knowing the fiber is extremely vital to the outcome of the fabric.
Stitch anatomy, and placement is nicely covered. This covered through page 75 before stitches are discussed in detail which is where this book excels exposing readers to stacked first stitches, linked first stitches, wrapped first stitches, and foundation stitches, at the onset. Then into offset stitches, front and back loop, post, linked stitches before shaping stitches, and through to patterning. The author is known for cables in his work, so it is no surprise but a delight to see the complexity of cable techniques shared.
The book concludes with several finishing techniques, and blocking; this is where the fabric sings. The correct hook, the best fiber, and the finishing helps it blossom into perfection.
The bold subtitle: The Ultimate Reference Guide is a bit much as there are skills I wished were covered, particularly colorwork. For a reference guide, I do not feel patterns are necessary, unless it is regarding common pattern algorithms such as for making shapes such as circles, and squares, or demonstrating aspects of design reading. The both are done superbly, and includes a brief sample of symbol charts. It is often reading the pattern that makes a pattern difficult, not the stitiching itself.
Diving into the tools of the craft is helpful if one wants to make their best fabrics, which includes blocking. These I learned the hard way. The author introduced "tapered" as a wonderful alternative to the unimaginative "non-inline" term used for a type of crochet hook. I prefer tapered for shaft, and throat type, so this is a welcome addition to my vocabulary. The portin on fiber, to my preference, should be much more detailed as knowing the fiber is extremely vital to the outcome of the fabric.
Stitch anatomy, and placement is nicely covered. This covered through page 75 before stitches are discussed in detail which is where this book excels exposing readers to stacked first stitches, linked first stitches, wrapped first stitches, and foundation stitches, at the onset. Then into offset stitches, front and back loop, post, linked stitches before shaping stitches, and through to patterning. The author is known for cables in his work, so it is no surprise but a delight to see the complexity of cable techniques shared.
The book concludes with several finishing techniques, and blocking; this is where the fabric sings. The correct hook, the best fiber, and the finishing helps it blossom into perfection.
February 3, 2021
A great manual that I ended up buying a copy of after taking it out from the library again and again. The photos are easy to understand and the instructions are so clear! After failing to pick up knitting I didn't expect crochet to go any better but Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby proved me wrong and I have been crocheting up a storm! I haven't used the included patterns so I cannot speak to their quality but for any beginner crocheter this is a handy manual to have around so you don't have to be constantly googling things.
December 23, 2022
Fantastic Instructional Manual
I borrowed this book thru a free library app and read it on
my cell phone.
It's a great guide and for me a refresher course in the art of
crochet.
Stitches, explained thru illustrations, are an excellent source
of learning this craft especially for beginners.
A surprise bonus was coverage with regard to symbols plus the
key reference chart.
I couldn't resist purchasing the hard-cover version of this book.
I borrowed this book thru a free library app and read it on
my cell phone.
It's a great guide and for me a refresher course in the art of
crochet.
Stitches, explained thru illustrations, are an excellent source
of learning this craft especially for beginners.
A surprise bonus was coverage with regard to symbols plus the
key reference chart.
I couldn't resist purchasing the hard-cover version of this book.
May 27, 2019
It's packed with information and super easy to follow. Great pics, with some repeating and great for a beginner learning or someone learned wanting to freshen up their knowledge. Gonna buy it to keep for reference.
October 27, 2019
If I were going to begin crocheting again, this is a book I would want to own. Helpful definitions, explanations, and photos as well as many, many stitches to try and projects to make as your skills develop.
February 5, 2020
borrowed from my library - coming up to about 3 months checked out - due end of February. Many detailed instructions for the many and varied steps to proper crocheting techniques - great photos - I'm very close to actually buying this book!
February 12, 2019
Excellent detailed clear photography. Well explained.
March 3, 2019
Huge book of everything. I like that there are actual pictures of how to work the stitches and such.
July 4, 2019
Very helpful for a beginner.
February 8, 2020
Informative
February 8, 2021
Skimmed thru, may circle back and read deeper.
June 28, 2021
Excellent crochet reference. Nice clear photos and descriptions for performing stitches from basic to advanced. Section on finishing. A great addition to my crafting library.
December 26, 2021
If you don't know how to crochet, this book is an excellent place to start.
December 31, 2022
Good reference book
February 17, 2024
Holy man, the detail in this book! And stitches, I’ve never seen before. The projects aren’t that great, but the stitches are amazing. And very very detailed as to how to do them.
March 8, 2024
very comprehensive book
This is a great book if you want to brush up on your crochet skills or if you just learning to crochet
This is a great book if you want to brush up on your crochet skills or if you just learning to crochet
July 17, 2024
Crochet Me
I really enjoyed the book. The details in this book are easy to understand and follow, great work. Thank you for working on this book and sharing your skills!
I really enjoyed the book. The details in this book are easy to understand and follow, great work. Thank you for working on this book and sharing your skills!
March 5, 2025
good descriptions with pictures.
July 7, 2019
Excellent reference guide for crocheters! Beginners and advanced. Great illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews