I recently had the opportunity to receive and review a copy of Dora Ohrenstein’s The New Tunisian Crochet: Contemporary Designs from Time-Honored Traditions. There are lots of things to love about this new crochet book. Here are twenty of them:

#1: Awesome Author

Dora Ohrenstein is a terrific crochet designer and also a terrific writer. The combination makes for great books. Last year I reviewed her Custom Crocheted Sweaters and had the chance to interview her, which was a joy.

#2 – #8: Plus 7 Awesome Contributing Crochet Designers

Mago Vest designed by Charles Voth

There are seven other contributing designers who created patterns for this Tunisian crochet book. I was already familiar with most of them and love their work. Those seven designers are:

• Vashti Braha. In my recent roundup of 100 unique crochet skirts I mentioned that Vashti is a terrific designer of sets, such as crochet skirts and a matching shawl. She has a lovely Tunisian crochet shawl pattern in this book.
• Doris Chan. I also featured Doris Chan in that skirts roundup so it was great to see a Tunisian crochet skirt pattern from the designer in this book!
• Lily Chin. Both Lily Chin and Doris Chan were designers I also mentioned in my post on the best crochet shawl designers. It’s neat for me to see something different from Lily here with a hat and mitts set.
• Charles Voth. This designer, also known as Stitch Stud, was another one I mentioned in that great shawl designer post plus he’s one of the guys I absolutely had to feature in my post on 20 wonderful male crochet designers. You’ll be able to see why when you check out his men’s vest pattern in The New Tunisian Crochet.
• Margaret Hubert. This designer has been working in the industry since the 1970s, has nearly twenty of her own books to her name and has made a terrific contribution here with an entrelac-style purse pattern.
• Andrea Graciarena. I’ve featured this designer (and AG Mode blogger) several times on Crochet Concupiscence in posts like link love where I’ve featured links to some of her patterns. Most recently I did that in my NatCroMo roundup when she offered a free Tunisian Crochet square pattern. Her collared, textured long cardigan pattern is one of my favorites in The New Tunisian book.
• Lisa Daehlin. Lisa is the only designer in the book whose work I wasn’t already familiar with, which has now been remedied. She is a knit and crochet teacher and designer who has been published in several knitting magazines and works regularly with the retail / fashion industry. Her Sampler Throw pattern in this book offers readers a great chance to practice a lot of Tunisian crochet in one project.

#9: Detailed Stitch Dictionary

This was my first experience with Tunisian crochet and I feel like the book offers a wealth of stitches for the beginner as well as advanced, textured and unique stitches.

#10: Great Clear Description of Tunisian Crochet

If you’ve ever wondered what makes this niche crochet different from both standard crochet and standard knitting then you’ll find the answer in this book.

#11: Info on Tunisian Tools, Too

I have to confess that I was a little bit intimidated by trying out Tunisian crochet because the tools are slightly different from normal crochet hooks. There are a few different options. It reminded me of the early days of learning to crochet and not being sure what to buy in terms of hooks and yarn! Dora provides terrific information on the different tools in Tunisian that makes the selection process easy for a newbie.

#12: Great Tips

It is clear that Dora is experienced in Tunisian crochet because she identifies and addresses potential problems that a reader might run into. For example, she discusses that fabric curling is common in Tunisian crochet and provides tips for dealing with that.

#13: Great Photos

The finished projects are excellently styled and photographed but more than that I love the great clear photos of the little details like the practice gauge swatches.

#14: Terrific Organization

Everything about the book is well organized from the table of contents on through the index. When there is an image or tip that is relevant to another part of the book there is a clear note telling you exactly what page to go to for that extra information. Well done!

#15: History of Tunisian Crochet

Dora Ohrenstein did her research and shares what she learned in an informative, conversational way. She includes some images of vintage Tunisian crochet patterns.

#16: Options for Different Learning Styles

I love the wordy part of the book’s instructinos. Other people will love the symbol charts. Others will like the graphs or the detailed pictures. There’s an option for everyone.

#17: Project Variety

Najmee Rug by Dora Ohrenstein

In addition to all of the different stitches that you can learn there are the projects by Dora and each of the other crochet designers. No project is repeated, meaning that there’s only one shawl pattern, one scarf pattern, one rug pattern, etc. I love that this offers lots of variety in the different types of things that you can make using the Tunisian crochet patterns in this book.

#18: Detailed Sizing Information for Garments

The patterns have information about the finished sizes and they are excellently detailed. For example, the vest pattern by Charles Voth has five pattern sizes (Small – XXL) and it shows the finished length as well as the finished chest circunference in inches and also cm for each of those sizes.

#19: Cohesiveness

There is a cohesiveness and consistency to the patterns even though they are by different designers which really speaks well to the editing of the book.

#20: Lots of Resources for Further Exploration

From a reading list on the history of crochet to a list of the yarn resources there is tons of organized information here for going further beyond this book in your explorations of Tunisian Crochet.

I received a free review copy of this book. The book is published by Interweave/F+W Media and is available for sale for a listing price of $24.95. The link to the book at the top of this post is an Amazon affiliate link. The book is also available through Interweave and Barnes and Noble online.

I know a lot of crocheters who love Japanese crochet patterns. I love looking at the cute things that people make using these patterns although I don’t really use them myself since I tend to be a less visual crocheter and don’t really like working from symbol charts. Nevertheless, I sometimes catch myself going to the craft section of the local Japanese bookstore near me and eyeing the styles. Japanese fashions are so unique, particularly those of the Harajuku Girls and Mori Girls, and I love seeing if I can spot crochet in those fashions.

Harajuku Girls and Mori Girls

Harajuku is a section of Tokyo and the term Harajuku Girls refers to the fashion style that emerged from this section. It is actually comprised of a variety of different styles ranging from punk inspired to looks to Gothic styles to boldly colorful cosplay inspired costumes. Mori Girls are easier to pinpoint; their kind of like the hippie bohemian counterpoint to the Harajuku Girl and tend to embrace natural colors and textures inspired by things like forests and fairies. As you might expect, it’s more common to see crochet among the Mori Girls style but you can find it sometimes on Harajuk Girls as well.

Japanese Crochet Style

Here’s a roundup of some more of the images I’ve seen of crochet on Harajuku Girls and Mori Girls:

Image via Stardoll

Image via Mon Mon Mori

Image via Electric Alice

Image via Pinterest

Image via Just Because by LeeLee

Image via Tokyo Fashion (as are the others in this post labeled as such in the image; it’s a great site for Tokyo street fashion, totally worth spending hours lost in!)

Image via Oh Yeah Mori Girl

Image via Drop Tokyo

Image via AsianiCandy

Image via Oh Yeah Mori Girl

Mori Girl Crochet Headband sold by Etsy’s GreenTrunkDesigns

Although not related to Harajuku / Mori style, some other Japanese artists and crocheters previously featured on this blog include Ruth Asawa, Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam, Kenzo Takada and Rei Kawakubo.

For some reason I’m just kind of enchanted by this short motion picture of making a granny square.

Like granny squares? Here are 20 things you can do with a granny square!

Like crochet videos? Here are 20 Stop Motion Crochet Videos and 8 Olek Crochet Videos to keep you entertained!

In case you missed them the first time around, here is a roundup of inspiring crochet wedding posts for DIY brides:

12 Beautiful Crochet Wedding Dresses

12 Crochet Wedding Veils

15 Crochet Wedding Favors

12 Crochet Wedding Cake Toppers

And 20 More Wedding Crochet Ideas

Last week I shared the crochet art of Clemence Joly, particularly the work she’s done crocheting with real candy. I mentioned that she also has crochet food art that reminds me of artist Kate Jenkins. Thinking about this, I thought it might be fun to do a roundup of crochet art focused on food. Here’s that roundup!

Clemence Joly Crochet Food Art

These images are from two of the artist’s series: New Look and The Wool Butchery:

Kate Jenkins Crochet Comfort Food

Everyone’s loving the work of Kate Jenkins lately, which is great to see because she’s been doing this type of creative crochet art for nearly a decade!

Joy Kampia O’ Shell Food Fashion

Artist Joy Kampia O’Shell gets inspired by food and uses it to create unique fashions like her sundae dress, shown below. She also crochets stand-alone food art.

Twinkie Chan Food Inspiration

Twinkie Chan was one of the first crochet artists I was exposed to who uses food as inspiration. She is well-known for her food-inspired scarves but she also crochets a variety of other food inspired items that are always upbeat and interesting.

Amigurumi Food Art by Vanessa Chan

Vanessa Chan adds cute faces to her crochet food to give them life and a sense of humor.

I don’t know what inspired me to start looking around for photos of people who are wearing crochet and also wearing glasses but it was something that crept into my mind and it was so fun to look for those style photos. I hope you like looking at them too because here’s the roundup!

Regular Glasses and Crochet Style

Yokoo Gibraan totally rocks geek chic style with awesome glasses and her chunky crochet!

Twinkie Chan also totally has the glasses and crochet style down. Plus awesome hair.

I don’t know for sure if this Jupe Boutique sweater truly is crochet but it’s definitely crochet inspired and I love the overall styling. Via Eat. Sleep. Wear.

Janis Joplin Rocks Crochet

Crochet Aviator Hat with Glasses via Craftster Forums

Crochet Collar and Geek Glasses via Melodramatic Paris

I’m not pulling off the crochet skirt quite the way I wanted to here but I am wearing my glasses :)

Men can rock the crochet and glasses style, too. This image was part of my roundup of hot guys in crochet cowls.

Sunglasses and Crochet Style

Love everything about this style! Via Lookbook.

Anne Hathaway in Sunglasses and Christopher Kane Crochet

Crochet shorts and some great sunglasses; this image was previously in my roundup of ravishing crochet shorts

A vintage crochet dress, a unique shoe choice, some Dior sunglasses, a little bit of gold jewelry. It works. This one was previously shown in my 20 best crochet style photos roundup.

Crochet Vest and Lennon Glasses via Lookbook

Kardashian Crochet and Glasses Style

I sometimes rock crochet with sunglasses too

A Few Crocheted Glasses

Ryan Lo fashion via Ophelia Horton

Need simple style? This crochet beanie from Etsy’s bitteroclock also has built-in crochet glasses.

And I Just Couldn’t Resist Sharing

Via Derek Cardigan

Crochet Eyeglasses Holder via Neatorama

Crochet baby; pattern sold by Etsy’s DarlingDerriere

Awhile back I shared my review/ interview of Kristin Nicholas’ 50 Sunflowers to Knit, Crochet & Felt: Patterns and Projects Packed with Lush and Vibrant Color That You Will Love to Make which I loved. Here are some more photos of the first few flowers I crocheted using the patterns in her book. I hope they inspire you to smile, stop and smell the flowers, crochet a flower for someone, and / or check out Kristin’s book.

I hope you enjoy this crochet inspiration - snippets of things that I hope will inspire you in crochet, creativity and life!

Artist Catherine Reed recently sent me this photo that I adore of two crochet dolls that she has created. The large one was made a long time ago when she had young children and has been part of haunted houses and other events over the years. Terrific!

More from Catherine Reed

You may recognize Catherine’s name because I previously featured her terrific yarn garden on this blog.

More Crochet Dolls

If you enjoy crochet dolls make sure that you didn’t miss these posts:

Ingrid Zambrano’s Crochet Art Dolls

Bonnie Meltzer’s Life Size Crochet Dolls

12 Fascinating Examples of Crochet Art Dolls

Quite some time ago I wrote a post explaining all of the different ways that a crochet lover might use a QR code. Yesterday I shared a link to a tutorial for how to crochet a QR code. Today I thought I’d do a roundup of examples of crochet QR codes spotted around the web. Enjoy!

Crochet QR Code Yarnbomb by Anu of Ageing Rebel, the one who created the tutorial that I linked to yesterday for crocheting a QR code

I love this square motif based crochet QR code by artist Babukatorium

Crochet QR Code by Juicie Lucie Creations

Tunisian Crochet QR Code via Lithigurumi

Crochet QR Code Coasters that say beer, coffee, tea and juice

QR Code Cushion by Gyre & Gimble

And okay, so the QR code itself isn’t crocheted on this one but you gotta love the Olek art + QR code!

Lots of other yarncrafters are getting in on the fun, too. I’ve seen embroidered QR codes, woven QR codes, needlepoint QR codes and knitted QR codes.

Note: The image at the top of the post was crocheted by Flickr’s MiaDeRoca; she has more photos of the process on Flickr to check out!