I have a delightful new book to share with you today – Crochet A-B-Sea – An Extraordinary Underwater Alphabet by the fun and fabulous Pony McTate.
It’s not often that you come across a truly unique crochet book but this is one of those exceptions. Pony has a fun quirky sense of humour which really shines through her designs.
It was fun following this project develop over on Pony’s instagram feed earlier in the year and I was excited to see that it has turned into a book so that we can all have a go at making our own unique and educational blanket.
So let’s have a look inside ….
The chapters
Preliminary stuff
This chapter includes all the things you need to know before getting started, including:
- abbreviations used and a conversion chart from UK terms to US terms (the book is written in UK terms).
- a page of ideas for other uses of the motifs – such as clothing appliques, fridge magnets and any other kind of decorative purpose you can think of
- Yarn, gauge and hook size information
Techniques
This is a great chapter with lots of tips and tricks to help you produce beautiful work, such as:
- How to make a magic loop
- How to make neater seams working in the round
- Invisible joins
- Changing colour
- Embroidery tips
The patterns
In addition to the instructions for the plain background squares, here you will find:
- 26 patterns for all the weird and wonderful sea creatures from A to Z
- Each pattern includes a difficulty rating and is written with clear instructions, hints and tips and photo tutorials for the tricky bits
- Fun facts about the creatures
Finishing off
Another great chapter with more tips on creating a beautiful finished blanket, including
- Blocking your squares
- Attaching your creatures
- Attaching a fabric backing
- Joining your squares
- Making the border
And finally there is a comprehensive list of all the yarn used with details of colours and amounts used.
Of course, I couldn’t resist making a couple of squares myself but choosing just a couple of faves was hard – there are so many cute, quirky creatures to choose from! I finally settled on the Clown Fish and Jellyfish for now but I’ll definitely have to make a few more in the future I think!
!! Giveaway !!
Pony has very generously given me a book to giveaway to one lucky reader. To go in the draw to win a copy, simply leave a comment telling me what your favourite sea creature is.
Entry is for Australian residents only (sorry to my international readers – but postage is a killer).
Entries will be drawn at random on 4th October 4:00 pm AEST
Where to buy Crochet A-B-Sea
Head over to Pony’s website for links to order either a print or digital copy.
Until next time
Michelle xx