Take an amigurumi adventure with me today as I share my Baby Beasts to Crochet: Cute Amigurumi Creatures from Myth and Legend by Megan Kreiner book review. We’ll cover the patterns included, recommended skill levels, supports for makers included and more.
Thanks to Soho Publishing LLC. / Sixth & Spring Books for providing me with this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. I do not guarantee a positive review of any product reviewed on my site. All opinions shared here are my own.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.
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About the Author
Megan Kreiner is an incredibly talented crochet designer and seasoned crochet book author (visit Megan online as MK Crochet). One of the very first books I reviewed was by Megan and every book I’ve ever read by Megan has always fascinated me with her ingenuity and attention to detail.
What’s super cool is that Megan is also a professional animator. Megan’s professional credits include working on theme-park attractions and animated feature films for world-renowned studios like Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Super cool, right?!
Some other crochet books by Megan include:
- Dinosaurs to Crochet (see my review of Dinosaurs to Crochet here)
- Construction Vehicles to Crochet
- Christmas Ornaments to Crochet (see my review of Christmas Ornaments to Crochet here)
- Creepy Crawly Crochet
- Cuddly Crochet Critters: 26 Animal Patterns
So when I was asked to review a copy of Baby Beasts to Crochet by the incredible Megan Kreiner, the answer was a resounding YES. Besides already being a fan of Megan’s, I’m a big mythology fan and couldn’t wait to see which creatures from myth & legend she created.
Patterns in Baby Beasts to Crochet
In this book, Megan takes the most fearsome creatures from mythology and gives us patterns to create cuddly baby versions. There 16 adorable creatures to crochet in this amigurumi book. Those creatures are:
- Phoenix Chick
- Cerberus Pup
- Capricorn Kid
- Pegasus Foal
- Unicorn Foal
- Hippogriff Chick
- Yetling
- Kelpie Fry
- Kitsune Kit
- Minotaur Calf
- Jackalope Kit
- Owl Gryphlet
- Wampus Kitten
- Basilisk Fledgling
- Luck Dragon Hatchling
- Squatchling (baby yeti)
This is an impressive collection of unique amigurumi patterns. Each toy is crocheted using smooth chunky yarns (5). Then the fur yarn is slip stitched onto the surface of the toy, working through loops that were left unworked when you crocheted the toy’s base. So you’re adding surface details with the fur yarn rather than crocheting the toy once with just the fur.
Most of the patterns use simple stitches and have relatively clear project instructions but some of the instructions may leave those unfamiliar with more advanced crochet techniques a little confused.
Each pattern includes additional illustrations instead of support imagery. I found most of them to clearly illustrate what was needed however, in some cases, I think actual photographs would have been more helpful.
Supports for Makers
The support material for makers is found in the front of the book on pages 8 – 21.
Pages 8 – 11 cover the materials used in the patterns on a high level. From crochet hooks, craft glue, combs and brushes, wires and wire cutters, it’s all covered here.
Pages 12 – 17 cover all the basic stitches that you’ll be using in each amigurumi design.
Pages 18 – 12 cover techniques like seaming, and sculpting your adorable baby beasts with yarn. The instructions include some support illustrations to help clarify the instructions.
All of the supports include illustrations for the steps to be done. Like with the patterns, I found most of them clearly illustrated what was needed while some of them could have benefitted from actual project images (and more of them) over the illustrations in order to make these impressive patterns a little bit more accessible to more skill levels.
If you’re interested in buying a copy of Baby Beasts to Crochet by Megan Kreiner, it is available on here on Amazon and Indigo.
Conclusion
I think this is an impressive collection of adorable amigurumi creatures that is a great way for crochet enthusiasts to unleash their inner crochet artist to create cuddly babies out of the pages of legend and try new techniques.
I would recommend this book to intermediate to advanced-level crocheters due to the complexity of designs and the patience needed to add the furry detail to the body parts of these crochet creatures.
Check Out My Latest Book Reviews:
- 100 Micro Amigurumi by Steffi Glaves
- Crochet Furry Friends – My faux fur yarn amigurumi book!
- Crochet Cute Forest Friends by Sarah Zimmerman
- Animal Amigurumi Adventures Vol. 2 by Lauren Espy
- Check out all my crochet book reviews here.
Hello! Again, an awesome overview and opinion of that book that I see for the first time, THANKS!
May I suggest that you put
1. The date of the publishing AND the date of your review in each one.
I was not able to know if this book as been long published on your vlog ( or I would have to go check on Amazon,etc…)Same for your vlogs: Its good to know when you wrote this.
2. and it goes with my second suggestion: How much does it cost? Is it a cheap or expensive one, etc. Also, If we know its been a few years that you wrote, or the book had been publishoed, we can expected that the price has changed…
Thanks in advance!
Hi Chantale,
Thanks for your feedback. I deliberately don’t list the price for books because in the past, listing the price caused some people to become very upset because the price had changed with inflation or was different in their country or on a different website etc. and I don’t want to set people’s expectations. Despite having nothing to do with the pricing, I’m the one that gets people’s ire if the price is different than it was when I post it.
I don’t always have the publication date since it differs per country sometimes (as it did with my own book that released last year) but I will consider adding it when I do have it.