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Happy Holidays everyone! Now that the bulk of the holiday festivities are complete for my family, I’ve been able to steal a little extra time for reading and crocheting. One of the books I have been reading is “The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop” by Dora Ohrenstein. I have had this book for some time and it is one of those books that I go back to reference when I need to. So I decided to review this book for you and give you an idea of what you can expect from this book.
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What initially drew me to this book when shopping was the subtitle for the book on the cover that reads “Essential Techniques for Becoming a More Versatile, Adventurous Crocheter“. As someone that is always looking to increase my skill set this line is what made me pick this book up. It honestly didn’t take me more than 2 minutes to decide that this book would be coming home with me.
This book is comprehensive. If you’re a beginner or even an intermediate level crocheter, you can learn a lot from this book. This book talks about things like understanding the different varieties of yarn and their applications, yarn twists, drape and figuring out stitch patterns. Colour changes, turning chains, blocking and seaming are also covered. As you’d expect, the book walks you through your basic crochet stitches but it also has 75 different swatches to try out different stitches. There are also 5 different crochet patterns in the back of the book to try out. The author also notes on each pattern what techniques you’ll be learning/using for each pattern. Those patterns are:
- A Slouchy Hat
- Marguerite Cowl
- Colorwork Bag
- Lace Capelet
- Cabled Lace Scarf
One of my favourite parts of this book is the section on advanced shaping. If you’re interested in designing your own patterns or just understanding how the shaping of crochet patterns is done, this section is a must-read. There are various types of shaping scenarios covered, with colour images and stitch charts which help you see what is being covered. I haven’t seen shaping gone into such detail in any other book to date
Overall, The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop by Dora Ohrenstein is a solid resource to have in your collection and is worth the time to read. Will it make you a more adventurous crocheter? Maybe not, but it will definitely fill in any gaps you have in your crochet knowledge, expand your skillset/versatility and give you solid understanding of shaping and crochet basics. I definitely recommend checking it out.
Have you read The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop by Dora Ohrenstein? What did you think?
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Hello,
My son has the book and claims there is a typo in the instructions for an i-cord on the color work bag. I don’t know how to crochet, so I am no help. He is in prison. I sent him the skill builder’s book, and he would like to know the correct way to do an i-cord for the bag. Can you please help?
Hi there,
Unfortunately, I’m unable to provide pattern support for the books that I review. I would recommend contacting the author, Dora Ohrenstein as she will be best suited to assist with this. I tried to find her contact information for you and the only thing I could find was her Instagram account. Looks like she is relatively active on Instagram so I’d suggest sending her a message there. Here is a link to her account: https://www.instagram.com/doraohrenstein/
Thank you!
you’re welcome 🙂