This week I checked out The Ultimate Granny Square Sourcebook: 100 Contemporary Motifs to Mix and Match by Meteoor Books and I’m going to share my review with you so you know what it’s all about.
Thank you to Meteoor Books who provided this book to me free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.
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This book’s bright and colourful cover drew me in upon receiving my copy. It’s got so many beautiful granny squares on the cover that even if you aren’t a granny square fan (gasp!) you’ll probably still see something on the cover that intrigues you enough to look inside. I kept looking for an author but this book is an amalgamation of granny square patterns from a variety of different designers. Doing a quick flip through (or a picture walk as my son’s teacher calls it) there were names I recognized and some I didn’t. 23 different designers from around the world contributed to this book and I thought that was pretty darn cool.
The Ultimate Granny Square Sourcebook contains patterns for 100 granny square patterns and if you think you’re going to be finding the basic solid granny square in here, you’re wrong. There are some seriously, seriously gorgeous granny squares in this book. The skill levels for the patterns range from beginner to “extra advanced”. When I read that I thought “extra advanced?! did I read that right?”. I thought I was seeing things and needed to top up my coffee but sure enough, it said extra advanced. I don’t know if it was curiousity or me just seeing “extra advanced” and mentally saying “challenge accepted” but I proceeded to thumb through the book to find these “extra advanced” level squares. I had questions: What magical crochet unicorn goddess wrote these patterns? Would my brain melt upon seeing them? You know, normal stuff people think.
In total, there were three (3) “extra advanced” patterns that I found in the book. The first was the Twisted Lily Square and it was beautiful. Looking at the multiple stitch charts that accompany that pattern I started to get why “extra advanced” was deemed appropriate. Never to shy away from a challenge, I decided, I’m making one of these extra advanced squares. More on that later.
The majority of the patterns in the book fall into the beginner to intermediate levels and there are a lot of gorgeous patterns to choose from. All of which are accompanied by both written instructions and stitch charts (yes!). I always love when both are included. Side note, if you are struggling to read stitch charts, a book like this is so helpful and is how I finally understood stitch charts. Read the pattern one row at a time and look at the stitch chart for that row and compare it to the written word. That’s how I had my “aha!” moment and I hope it helps you too.
Two things to note about this book: no gauge or specified hook information is given. There is a note at the beginning of the book about matching your hook to your yarn but since many people tend to skip that beginning section of these books, it’s easy to miss and then you’re searching all over for it. I know, because I did it. This is the type of book that you need to read the resource section. Let’s say it again for the people in the back: READ THE DAMN RESOURCE SECTION in this book! Seriously. I know you’re excited to skip to the gorgeous squares and start creating but save yourself the headache and take the 10 – 15 mintes of your life that it’ll take to fully read, understand and absorb this section. There are tips in there that you need to read, like how to make all the squares the same size (even though no gauge information is included), a section on decoding the instructions (yes – you do need this part), how to do special stitches, how to join the squares, and more. Be smarter than I was on my first flip through and attempt at the extra advanced square I did. You’ll thank me later.
I bow down to the crochet goddesses/genuises/all-around yarn magicians that do some of the complex granny squares found in this book. My brain just doesn’t think in terms of the layers that are used to create them and I’m in awe of that incredible, incredible talent. I wish I could say that I picked up that extra advanced granny square pattern and made it in 20 minutes and it was a majestic experience. I did not. To be fair to myself, I did have kids running around and fighting with eachother when I attempted them so I wasn’t exactly in the zone. I got about 7 rows in, on the extra-advanced square I tried and then attempting to figure out what I was doing between the written word and the two separate charts while reminding my kids to take turns with eachother became far too much for me to handle. But I’m determined to get it and I’ll give it another go when I’ve finally got some quiet time to give it some more focus. I’ll probably work my way up from some of the more intermediate and advanced squares.
The best thing about this book is that if you are a fan of granny squares, this book has something for every level of crocheter. If you’re a beginner, you can work your way up to the harder patterns. If you’re advanced and want a challenge, this book has got that for you. With 100 absolutely gorgeous granny squares, you’ve got enough here to keep you busy for countless hours.
If you are interested in checking out The Ultimate Granny Square Sourcebook you can find it on Amazon.
If you enjoy crochet pattern books, you can check out some more of my crochet book reviews on my blog:
