I want to introduce you to a book that could be a valuable addition to your crochet library, entitled Crocheting on the Edge. Nicky Epstein, the author of Crocheting on the Edge, has authored a wide variety of books on knit and crochet techniques. Her simple, organized writing style is appealing to crocheters at any level.

The Basics

Crocheting on the Edge contains more than 200 decorative crochet borders. Each border pattern features a photograph of a finished border for reference, written instructions, and charted instructions. The edging patterns are divided into five categories, and there are also finished patterns, techniques, and resources.

What I Like About the Book

I think the organization of the book is its key strength. As an advanced crochet artist, I want a quick reference to remind myself of techniques, and having them grouped makes it easy to find what I have in mind without searching through the book. As a beginner, I appreciated it for the organized progression through techniques. She begins the book with the simplest edgings, and progresses to the more complicated and intricate designs.

She takes the time at the beginning of the book to go over the basics of yarn types, sizes, textures and abbreviations, conversion between US and UK terms (the book is written in US terms) and even includes a stitch key for reading charts. As someone not fully skilled in reading charts, I especially appreciated this part.

Potential Drawbacks to the Book

The patterns at the end of the book are creative and beautiful, with details included for sizing, hook sizes and yarn recommendations. My personal favorite is the Medallion Medley, an afghan pattern. The Cashmere Capelet is also a beautiful pattern, which works up fairly quickly. However, I have to say, if you’re looking for patterns to follow without doing any design work of your own, this may not be the book for you. Most of the book is dedicated to edging patterns, useful as inspiration for edging your own designs, with only 9 patterns for finished products.

The only other potential drawback to the book is its dimensions, which makes it unwieldy on the bookshelf. It’s short and wide, so its binding edge sticks out past the norm. However, this layout makes it easy to open the book and have it stay open to the page you’re referencing while you work. It allows more space on each page for including both the diagrams and written patterns together in one place.

Conclusion

I borrowed the copy for this review from my local library, but this will definitely become a permanent fixture in my library, so I can reference it again in future for pattern design inspiration.

Find it on Amazon
Crocheting on the Edge: Ribs & Bobbles*Ruffles*Flora*Fringes*Points & Scallops