Japanese Wonder Crochet

December 15, 2019
The American fiber community is relatively new to Japanese knitting and crochet patterns, as up until the last few years, few have been commercially available in the U.S. While most patterns published in English utilize written instructions (sometimes accompanied by a chart) those published in Japan are typically entirely chart-based, often without even a key (readers are expected to know the symbols already). Translator Roehm (Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible, 2017), an American fluent in Japanese who lived in Japan for many years, includes tutorials for 15 different crochet stitches, each of which is used to create one to three of the 35 projects in the book. The tutorials are clearly illustrated with color photographs accompanied by step-by-step instructions. Brief directions augment the project charts, with a few diagrams for construction of the final products, but overall there is far less instruction here than in a typical North American crafting book. Readers wishing to use the tutorials will not be disappointed, but the projects are designed for those who can work more independently.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)