As a longtime crocheter, I feel like I get stuck in the same patterns all the time. I’d love to get into designing, so the stitches shown in this book are great examples of things I could use in the future. I love having photo examples laid out, as well as written instructions and charts to follow. It seems great for anyone to learn based on their preferred method!

This is such a handy dictionary of a variety of crochet stitches! It can be difficult to learn a new stitch from a pattern, and these instructions and photos are going to come in very handy.

I am very new to crochet, so I appreciate the break down of the abbreviations and pictures for each stitch pattern. Some patterns in the book are more difficult than others, but I'm excited to try them all as I grow into this skill.

A must have for anyone who crochets I learned so much and I will definitely be referring back to this in the future

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

The look of this book reminded me of the Vogue stitch dictionaries. The photos were clear, and both written and charted instructions were provided for each stitch pattern. I think this could be a good resource for beginning crocheters, especially if they've learned the basics and want to start exploring some options other than just the same plain stitches.

Essential Crochet Starter Stitches is an excellent guide for beginners with easy to follow instructions on learning individual stitches with additional pictures.
It also has a list of abbreviations that will help me to understand patterns.
A guide that I will be referring to often while practicing my crochet.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Essential started stitches is a handy guide to get started in crochet and explains beginning stitches well, will be adding more stitches to my crochet projects

I’m a new crocheter and this book made me realize how much more I still have to learn - wow there are so many stitches, options for bordering etc. I loved how this book broke down with photos, step by step instructions and an intensive index that breaks down how to read patterns and examples on how to do stitches step by step. Highly recommend. Also super loved the up close photos so you can compare your work to the example stitch. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Quarry Books and NetGalley for the eARC of Essential Crochet Starter Stitches! All opinions in this book are my own.

This is an excellent resource for both beginnger and experienced crocheters alike! I like how each stitch is clearly labeled and includes a visual, a drawn explanation, and the written pattern. I will definitely be ordering a physical copy of this book for my own reference!

As someone who's been crocheting since a young age (thank you, mom!) I have a large collection of stitch samplers, patterns, and reference books -- and an even larger collection of yarn. This book is a nice addition, laying out patterns both in written form and chart, with color pictures and easy to understand instructions.

My one nitpick would be having the stitches themselves in the back of the book rather than early on, as -- for someone new to the craft -- they might not know what a picot was (even though the charts do show them) and struggle to pick it up.

Even so, a great book, and one with some stitches I wasn't already familiar with! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really love crocheting and I'm really excited about this guide! There are a few good stitches that I never heard of, so that's great!!!

Firstly, a big thanks to the author, Melissa Leapman, the publisher, Quarry Books, and NetGalley for the privilege of being able to take a look at this Essential Crochet Starter Stitches guide. I will also share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release. This short and quick little guide is packed with info, clear charts and graphics, and explanations of how to do both simple and more complicated stitches. I've been a crocheter for a few years now, and I think this kind of guide would be super helpful to keep in my bag to have handy. Sometimes you just need a reminder on how to do a stitch you haven't done in a while, or you may want to freestyle with something new and different in order to get a handle on it. The pages are clear and concise. Loved this guide!

Essential Crochet Starter Stitches is a fairly robust beginners guide. It has easy to follow instructions, both written and visual, and lots of other resources, like abbreviation guides that explain what you might see in other patterns. This would be a great book for a beginner or someone trying to refresh their crocheting skills.

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

I’ve been a fair-weather crocheter for over a decade and this is exactly the type of reference guide I’d keep in my active projects basket. I don’t like working from specific patterns, but rather I like to freehand my work. Unfortunately I have a very short memory and default to the same few techniques. I could see this book providing such a boost when brainstorming my projects.
For each stitch this book includes a photo of a swatch, a diagram, and written directions. At the back of the book the author has included resources necessary to help decipher the diagrams and directions of you are unfamiliar (or have a short memory like me). When I first opened the book and started to try a stitch at random I froze, but once I realized these resources where in the back I got back on track with testing stitches.
I would recommend this book for individuals with existing crochet skills. Although called “Essential” I wouldn’t say it’s for folks who haven’t already mastered a few basics (though the resources section provides helpful diagrams of how to do those basic stitches).

I recently got into crochet and really enjoyed this book of starter stitches. It was very helpful and informative with lots of creative design ideas. Thank you to Melissa Leapman, Quarry Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really great resource that I wish I had had when I began to crochet. It is clear and straightforward with descriptions, diagrams and beautiful color photos. I really appreciate that the patterns are presented both in written instruction and stitch diagram.
There are even some patterns that are new to me and I can't wait to try them. Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a copy of this essential guide in exchange for an honest review.

I'm an experienced crochet "hooker" always looking for excellent resources for those new to the craft. I teach several classes and Melissa Leapman's book is a favorite of my students.

Thank you for providing a digital copy for review - this was a really lovely reference to read through and reinforced a lot of things I'd learned in crochet classes but in a very clear way that's easy to look things up and figure out what's needed. Loved it and will recommend it out to a few beginners that I know.

Love this, really liked the both the written and visual instructions.

Would 100% buy this as a quick reference.

I was pleased, as a crochet addict, to be granted the opportunity to review this through NetGalley.
Having finished it I can reassure new crocheters that this would be an excellent book to begin to expand your skills. The photographs, diagrams and illustrations are clear, as are the written instructions. I viewed this on my iPad easily.

Quick note: I'm a crochet beginner, and I did only skim this book for certain criteria that I would like to see in a pocket book.

Overall, this book does exactly what it intends to. There are so many different types of stitches that I've never even heard of, all with gorgeous pictures. The stitches are also easily organized, for if you want fans or an edge etc.. My favorite part has to be the crochet reference at the end because I love the step by step illustrations; they're typically how I learn best. I would say everything I'd look for in a handy crochet reference book is here. It doesn't go incredibly in depth, because it doesn't need to. Just a really nice little resource in all!

This was exactly what I'm looking for from instructional craft books! There's not a lot of fluff--they just get to the stitches which makes it easy to find the information you're looking for!

I was thrilled to be approved for an e-ARC of Essential Crochet Starter Stitches! As a beginner in crochet, I’ve been drawn to books like this, and I can honestly say that this one exceeded my expectations.

This beautifully laid-out book is easy to navigate, allowing you to quickly find the exact stitch or technique you’re looking for. The instructions are clear and well-supported by corresponding images, making it easy to follow along and understand each step. With sections covering solids, shells, fans, openwork, lace, and simple edgings, this book is a fantastic resource for any crocheter looking to expand their skills.

I highly recommend Essential Crochet Starter Stitches to anyone wanting to improve their crochet abilities. I’m excited to try several of these stitches, especially some edging techniques, to finish my projects with a polished look.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry | Quarry Books for providing me with an e-ARC of Essential Crochet Starter Stitches in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not a newby to crochet so I am confident with most of the stitches in this book. However, I did expect that. I like the lay out of the book, the pictures and the descriptions of the stitches and patterns. I think it would be a very helpful book to get a complete newby in to crochet as a hobby!

I love this instructional book on crochet! It was very easy to follow and the colorful pictures helped so much when learning new stitches. I made several swatches of the patterns and they all turned out beautiful and looked just like the pictures in the book. I will definitely be purchasing the physical book when it is published.
Highly recommend for beginners and even those experienced with crochet!

Gorgeous and aesthetically pleasing book of crochet stitches. Love the formatting & the pictures. I like the way there are graphs and instructions.

I love this book! I just decided to learn crochet and the timing of my chance encounter with this little treat couldn’t have been more perfect. Now I have more lovely stitches to practice! The variety is awesome without being overwhelming and there are great photos and instructions to help you along. A crafty little treasure!

As someone new to crochet, this was very hemlock in learning new styles to add to my basic skills. Looking forward to getting these stitches in future projects.

Loved this!! It was so easy to follow and gave me the confidence to try new stitches. Would recommend to anyone looking to start this hobby!

I am a high school teacher and advisor to our crochet club. I am a knitter and have never crocheted a project before. This book is very useful for me as it has great diagrams for each type of stitch. I also found the diagrams showing how each pattern of stitches looks to be very helpful. This is a different type of crochet book as it doesn't include any projects but instead will get you started practicing before you're ready to make a project. My students will love this book!

An approachable guide to cute and easy beginner crochet stitches! A must for anyone thinking about learning crochet and a great guide to the moderate crafters!

This was the perfect guide for beginners and also great for intermediate crocheters. The book is aesthetically pleasing, easy to read and focus on the patterns. I liked that there is a picture that shows the stitches and written instructions, I’m still learning to read patterns with pictures. I will be buying a clog of this book to have on hand in my craft room.

As a new member of the crocheting community, I love all the patterns this book has. They’re all different and unique. I love how for each section, there’s a picture of what the stitch should look like, written instructions, and also the stitch pattern layout. As a visual learner, this helped me understand the written instructions better. I was able to visualize what the stitch would look like while also learning the stitch.

I really enjoyed this book so much. I hate to critique one part because it’s a really knowledgeable book on crochet stitches. I would really have liked resources section of the book on the front. It’s just my preference for how I like layouts to be.

Overall, great book!

Essential Crochet Starter Stitches is a wonderfully practical companion for crocheters of all skill levels. This compact guide showcases 100 beautifully photographed stitch patterns, each accompanied by clear written instructions and stitch diagrams. There were a lot of fan pattern especially that I haven't seen before, but will definitely try.

From basic solid stitches to elegant shells, openwork, and lace patterns, the book perfectly balances practicality and inspiration. The clear photography and stitch diagrams make new stitches approachable.

I would say that if you are brand new to crochet, this might not be the best place to start. This is more of a stitch dictionary, although it does have a lot of helpful basic stitch diagrams at the back of the book. In my opinion, many of the stitches, especially from the beginning section, would be perfect for making dishcloths or blankets to practice learning new stitches though!

Overall, this book is a lovely little reference to start you on your crochet journey.

I really like this book. The stitches are very well explained and it gets a little more complicated as the book goes on. Everything is shown with pictures as well and that makes it amazing because you can check if yours looks like the picture.

it has been four months since i started crocheting and back then i’d have loved this book !!! it contains images, graphics and written patterns PLUS there’s a whole chapter explaining how to do all the stitches and you can visualize how to do with all the images.

i’m mostly excited to do the seed stitch and yo yo shells, i’ve never attempted any shell pattern so here we go ! also once i tried to do a simple edging and lets say it didn’t work out ! but i’ll try numbers 2, 3 and 10 !!!!

highly recommend this one for the crocheters beginners ! i saw that there’s the next-level stitches so i’ll be heading over there !

thank you netgalley, quarry books and melissa leapman for the arc !!

I love all the different stitches in this book and can't wait to play around with them more! Very heavy on the shell stitches but that's okay

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who is comfortable with crochet this book is a great way to increase my skill set for some basic stitches. I have a few under my belt but this book will add in some 'fancy basics' like she'll designs. The pictures, diagrams, and illustrations are all fantastic. They are very clear and easy to follow. I really appreciate having the formula for starting chains. It allows so much flexibility rather than having a specific pattern/finished size to follow.

As a total beginner, this book makes crocheting so easy and accessible, and the photos are extremely helpful.
The step by step approach and the vivid photos make learning more fun.
I will be reading the next level crochet book after this, and will review that one too.
I have the impression that the two books cover everything one needs for crocheting.

I've been crocheting for over 40 years and I still love a good stitch dictionary. Just spending time looking at stitches and stitch combinations can bring joy and inspiration--gets the ideas moving. This is an excellent resource for those new to crochet, those with decades of experience, and everyone in between. For newer crocheters, there is plenty of useful information contained in this compact volume, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. For those with more experience, there are excellent photos of fabrics created with various stitches and stitch combinations to spur design ideas. Each stitch pattern includes a photo, written instructions, and stitch charts. The stitches are grouped in chapters as follows: simple stitches, openwork and lace, shells, and edgings. The book begins with an introduction that contains useful information about measuring for gauge and what to look for when substituting yarns in commercial patterns. The book ends with a chapter titled Resources, which explain international crochet symbols, tips on reading charts, techniques, instructions for basic stitches with illustrations, stitch variations, and tips on working with color. I've taught crochet to individuals and in a local yarn shop and I would definitely recommend this book to those just learning, those building on existing skills, and those who just want to have stitchy inspiration at their fingertips.

Book Review: Essential Crochet Starter Stitches (Portable Stitch Companion: Solids, Shells & Fans, Openwork & Lace, and Simple Edgings)

Essential Crochet Starter Stitches is an absolute gem for both beginner and experienced crocheters looking for a handy, on-the-go guide to expand their stitch repertoire. This concise yet rich stitch dictionary offers 100 beautifully photographed patterns, ranging from solid stitches to intricate lace, openwork, and charming edgings. I was particularly impressed by the book’s attention to detail, with each stitch accompanied by easy-to-follow written instructions and international symbol diagrams, making it accessible to all learning styles.

As a beginner, I found this guide invaluable. The simplicity of the explanations gave me the confidence to try new stitches, like the thicket pattern or clover lace, without feeling overwhelmed. The diversity of stitches means there's something for every project, whether you're looking to add texture, create airy lace, or finish off a piece with a delicate edge. Plus, the high-quality stitch photos provide a clear idea of what your finished work should look like, which is incredibly helpful when learning.

The small, portable format is a dream for crafters on the go. I love that I can toss it in my bag and have a wealth of patterns at my fingertips wherever inspiration strikes. The thoughtful balance between basic and more complex designs makes it perfect for most skill levels, offering something for everyone.

I have only recently started to crochet and jumped at the chance to read this book. I soon realised that I need to stick to practicing my simple chains before I can make good use of it!
It is a very well put together book, it moves along naturally in a way that makes sense to me. The explanations and images are superb.

As a newbie to crochet I really needed the stitches explained as patterns were mind blowing! This makes things extremely clear and I’m hoping that I know start to improve my crochet skills.

A great repository of beginner stitches. I love that it also teaches how to use crochet charts, as that was something that I struggled with when I was learning. These really are some of the most foundational stitches, so it does what it promises. There are also illustrations to show how certain stitches and techniques are used, so that is great!