I always get excited when there’s a new crochet book to explore, but the ones that really catch my fancy are about techniques. Kristin Omdahl’s new book, Seamless Crochet: Techniques and Designs for Join-As-You-Go Motifs, is not just a technique book, it’s a technique new to most American crocheters. Lately, with the help of Robyn Chachula and other innovative crocheters we’re learning that motifs can be joined as you crochet them. There are a lot of benefits to joining as you go. My favorite is having a completed project once the motifs are done. Kristin’s book takes this concept one step further by using a special starting chain technique to create each motif without cutting the yarn. Not only do you join as you go–you avoid having thousands of ends to weave in. Of course, the book is not about saving time, it’s about making the most of this new technique to create beautiful fashionable garments.

The cover project, “Blissful Flowers,” is possibly  my favorite. Kristin, who lives where it’s warm, is a pro at creating designs with gorgeous drape and textural interest. I love how the joining points create a beautiful structure and geometry. The “Eden Tile” wrap looks like a perfect project to try first: simple motifs that create a stunning finished scarf. Kristin explores how to use the technique with shaping to create garments and how to use solid motifs to make warm projects like a hat and a blanket.

Because I’m a bit of a technique geek, my favorite part of the book is in the back where she carefully explains how the technique works, and how you can use it to create your own designs. One of the things I’m most excited to play with is using the technique with color-changing yarns. Since you’re not breaking yarn between motifs, the projects in the book are are all of one kind of yarn each. I’ve got a skein of Kauni that is destined to be a shawl from the book. The book comes with a video of Kristen skillfully demonstrating how seamless crochet works.

You can play too! Leave me a comment here sharing how you’d like to use Seamless Crochet to create something new and you’ll be entered to win a digital copy of the book from Interweave. I’ll choose a winner at random on February 16th.

 

Book Review (and Giveaway!): Seamless Crochet