Hooked on Jewelry: 40+ Designs to Crochet by Pat Harste (Sixth and Spring Books; $19.95 US; $21.95 CAN) combines crochet and jewelry making techniques. I had some mixed feelings when I saw this book. Part of me was thrilled because along with jewelry making one of my other craft loves is crochet. However, as I said, I had mixed feelings because fiber is not always the easiest medium to use in jewelry making, or at least to use well, meaning designs I personally find aesthetically pleasing. Thankfully, Pat Harste delivered with a book I feel manages for the most part to bridge the difficult fiber/jewelry gap.
Materials and Techniques
The materials section of the book goes into some much needed detail about the types of threads needed as well as some discussion concerning the best size crochet hooks to use. I say "much needed" because as someone who has experimented with crochet and jewelry already, I found that combining the right size hook and thread to create the affect you want is not easy. Primarily, the author suggests that thinner cotton threads, such as size 10 cotton, is a good choice. However, she also uses silk as well as metallic and chenille yarns.
The techniques section covers both crochet stitches (such as single crochet and chain) as well as basic jewelry techniques (such as opening and closing jump rings). There's also a section on findings and basic jewelry tools.
Projects
Of course, as the title explains, there's over 40 projects in this book. They are presented in sets, which is nice, so you can make a necklace and also earrings and possibly a bracelet, all matching. There's also the occasional "bonus earring" design suggestion that gives ideas on non-crochet earrings you can make that would compliment the jewelry set.
As I said earlier, I am not always pleased with designs that combine fiber with jewelry techniques but found most of the projects in this book to be pretty as well as wearable. A few favorites include a set called "Victorian Elegance," a choker design that includes teardrop pearl beads and cream-colored crochet cotton and another set called "The Allure of Jade," which includes a some wonderful crocheted necklace straps that you attach to a carved jade pendant.
Concluding Thoughts
As someone who has crocheted for a number of years but is by no means an expert, I did find a few projects that I think even beginners, both to crochet and jewelry making, could handle. For example, there's the "Leaf Bead Necklace" which basically requires you to make a crochet chain (the simplest of all stitches) and then intersperse leaf dangle components throughout the chain. However, I would not feel comfortable suggesting this book to anyone who doesn't have at least some experience in either crochet or jewelry making. I'm not suggesting total newbies wouldn't enjoy this book, just that they should be prepared for a larger learning curve considering you are talking about learning two crafts and combining them. For those who have maybe done a little of each, the curve should not be as steep.
