[.ca] Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Four: Crochet: The ... (ISBN 1933027207)

Excellent Encyclopedia of Stitches - but not a learn to crochet book:
I'm a beginner in crochet so please bear that in mind while reading my review. The book writers' review mention that the book covers the Basic Stitches which is why I bought it. I thought I was getting a book that would show me how to do the crochet stitches as well as a great encyclopedia to use as a reference tool. But the book does not have beginner diagrams and instructions that I was expecting on how to do the basic stitches of crochet. It assumes that you already know these and provides brief directions. The book contains photographs of about 158 different stitches. Each pattern is shown very clearly with a photograph of the finished swatch. Each pattern comes with written directions and a chart with the stitches laid out as symbols. Abbreviations are listed at the back of the book but no description on how to complete the stitch is provided, i.e., tr = treble crochet. There is a conversion chart to show the abbreviated terms for US, UK and Australia. For someone who already knows how to crochet, this would be an excellent book to use as a reference or to learn additional stitches. For someone who does not know or is learning the basics, this book just doesn't show you clearly enough what to do. This is an excellent encyclopedia of stitches but is not a learn to crochet book.