Positively Crochet!: Crochet Stitch Pattern Books

Friday, February 23, 2024

Crochet Stitch Pattern Books - My Favorites

Stitch pattern books are fabulous for designers or anyone wanting to become a designer. I have at least 20 stitch pattern books and I'll post pictures of my favorites & will add others later.

Tip for New Designers on Crochet Stitches

A new crochet stitch (such as the different sts in the books below), that you or someone else comes up with, cannot be copyrighted. Example of the kind of stitches I'm talking about would be double crochet, bobble st, pineapple st, shell st, cluster st, puff st, double treble st, etc. You get the point. Anyone can make any crochet item with any of the stitches in a books without infringing on copyrights.

BUT

I'm not talking about a written crochet PATTERN, such as a top, skirt, dress scarf, etc Those are automatically copyrighted because you came up with the combination of stitches, the number of stitches on each row, the wording and directions of how to put it together, formed into a particular shape.

This should be obvious to everybody, but the copyright laws in other countries are different from the laws in America. Its mind boggling to me that those countries allow people to steal another person's pattern, copy it and call it their own, which takes away from the original designers profits.

I attended a 4 hour session, conducted by a lawyer specializing in needlework laws at a knit and crochet conference a few yrs ago. She gave us so much info that was very helpful.

But something I was very surprised about is that you can copy up to 40% of someone else's pattern! Probably what that means is that you CAN copy a particular shape. For instance, a flair/peplum on the bottom of a top, flared sleeves, V-neck as opposed to a round or square neck, ruffle, open shoulder, high waisted babydoll top, pockets on a sweater. I could go on and on, but I think you can understand what I'm saying. I also think it's ok to look at someone's schematics (drawing of the shape-like a skirt) with how many inches there are on each side-width and height. Like maybe you want to have an idea of how long you should make a shawl when you're designing your own pattern. But the big no no is that you can't copy their words of how they put the stitches together, how many rows, number of sts on each row, whether you increased or decreased, etc.

Some of My Crochet Stitch Pattern Books

This is my all time favorite stitch pattern book, by Linda Schapper. There are 500 different stitch patterns in it. I have the vintage version of this book in black and white and was so happy when I saw this reprint! She also has 2 other books, which are a book of edgings/borders and a book of 500 squares. I have spent hours at a time looking through these books. If you've never seen one, you really need to check them out. They really come in handy and it will change your world!

Another great book. This was my first one! It's not as big as the one above, but it is still good and has a few stitch patterns that Linda Shapper's book does not have. It also contains a few edgings and motifs.

I did not buy this book till I had been designing for 10 years and it is well worth purchasing. Rita Weis told me that Jean (in the crochet hall of fame, and now deceased), was so facinated with finding new and unusual stitch patterns from other countries, so there are many in this one I had not seen before. It's a great book!

This book also has some new and unususl stitch patterns I had not seen before. And if it's cable crochet stitches you're into, you'll love this book. It also contains some edgings/borders and some beautiful motif squares. I just wish the pictures of the stitches and diagrams were larger, because I can't see them very well, even with my bi-focals!

This book is Margaret Hubert's first granny square book. And yes, she has several more! Margaret is a sweetheart and she's very creative, which shows in this book. Can you guess my MAIN reason for loving this book? Its because I LOVE the colors she used!

Encyclopedia of Crochet, by Donna Kooler, was also one of my firsts. It is unique in that the first half of the book has crochet patterns for projects. Not only are there very pretty and well photographed stitch patterns, but it also has borders and motifs as well. There is a newer updated version published 2-3 yrs ago. I have that one too and will post it as well.

I really like this Japanese stitch pattern book, but it would not appeal to everyone. It does not have written instructions in English, but does have stitch charts you can follow. Another plus is that it has many stitch pstterns I've never seen before. This is only one of many other Japanese books.

If you like the crochet shell pattern, you'll love this Shell stitch book by Darla Sims! It's fantastic for those of us who love any kind of shell or fan in crochet. Such a huge variety!

If you do both knit and crochet, then this book, by Reader's Digest, is probably your best choice for finding many unique patterns. Some of these patterns are exactly as some in the Harmony guides.

Another great book by Darla Sims. It's mostly open lace stitch patterns if that is what you are looking for. A great book!

I am a big fan of the Harmony Guides. This is # 7. These are not thick books but are full of stitch patterns. They have come out with an updated book that contains all their stitches together. I have that too and will post it.

Harmony Guide # 6 - a great book. These books also have edgings and motifs.

Here's my all time favorite crochet book of edgings by Linda Schapper. Such a huge variety. You won't be disappointed!

This is a much older book, probably from the 70's. I rarely use it because thee are others I like better. I believe the stitches shown inside are all in black and white. I may have given this to a friend.

This is a wonderful book by Sasha Kagen. I believe she's from the UK and I was privilaged to meet her at a TNNA conference in Columbus when this book was first released. There are several very pretty patterns for projects in the book too, but also many stitch patterns.

This is a much older booklet and it's both knit and crochet, but has some nice stitch patterns

This not only contains stitch patterns, but Jan Eaton included just about anything you want to know about crochet. This would be a great book for a new crocheter. It's colorful and just loaded with information! It would be a great book for a whole crochet class!