Crochet Furry Friends

Praise

LIBRARY JOURNAL
Designer Parker’s debut book features 12 amigurumi animals—a bear, a bunny, an owl, and more—that range in size from 7 to 21 inches. These designs range from easy to intermediate skill levels and are intended mainly for fur yarn, which requires a relatively tense technique. Some patterns also use worsted- or aran-weight yarn for attachments, such as ears and feet. The author provides a guide for purchasing and managing fur yarn; evaluating its construction, weight, and style; and trimming it for specific projects. Fur yarn is both unforgiving (crocheters must rely on feel as stitches are obscured) and forgiving (furry stitches hide imperfections), but the book includes tips and tricks for crocheters to adjust and keep track of stitches as they work. The book contains several pages of stitching techniques with easy-to-follow images; each pattern includes detailed instructions on finishing the piece, including stuffing, adding eyes, and sewing pieces together. The finished products are adorable stuffies with names such as Pierre Penguin and Abbey Axolotl.
VERDICT The inclusion of fur yarn for these patterns differentiates this resource from other amigurumi books. Great for experienced crocheters.


Booklist (Ameircan Library Assoc)
In her first book, amigurumi maker Parker presents 12 furry animals to crochet. An axolotl, skunk, and sheep are just a few of the cute animals on display. Most amigurumi pattern books are written for a medium (worsted) weight yarn, while Parker’s patterns are for faux fur yarn. Thisyarn is notoriously difficult to work with, especially for three-dimensional objects like amigurumi. Parker gives best practices and also includes a guide to buying this novelty yarn. The 12 designs are basic, and some of them, like the bear and the elephant, share a similar body structure and design. Some, like the sloth and the owl, are updates of free patterns Parker already has on her blog. While the patterns are beginner-friendly, the assembly instructions add a level of difficulty. Parker does not include which rows to attach legs, arms, and other appendages, a standard practice in amigurumi patterns; instead, crafters have to rely on pictures of finished animals for appendage attachment. Still, not many crochet books feature crafting with furry yarn, so this is agood optional purchase to round out amigurumi collections.— Lynnanne Pearson