The Tunisian Crochet Handbook: A Beginner’s Guide

This is a very useful book for anyone new to Tunisian Crochet! It is full of pictures that are very helpful in understanding placement and methods for getting good results! I stumbled upon TL Yarn Craft on YouTube and have watched hours of videos by Toni Lipsey! She is a true teacher and her videos have helped me level up my skills. If you're interested in picking up Tunisian Crochet, I highly recommend this book, her website and her YouTube channel! I’m glad I found her!

This is a very well written and informative book. It is also made with quality paper, has beautiful illustrations and many projects that are beginner friendly. It has reference charts to help with needle size selection and also includes some basic traditional crochet that is often mixed with Tunisian crochet.

As someone curious about Tunisian crochet but feeling a little intimidated, I recently picked up "The Tunisian Crochet Handbook: A Beginner's Guide" by Toni Lipsey. This book is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to explore this unique and rewarding craft! Lipsey starts with the absolute basics, guiding you through the tools and materials you'll need. The clear instructions and step-by-step photos make learning the fundamental Tunisian stitch a breeze. This book is packed with high-quality pictures that perfectly complement the written instructions. Being able to see exactly how the stitches are formed was incredibly helpful, especially for a visual learner like me.

I have been subscribed to Toni for several months now and this book has been on my list for a short while. I have not touched a crochet hook or done the afghan stitch, ie Tunisian crochet for many years. This was the first stitch that my grandmother taught me at about age 10, and I do love it. I am starting to go back to my roots and pickup Tunisian again and this book is the perfect guide. The pictures are spectacular and the directions are clear. One of the few books out there that can shake up your imagination!

WHY THE “4-STAR” REVIEW The minus one-star has absolutely nothing to do with the actual book. Unfortunately, I had to deduct one-star from this review for the KINDLE EBOOK version because unlike most eBooks I’ve purchased, I CANNOT highlight or leave quick notes/comments. That being said, since this book is more of a technical read for “learning”, the loss of these functions makes the KINDLE version obsolete for me. I wish I knew this, and of course I didn’t find this out until AFTER the return window closed. So, the loss of one-star is totally the fault of Amazon’s KINDLE division. *Side-note: Are gall eboog or digitle missing this functionality? Now, for the actual book review, but first a little bit about me. I’m sort of new to the actual “practice of” crocheting (for a little over 2 years). However, I’m a 4th generation crocheter, so while I haven’t been in practice, I’ve literally been around the art my entire life. So, I don’t classify myself as a “total” beginner as I was able to advance very quickly through the basics because of having been around the craft for a while. That being said, this book was helpful for me to learn and become proficient in Tunisian crochet. As a high school math teacher for 20 years and having seen many “textbooks”, I can say this book was written for a beginner TUNISIAN crocheter. That being said, it is definitely helpful if you have some knowledge of “traditional” crochet. I can see where there might be a little struggle if you didn’t know basic crochet stitches, BUT Toni does give tutorials on crochet basics such as “foundation chaining”. Even if you’ve never tried traditional crochet, there is enough information provided to get you started and moving with Tunisian crochet. There are tons of pictures and EVERY abbreviation is explained on page 16. However, if you plan on branching out and learning more crochet or other fiber arts such as knitting, visit the Craft Yarn Councils page to learn all about abbreviations. Also, be absolute in your journey, learning is easier (for some) by watching videos, but if you don’t learn and become proficient at reading patterns (which means mastering and be willing to research abbreviations) you are going to miss out on a lot from the world of fiber arts. The pictures are very helpful and provide much of the “step-by-step” necessary to begin. The projects are meant to be beginner friendly. They are not complicated and most don’t require “firm” gauge requirements like garments. This is helpful because many beginner Tunisian crocheters have to adjust (or re-adjust; like in my case) their “tension”, which can have an effect on gauge. OVERALL This book is an excellent reference or starting point. It serves as a great starting point for beginner Tunisian crocheters. I suggest you read the book, and then watch Toni’s videos (or vice verse). Each medium (book and videos) should be used together to get comprehensive and complete tutorials for Tunisian crochet.

This review is two parts - the content and the actual format. Format - skip the kindle version. You pretty much get a PDF of the book, so the font is too small to be readable on a Kindle or phone. Even trying to zoom in doesn’t really work . It’s fine on an iPad, but if you are going to try to read it on a Kindle, skip it and get the real book. I wish I could return my kindle copy and get a real copy. Now, onto the good stuff (the great stuff). The content is incredible. I actually used Toni’s YouTube videos to learn how to crochet. Since I got so much awesome free content from her, I figured the least I could do is purchase a book and throw a few bucks her way. Her written content is just as easy to understand as her videos. She’s so clear and explains things in a way that my brain totally gets. The patterns are modern and very useful (things I would want to make, and want to use), and the directions are so easy to understand. I can easily adapt the patterns as a springboard to make other things as well. Honestly, this is the only Tunisian crochet book I need. It’s just that good.

I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my daughter who follows Toni's vlogs. It's because of Toni my daughter has found a passion for crocheting. Toni does a great job of explaining and teaxhing others to crochet. My daughter made a pair of beautiful temperature blankets for her aunt's twin babies using the temperatures of the pregnancy's timeline. Toni inspired her & guided her through the process. My daughter was so thrilled to receive Toni's book as a gift. I'm equally excited to see the crochet projects my daughter creates because of this book.

I have recently purchased this book to learn the art of Tunisian crochet. Toni's explanations are clear and easy to follow with supporting photographs of techniques. There are some great introductory patterns for beginners in this book - wearables and items for the home. I have used this book in conjunction with Toni's you tube tutorials to learn the basics of Tunisian crochet. I am now happily working on my first freestyle project, creating a top using the Tunisian simple and honeycomb stitches. Thank you Toni for creating such a beautiful book and helpful resource.

Perfekt

Really nice book! Simple to understand and well made. Also there are many nice modern projects that I would like to try!

Es un excelente libro para personas que apenas van a aprender esta técnica. Si ya sabes las puntadas básicas y las dominas, este libro ya no te servirá. Lo recomiendo para principiantes, van a aprender muy bien y se van a enamorar de esta técnica. Muy buena autora, excelentes explicaciones, muy bonitas fotografías y buenas ideas para aprender. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.

For anyone wondering if they should buy this book, please BUY IT!!!! So surprised with this book. I knew it would be excellent for instruction because I follow Toni Lipsey on you-tube and she's amazing, but I never expected this book to be what I received. This book is a work of art. The photography is gorgeous. The paper quality is coffee-table quality. The binding is SEWN. Not. Glued. Down. The book has a sewn binding. The front and back cover have fly-leaf's to mark your space.......What???!! Who does that anymore? Who the HALE does that? I say someone who's proud of what they do. I am so happy I ordered it. I wanted to have something I could look at, read, touch, without having to find my phone/computer/iPad. The paper quality is premium heavy weight. The cover has an eggshell/satin sheen - the inner pages are semi-gloss. Touching this book is heavenly in this day and age of online media. where pages are just an image on a screen. This book isn't too big, too heavy, too oversized. It's Goldilocks just right. Yes, the instruction and help, and LOVE that this book has is immense, but let me say, the ART!!!!! of this book. Swoon.... And did I mention the binding is SEWN!!! ....who does that anymore? There was so much thought put into this book and I thank Toni Lipley from the bottom of my heart for doing this, because I know it wasn't easy. Woman!. You rock. Thank you so much for this book, TL -- thank you, thank you, thank you. M