I really love crocheting and I'm really excited about this guide! There are a few good stitches that I never heard of, so that's great!!!

Firstly, a big thanks to the author, Melissa Leapman, the publisher, Quarry Books, and NetGalley for the privilege of being able to take a look at this Essential Crochet Starter Stitches guide. I will also share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release. This short and quick little guide is packed with info, clear charts and graphics, and explanations of how to do both simple and more complicated stitches. I've been a crocheter for a few years now, and I think this kind of guide would be super helpful to keep in my bag to have handy. Sometimes you just need a reminder on how to do a stitch you haven't done in a while, or you may want to freestyle with something new and different in order to get a handle on it. The pages are clear and concise. Loved this guide!

Essential Crochet Starter Stitches is a fairly robust beginners guide. It has easy to follow instructions, both written and visual, and lots of other resources, like abbreviation guides that explain what you might see in other patterns. This would be a great book for a beginner or someone trying to refresh their crocheting skills.

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

I’ve been a fair-weather crocheter for over a decade and this is exactly the type of reference guide I’d keep in my active projects basket. I don’t like working from specific patterns, but rather I like to freehand my work. Unfortunately I have a very short memory and default to the same few techniques. I could see this book providing such a boost when brainstorming my projects.
For each stitch this book includes a photo of a swatch, a diagram, and written directions. At the back of the book the author has included resources necessary to help decipher the diagrams and directions of you are unfamiliar (or have a short memory like me). When I first opened the book and started to try a stitch at random I froze, but once I realized these resources where in the back I got back on track with testing stitches.
I would recommend this book for individuals with existing crochet skills. Although called “Essential” I wouldn’t say it’s for folks who haven’t already mastered a few basics (though the resources section provides helpful diagrams of how to do those basic stitches).