Back in the 1970s as a small child I was bought a flower loom for Christmas. I had fun making flowers using up spare yarns and fondly remember a decorated hair band. Now flower looms are back and better than ever. Discover how to make and use them with this original new book.



Before going any further I need to say that to get the best out of both the loom and this book some basic crochet skills are a must. You can make the flowers and use them without, but as the photograph on the cover shows when you add crochet the results are more impressive. There are many flower looms on the market but with one exception all the pieces in this book were made using Clover's Hana-Ami loom. This features a base and six looms in various shapes and sizes together with a central peg and needle which all fit neatly together under a lid. Full instructions are given on how to use this item, together with some excellent diagrams. There are also refresher diagrams given for crochet stitches but if you are a total beginner I advise obtaining a basic book. Before the projects there is a useful "selector" gallery which makes choosing a pattern fast and easy. The thirty flowers are graded according to skill level and list the tools you need together with written instructions. There is also a chart with symbols for making up, plus another showing the motifs attached and a large photograph of the finished piece. Almost all the flowers use the same yarn type and crochet hook size so a lot of outlay is not required. At the back is a page on making your own flower loom and how to make one out of card (also a good use of single use plastic) plus a couple of traceable patterns. Notes are given too on resizing and how you could make a wooden loom plus a project featuring a larger flower and chunky yarn. The results are beautiful and simple to make up, ideal for anybody fairly new to crochet and a great way of using up scraps of yarn. -- Rachel A Hyde * myshelf.com *