Is anyone else crazy about Japanese crochet books?

[rina]

I recently acquired a few; blog entries and pics here and here . I'm loving the extensive use of stitch diagrams and schematics. The patterns hardly use any words at all, in fact. And some of the designs are so cute. Some are a bit conservative, others are very cute for young women/teens. They're really into granny squares and motifs, too, for all kinds of household and fashion accessories. Some of the patterns are the same, but the overall aesthetic is a bit different.

[monael]

Yes I do. I wish I had a store closer to home that had them. I also love the diagrams. They are so much easier to use.

[yarndiva]

I loove Japanese Crochet Books, I think I have like 6 or 7 in my library!!

 

Actually, foreign crochet books/magazines is one of my obsessions!!

 

My friend gave me a vintage Japanese crochet book, I think it was like the from 60's or something!!

[karin4christ]

I love them too. I just wish there was a cheaper source for them. Or, that there was a japanese book store here in Tucson.

[Vibey]

Awesome. I don't have any Japanese crochet books, but I do have other pattern books, like a couple from Ondori. (Terumi Otaka's "Lovable Mini Dolls" is falling apart from the use it's had!) And it's funny that you say that some of the patterns are a bit conservative and dowdy, because back in the 80s my mum used to buy Soen magazine, which was a fashion magazine with patterns in it, like Germany's Burda. Man! There was nothing conservative and dowdy about that fashion, it was totally out there, cutting edge. Mind you, the Japanese influence on fashion during the 80s was huge, but still... incredible stuff. Such attention to detail too. Mamá loved those patterns.

[Carol]

I have a book of Japanese doily patterns. They're stunning. One of these days, I might even try to make one.

[sakurasaku]

I have several Japanese craft books, including crochet books. But I don't know if that counts in my case, because I'm Japanese.

[rina]

Glad to know you're all out there!

 

I have several Japanese craft books, including crochet books. But I don't know if that counts in my case, because I'm Japanese.

 

It still counts. At least you can read the text! I'm pretty good at putting 2 and 2 together, but my husband (who did language study in Japan) helped a bit with the basics, like "rows" "stitches" "bust" etc.

 

I love them too. I just wish there was a cheaper source for them. Or, that there was a japanese book store here in Tucson.

 

If you can identify the book, one of the Kinokuniya stores in the US can ship it to you. Caution: I saw an online American knitting/yarn vendor selling a bunch of these books for over twice as much as the cost at Kinokuniya. $30 for something that's really $12. That on top of the shipping charges! They must assume people won't know any better.

 

Yarndiva, I'm curious which books you have! 6 or 7--I'm jealous!

[Vibey]

I have several Japanese craft books, including crochet books. But I don't know if that counts in my case, because I'm Japanese.

 

That's cheating!

 

[yarndiva]

4 Ondori ones...doilies, motifs, some wearables, tablecloths, etc..., a hardback one I won on eBay (read backwards) that teach you how to make the garments that were modeled plus how to make your own patterns from pattern stitches...it's awesome!!

 

One vintage one from the 70's my friend lent me back in the Philippines...she's somewhere in Houston now...I have yet to return in and one from the 60's that's completely doilies...I am they are soo contemporary and kewl (and this was almost 50 years ago )

 

And 6 Japanese craft magazines that have patterns that range from sewing, embroidery and crochet...kinda like a Japanese Anna Burda

 

And I do have a set of Tulip Crochet Hooks Aluminum & Steel. I had another set but lost it when I moved from our old apt to our house

[bhaaskar]

I love the Japanese books too. I have them in English. Does it count?

I have about three 3 ondori books and 4-5 nihon-vogue books too. I got the nihon-vogue books from Amazon. They have such lovely pattern

for thread crochet. They are mostly pineapple designs, which I love.

Would love to see pictures of yours!

 

-- a.

[chiti]

I love Japanese crochet books. I have 6, a Hello Kitty one, 3 Amigurumi ones, a Granny Square book(scarves, shawls, etc.), and a slipper one. I can't find them anywhere in Austin, though I haven't really looked that hard, I order them from a lady on etsy.

[lprajogo]

I also crazy about them. Too bad, they are too pricey to me. Several times I tempted to buy from Yes Asia, but the problem is I don't know whether I like all the design inside. So far I only have 3 books (lets knit series). I bought them in Indonesia about 5 years ago. The recent blue crocheted top I made also from one of the book.

[diamond]

I love Japanese crochet books and have several. And luckily for me, my youngest son's new girlfriend is Japanese and speaks, writes & reads it fluently so she's been a big help with translations. Also, she has given me several great crochet books.

[needlesandpinza]

ok you guys keep talking about these where/how do I go about finding them?

any links?

I am so intreguied

[chiti]

I get mine from here

[rina]

Chiti, thanks for the link. Always love finding new sources.

 

Other sources: You can do a book search for "crochet" or "knit" at http://www.yesasia.com. A lot of books catalogued under knitting have both crochet and knitting in them, though you can't tell unless it's clear from the cover.

 

There's a chain of Japanese bookstores, Kinokuniya, in several major North American cities. If you don't have one near you and can't find something at yesasia, you can call one up and order with the ISBN # to have one shipped to your home.

 

I've also seen some books sold by American online knitting stores that are twice the cost of normal retail. So I'd do some price comparison before buying from one of those.

[EmEyeAaay]

chiti, have you gone through yesasia? they're cheaper than saucylouise aren't they? she keeps raising her prices too, and I don't think she's supposed to be selling them on etsy, since everything there is supposed to be handmade etc. I had a friend who was selling similar things and her shop got closed because she wasn't offering anything handmade either. anyway, I don't mean to be such a grump, I was excited because I have a couple of books comming in around a month, I just ordered some off of yesasia and am so excited!

[kellyrox]

Ooh I do! I get great amigurumi books from the bookstore here at Uwajimaya in Seattle. Luckily I live close enough to walk over, though I know they're a million times cheaper in Japan. *sigh* someday eh...

[rina]

Always great to find other enthusiasts! I've been working my booty off for the past several weeks and finally got a break today. So I'm going shopping in SF including guess where? This time I'm looking for motif books.

[AlyBlu]

What is ETSY?

 

These look amazing - will have to look into this more!

[chiti]

Hey Mia, thanks for the heads up on yesasia.com. Ill be checking it out. Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird to be selling books on etsy, but it was the only place I could find them.

[EmEyeAaay]

This time I'm looking for motif books.

 

rina, I just ordered this motif book off of yesasia last night! I'm so excited to get it! I went on a little bit of a shopping spree last night and bought myself probably too many books - I'll share with you here what I got, just don't tell DH!

 

I got:

 

the beautiful dessert one

super cute amigurumi numero uno

super cute amigurumi numero dos

magic scrubbers I'm dying to try out

and some felt mascots that I had to try out

 

let me know if the last two links are working, for some reason they're being a bit erratic.

 

chiti, you know about the esty thing, I'm kinda annoyed, I wish I could post some redirection to yesasia or just give people a heads up b/c every book that I ordered, save one, she sells and if I had gone through SL I would've spent $110 instead of $60 . It just really gets me fired up when people try to gouge other people just because they're not aware of other venues.

 

I need to calm down, take some deep breaths

 

AlyBlu, etsy is a place to buy and sell all things homemade! a dangerous, but beautiful place to visit! BTW, the link should be the search results for "amigurumi crochet pattern".

 

Anyhoo, I've got to get going I'm trying to finish a pair of sandals for DD to wear to the zoo tomorrow and everytime I come on here I always want to start something else.

[AlyBlu]

Thank you - off to check that out now!

 

 

Ooo and please let us know what you think of that motif book - it looks awesome!

[beth eathorne]

thanks for the link to the books i have been over paying for the ones i have picked up. i will look here first.