Crochet book review Edwards Menagerie Birds Ethel the Emu

edwards menagerie crochet book and ethel the emu

Let me introduce you to Edwards Menagerie By Kerry lord from Toft.

I enjoy crocheting amigurumi creatures and I have long admired the crochet critters I have seen that some of you hooked up from Kerry Lord’s first book; Edwards Menagerie, however I must admit that I did not actually buy the book Imagine then, my surprise and delight at being invited to review Kerry’s second book: Edwards Menagerie Birds.

The book is split into sections and the birds are divided up within these sections, starting with the simpler birds and working up to the slightly more complicated birds. The techniques you will need for the basics of each bird ie. the body, feet and wings are also divided up into separate pages.

The book is divided by body parts!

If you choose to make ‘Alan’ the magpie, you will first crochet his head and body, on the basics page. Then add his wings and feet from the another page. Finally referring to the sewing and stuffing techniques page. The bird designs are adorable a lot of thought has been put into the design details of each. The birds can be crocheted in four different sizes depending on hook size and yarn choice,

Ethel the Emu.

I decided the only way to properly review the book was hook up a bird. My only problem was choosing just one. Having fallen in love with at least four. I decided on ethel the emu as she is super cute.

Amigurumi

I asked for a family vote on which bird to crochet first. Ethel trumped all the others, gaining the most votes. We all simply fell in love with her…may I introduce to you Ethel the Kiwi! Ethel was easy to hook up for me because I love the amigurumi style of crocheting, the instructions are easy to follow and the accompanying images illustrate the simple techniques so you can follow along. Amigurumi crochet involves counting. so be prepared to concentrate!

Gifted the book in pdf form. It is not easy to either review or work from a pdf copy of a book, I kept dropping the pages! They are now in an awful muddle, but I’m not complaining.

In conclusion I truly love this book and can recommend it to all you hookers out there. Buy it, put it on your Christmas list and let me know the minute you hook up a bird I want to see. My next choice will probably be Sophia the baby flamingo, she can keep Ethel company.