Just Scarfin’ Around

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Crocheting has always been a relaxing activity for me. I can put on some music, grab some beautiful yarn, a hook, and off I go creating something awesome! Rainy days are my favorite, but I have also been known to crochet on road trips, planes, or even at the beach!

I am a sucker for new crochet books, and I think Leisure Arts is catching on to this fact! I was absolutely on board to check out one of their newer books, Mirror Image Scarves. Especially since Georgia cannot decide whether it’s spring or winter, and I have many friends who are stuck in northern states where winter is still in full effect.

I was immediately taken by the cover, particularly the larger yarn scarves. I LOVE working with the thicker, bulky yarn. You wouldn’t think you could get many designs from the thicker yarns, but this just isn’t true. So to see a couple of patterns would feature bulky yarn, I got excited!

Flipping through the book for the first time, you see exactly what one comes to expect from a Leisure Arts book. Full size, color pictures of the finished product, an easy to read layout of what you will need to complete each project, measurements, level of difficulty, gauge information, and stitch guide.

I was pleased to see eight different patterns to choose from when I went through the book. Not only were there more than a handful of designs to choose from, but there were patterns that called for bulky yarn, and patterns that called for medium weight yarn. This is a nice option to have, because sometimes you just don’t need or want the bulky yarn.

I was instantly drawn to the scarf on the top of the stack that is pictured on the cover, Parkway, so I went straight for that one to create first! And I could not have chosen an easier one to start with, haha!! Made with single and double crochets, this was the easiest pattern of the eight that make up this book, and all eight patterns are at an easy level of difficulty.

One thing I noticed in the individual instructions in this book is a video camera icon by some of the stitch descriptions. What these are, are indications of stitches that Leisure Arts actually has a video for, showing you the technique as someone does it on camera. I absolutely love this feature! While I am more advanced in my art, someone who is at a beginner level will be more than comfortable picking up this book and be able to easily create these projects with confidence.

The next scarf I decided to make was the first one in the book, Borders. I absolutely adored the pattern, but I wanted to change up the colors, as I do for most projects. I saw these beautiful purple colors at my local craft store and just couldn’t pass them up!

The trickiest part of this particular pattern was making sure I kept the beginning chain straight as I did the first row. Then, because the first row is primarily made up of chains, I had to take special care in making sure I crocheted into the correct row when I got to row two. It wasn’t difficult, by any means, but I did catch myself grabbing the wrong row on occasion.

The last scarf I chose to make was Arches. I don’t know what it was about the photo that drew me to it, but as I went through the book initially, this pattern caught my eye and was immediately put on my “to make” list!

The pattern reminds me of columns, and I just loved the way it looked. I also loved that a picot stitch was added to the last rows, giving it a little something extra without being too difficult, or going overboard. And I absolutely loved using a variegated yarn for the entire project, so, naturally, I found a fun yarn to use!

The instructions are clear and concise on what to do and when. A nice addition to the back of the book is the “Basic Crochet Stitches” section, which goes over all the basic stitches in crocheting, making this an ideal starting book to try.

The only thing I noticed was that I didn’t use as much yarn as was called for in any of the three patterns I chose to make. With Borders, I used about 3 oz. of the variegated yarn, and maybe 2 oz. of the solid purple for the border.

For Arches, I used about 3.5 oz. of the variegated yarn. And for Parkway, I only used about 2/3 of the 3.5 oz. skein that I bought. Now, I do crochet a little tight, so I accounted for that. I also double checked the yarn shopping list against what I bought, and some of my skeins had more yardage per skein, but I still did not finish a single skein of yarn when creating any of the projects I chose.

However, I am a firm believer that it’s better to have too much rather than too little, and not have enough to finish your pattern with the yarns you chose. And, because you just never know when others will find and fall in love with the same colors you’ve chosen, or when the store will stop selling those colors, I always buy what the patterns tell me to. Better safe than sorry. But, this is also why the instructions section got a little knock in the review section below.

Overall, I am, yet again, pleased with this book by Leisure Arts. Beautiful, easy patterns to create gifts all year long.