First Crochet: Simple Projects for Crochetters (First Crafts) is written by Lesley Stanfield and published by C&B Crafts. It retails for $12.95 in the US; L8.99 in the UK; and $13.95 in Canada. It includes 128 pages of text, with a generous amount of full-color “how-to” photos and instructions for 24 projects.

The format is “workshop” style, first showing how to complete a number of basic crochet stitches such as chain and slip stitch. Then each chapter has projects that are designed around a group of stitches so that the crafter using this book can learn and practice at the same time.

While I like the general approach of this book, I had to admit I was kind of confused at first because there was no mention of the single crochet stitch. Then after reading some more I realized that the stitches used in this book refer to the UK standard. So the US version of single crochet is referred to as double crochet. The US version of double crochet is referred to as treble crochet stitch.

UK/European crocheters will not find this to be a problem, but US crocheters should just be aware that the names of stitches are different. It is one of those many inconsistencies that exist in the world of yarn-crafting, but it is not something to stop anyone from enjoying the projects in this book. In fact, one of my sisters is a very new crocheter. She’s made a scarf and a hat at this point. I think this book is a great fit for her because so many of the projects are easy to do and use a minimum number of different stitches. US readers just need to make note of the different stitch names.