I recently purchased a few crochet books through Interweave’s yearly hurt and overstock sale (which by the way sent me book that are not “hurt” at all but in perfect shape), and one of those books was a title I’ve had on my Amazon wish list for awhile, Doublestitch: Designs for the Crochet Fashionista by Erika and Monika Simmons. I have seen videos of these designers and listened to podcasts too, and these two are hilarious and full of energy. They could easily have their own television show. I’m also a big fan of the double crochet stitch, so these combined made me curious about the book. However, I held off because from the few pieces I had seen from the book and the “fashionista” subtitle, I had a feeling that this was not going to be a book for a 40 something school teacher to make crocheted clothes from. When the Interweave sale had it for as low as about $5, though, I couldn’t resist, thinking that even if there was one pattern in there that I liked, it was worth the $5.

Basically, my instincts were right about this book. Of the 20+ patterns, there is only really 1 that I could make and wear without altering at all, the “Shrunken Jacket,” which sort of looks like a vest. It is age and career appropriate for me, and while I might not include the attached scarf, I could keep it and not have to worry about this being too crazy for the classroom. Other than that specific pattern, there are about 5 others that I could see myself wearing with some slight alterations to make them more my taste and (again) age appropriate.

That said, I still like this book, especially considering what I paid for it, and if I was about 20 years younger and had my 20 year younger hot body to boot, I would be able to pull off more of the looks created for this book.