Review: Crochet Jewelry: 40 Beautiful and Unique Designs

I’m really digging Crochet Jewelry, by Waejong Kim and Anna Pulvermakher. A nice combination of two of my favorite subjects.

The two authors are co-owners of Loopy Mango in Brooklyn, a boutique that carries handmade clothes and jewelry, and yes, plenty of crochet. They worked with a number of designers on the projects in this book.

There are lots of cool projects here, incorporating thread, yarn, and wire crochet with lots of beads. I have some favorites to show you, but first will just give props to the very clear photo instructions, especially these for crocheting your way around beads, rings, and hoops. I also learned a lot about hairpin crochet, and am contemplating the purchase of a hairpin loom. Oh, the things it can do with wire!

I tend to like my crochet on the simple side, so I love this simple crocheted ruffle with beads, worked on a neck wire. Pretty, no?

There’s some great wire crochet here, too — the beaded chains you’ve seen in other books, plus a few projects that go way beyond that, while still managing to be fairly simple to make. I’m glad to see wire crochet beginning to evolve.

Lots of nice flower pins here, and a cool butterfly.

These little crochet flower rings, stacked on colorful buttons, are great fun. There are also a number of seed-bead and thread crochet ring designs, which look fun.

I took my copy to a class I was teaching last weekend, and was surprised to find that the cover necklace, with its big crocheted baubles, was pretty polarizing. Some loved it, some hated it. I think I like the version inside the book better, where the beads are strung in a long strand rather than hung like charms. With the right sweater, very cute.