Book of the Month for July

Welcome back to my monthly book review blog. This month I've been taking a look at Interlocking Crochet by Ana-Maria Babanica (ISBN 9781446316092, David and Charles May 2026) and for those of you who love bold geometric patterns and two tone colourways, this is the book for you! 

Interlocking crochet is very like mosaic crochet in appearance but the big difference is that it produces a fabric that is completely reversible. Each side can look slightly different in appearance as you can see in the photo below, but they are just as attractive as each other. 

The book contains 50 reversible stitch patterns and five garment/accessory patterns, again all fully reversible. The first stitch pattern, entitled Tic Tac Toe (and shown in the photo above), is accompanied by an 18 page step-by-step guide to help you complete it from start to finish. There are photos for every step and a really useful section following on how to avoid making common mistakes.

The book is written in US terms throughout but as there are only a handful of stitches used in interlocking crochet it would take no time at all to get up to speed if you are usually a UK terms crocheter. The pages are clearly laid out and not overcrowded and each stitch pattern includes some step by step images. There are no charts included and so you would need to be confident in reading written pattern instructions to get the best from this book. 

The five projects included in the book are for a sleeveless vest top, a strappy top, a shawl, a tote bag and cushion covers. I really like the tote bag (can anyone ever have too many tote bags? I don't think so) and the way different shades of purple have been used to create an ombre effect. 

The size inclusivity of the garment patterns is great, with a range of bust sizes from 31 inches through to 65 inches. It's always good to come across patterns where a wide range of sizes have been catered for. 

'Interlocking Crochet' is widely available online but if you are in the UK and fancy grabbing a copy for yourself you can get a 20% discount and free delivery by using the code DD88 at checkout on the Search Press website here. You can find out more about Ana-Maria and her designs over on her website www.crochethighway.com.

I haven't chosen next month's book yet but I'll be having a browse soon and will be back in August so until then, enjoy your crochet!