Seamless Crochet Motif Patterns

Do you delight in the process of sewing bazillions of little crochet motifs together? How about weaving in bunches upon bunches of hanging, leftover yarn tails?

I’m guessing you answered “NO!” to both of the questions posted above. If I’m wrong about that, you can safely stop reading this page right now — and move on to checking out another crochet book. But if you’re like most crocheters, the sewing, end-weaving and finishing are probably not your most anticipated tasks.

Did you realize it is possible to create your crochet projects using bunches of small motifs, without having to join all those motifs together? This is the technique that author Kristin Omdahl explores in her book called Seamless Crochet, which is pictured here:


Seamless Crochet Motifs Book -- Here you can see an example of one of the motif patterns you'll learn how to make from this book. Example project crocheted and photographed by Amy Solovay.

Seamless Crochet Motifs Book — Here you can see an example of one of the motif patterns you’ll learn how to make from this book. Example project crocheted and photographed by Amy Solovay.

This book includes a varied and interesting collection of 17 different join-as-you-go crochet motif patterns, all of which are charted out and presented for your use via symbol crochet diagrams. Kristin has also included written instructions to help your comprehension along. My opinion: most crocheters will need to study both sets of instructions to make sense of these projects.

If you need some ideas for what to do with these designs, each one includes at least one pattern for a complete project, such as a hat or blanket or shawl. All together, there are 18 patterns for garments, accessories and home decor items included in the book. The book also comes packaged with a DVD, which I haven’t looked at yet.

I’ve started working some of the crochet motif patterns and projects featured in this book. In the photo posted above, you can see the start of my first attempt. It’s a gorgeous lace flower motif which is intended to work up into a hat using one of the patterns from the book. Keep in mind that my little piece of it isn’t finished, and it will need to be blocked in order for the lace pattern to look its best. Even so, it’s drop dead gorgeous, don’t you think?

I’m enthusiastic about this book for several reasons: I’d be interested in making some of the projects. I’m even more interested in adapting Kristin’s charted motifs to create brand new designs. I’m thrilled to have such an appealing collection of seamless crochet motif patterns available for immediate use — without me having to do a substantial amount of charting or math of my own. The technical information is top-notch and extremely helpful. This is the best reference I’ve yet discovered on the topic of join-as-you-go crochet motifs.

The Best Things About This Book:

  • Overall, I think this book is an exceptional value for the money. I’d rate it as a “must buy” for any aspiring crochet pattern designer, or anyone who is interested in achieving technical mastery of crochet.
  • There’s a technical section at the back of the book called “Beyond the Basics: Tips and Techniques for Seamless Crochet.” I found this to be one of the most valuable parts of the book, with bunches of amazing insights packed into a mere few pages.
  • The “Moroccan Tile” blanket pattern is stunning!
  • The “Blissful Flower” shawl (pictured on the front cover of the book) is also gorgeous.
  • The “Shark Hunter” child’s hat appears warm and practical, and the texture is nice. It looks like it would be an interesting crochet project.
  • I love, love, love the “Lace Flower” crochet motif (pictured above; it’s the tan colored work-in-progress piece you see in the right hand photo.) Kristin’s hat design (also pictured on a page of the open book) is a creative way to use this motif. It’s a feminine and appealing hat pattern, and it’s shaping up to be an interesting crochet project too.
  • I worked part of the Flower motif trivet, and it’s also a fabulous pattern with amazing texture. I gave up on mine and frogged it, but that was because I made a disastrously wrong yarn choice. I ran out of time for the project at the time, but I’d love to go back and start over with different yarn at some point.
  • This book is available in both paperback and hardcover formats. I am reviewing the paperback version of the book.

Things You Need to Be Aware of Before Buying This Book:

  • This book may take you out of your comfort zone. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? On the other hand, if you’re only interested in working on relaxing, easy crochet projects, you should probably pass on this book. Many crocheters are going to find that there is a steep learning curve involved here.
  • A few of these patterns are not practical at all, in my opinion. This is because several of the motif patterns have excessive open areas, which renders them useless for a lot of purposes crocheters would typically expect to be able to use them for. To give one example, There’s a blanket pattern which has lots of open space. Some crocheters may love this aspect of it, but it’s not something I expect everyone would find appealing. If you want to make the warmest possible blanket, you’d want to pick a different one. However, there are other options included in the book that do look warmer.

Types of Patterns You’ll Find in This Book:

This book includes the motif library, as mentioned above. Additionally, you’ll also find the following types of projects included:

  • Shawls, wraps and a mobius
  • 3 different hats
  • Blankets
  • One pillow pattern
  • 2 Dressy scarves and a cowl
  • A kitchen trivet
  • 1 excessively open market bag that is not going to be practical for carrying small items

For my taste, the projects are hit and miss. Some of them are exceptional, and some of them are ones I wouldn’t want to make. To my way of thinking, the projects are just like the icing on an excellent cake anyway. With the motif pattern library at your fingertips, you’ll be able to create many more projects than just the ones specified in the book.


Overall, this is a book I highly recommend. For serious crocheters, Seamless Crochet is considerably more valuable than its asking price.

Where to Buy Seamless Crochet

Related Resources:

How to Crochet for Beginners

Learn More About Crochet:

Learn About Other Crafts: Knitting, Sewing, Quilting, Paper Crafts and More

Posted By: Amy Solovay


Page last updated on 6-18-2021. Thanks for visiting!

Seamless Crochet Book by Kristin Omdahl, Published by Interweave Press. This Book Includes a Fantastic Library of Instructions and Patterns for Join-As-You-Go Crochet Motifs.

Seamless Crochet Book by Kristin Omdahl, Published by Interweave Press. This Book Includes a Fantastic Library of Instructions and Patterns for Join-As-You-Go Crochet Motifs.