What You Need to Know About This Crochet Pattern Book:
The Beaded Edge Crochet Pattern Book Published by Interweave
Book Title: The Beaded Edge: Inspired Designs for Crocheted Edgings and Trims
Authors: Midori Nishida / CRK Design — Chiaki Kitaya, Kaoru Emoto, Kuma Imamura, Kumiko Yajima, Noriko Yoshiue, Yasuko Endo
Publisher: Interweave
ISBN: 978-1-59668-300-6
Format: Trade Paperback
Number of Pages: 88
Cover Price: $17.95 US dollars
Skill Level: No skill level is mentioned, but I’d recommend this book to experienced crocheters. This is not a book for beginners, although it could inspire a beginner to want to learn new skills and aspire to create these designs.
Gorgeous Photography and Graphic Design
This book is a visual treat. Every page is beautiful. It’s rare to find a book that’s this visually appealing. The photography is outstanding, as are the color choices used throughout. The graphic design is lovely too.
The Bead Crochet Projects You’ll Find in The Beaded Edge Book:
There are 18 different beadwork designs included in this book. It’s possible to use each design in multiple ways, and the book includes many different ideas for doing so. You’ll find ideas for edging your scarves, trimming your clothing, and dressing up your home furnishings and home decor items. There are also Christmas ideas and wedding ideas included.
The beadwork patterns are inspired by simple everyday objects and motifs: stars, flowers, berries, chili peppers, church bells and things like that. Some of the beaded trims are purely decorative and don’t resemble any particular object. It’s a nice mix of patterns.
By the time I was finished looking through the book, I was feeling so inspired that I grabbed a crochet hook and tried working a few of the patterns.
Then reality set in.
“Fiddly” is a word that comes to mind when describing the patterns in this book. There’s no getting around it. If you want to make these projects, you’ll be working with tiny beads, fine threads and flosses, and steel crochet hooks. Expect to spend some time on these projects; this is detailed work. If you’ve never worked patterns like this before, it’s probably going to take you some effort to get good results.
Beaded Crochet Trim Crocheted and Photographed by Amy Solovay; Beadwork Design is by Midori Nishida
About the Bead Crochet Instructions You’ll Find in This Book
The Beaded Edge includes both written instructions and diagrams. The diagrams are crystal clear and easy to understand, which is good because I found the written instructions frustrating to work with. While I was able to decipher them, they do include occasional unfamiliar terms (“ringing the work”? huh?) and quirky spots.
Beadwork Designs on the Book Cover
You know the old cliche: Don’t judge a book by its cover.
In this case, you can judge the book by its cover as long as you don’t fall in love with the specific beadwork designs pictured on the cover. The instructions for these patterns are not included in the book. The cover photograph is mostly representative of the types of designs you’ll find in the book; the actual designs you’ll be working are similar to the ones shown on the cover. But please don’t buy the book with the expectation that you’ll be able to work the exact same patterns shown on the cover.
If you like the butterfly design pictured on the cover, there’s a similar butterfly included in the book. At least one of the designs looks as if perhaps it might be tatting, and there are not any tatting patterns included in the book. (It is also possible that it might be made using the cro-tatting technique.)
The Bottom Line
Assuming you have the time and patience to do detail work, and that you’d like to embellish your projects with pretty beaded trims, I’m happy to recommend this book to you. I think it’s a good value, and I found it highly inspiring.
Do you have a copy of this book in hand? If so, you are invited to comment on your experiences with it. Your opinion counts! Your comments will help other crafters make an informed decision about whether to spend their hard-earned money on the book. The more reviews the better! Thanks in advance to everyone who contributes.
Where to Buy The Beaded Edge
The Beaded Edge Crochet Book Published by Interweave
Apparently, this book is now out of print — but you can still find copies of it available for sale on the secondary market. I just checked today — 7-23-2023– and there were multiple copies of the Beaded Edge available for sale from sellers at Biblio. Please note that there is a sequel to this book, and it’s hard to filter the sequel out of the search results for this book, so you’ll want to pay attention to which one you’re looking at when you consider either of these books that are available for sale online.
Click here to shop for this book at Biblio.
See More About: Crocheting With Beads | Crochet Books | Crochet Edging Patterns |Interweave Crochet Books | The Best Bead Crochet Pattern Books
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- Click here to find crochet stitch tutorials and instructions.
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- Click HERE to Find Fabulous Yarn for Crochet and Knitting
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Posted By: Amy Solovay
Page last updated on 7-26-2023. Thanks for visiting!
I used to have this book, and I lost my copy of it at some point (I think I lost it when we moved). I really need to get another copy of it because I want to use some of these edgings on pouches I plan to make my friends for Christmas. Thank you so much for the tip to check Biblio. I never heard of that site, but they have copies of this book plus they also have copies of the vintage readers that my daughter wants to get for my granddaughter. We haven’t been able to find them anywhere, but Biblio has them. What a great find!
Hi Linda,
Thanks for the comment. I am glad you found the information helpful.
I love the pic of that beaded trim sample you posted, but wouldn’t it be too heavy to be practical? What did you end up using it on? Just curious?
Hi Hayley,
The trim somehow looks huge in the picture I posted, but it isn’t actually that big in real life. Also, at the time I posted this review, I didn’t have the right size beads in my stash to make the trim — so I used bigger beads than the size suggested in the pattern. You’re correct in thinking that the trim does turn out really heavy with those bigger beads. In reality, if you’re going to make this trim for any real-world projects, you’d want to use very tiny seed beads so your beaded trim would turn out to be light enough to be practical for wearing or using. Presumably, it wouldn’t turn out too heavy to use on projects like handbags, skirt edges, etc. The traditional use of these edgings is to finish off Turkish womens’ head scarves.
In answer to your actual question, I didn’t use my trim sample on anything; it’s still hanging around in my stash waiting for an appropriate use. I’m thinking of using it to finish a pouch or beaded bag, maybe.
Thanks for your interest!