Learn How to Crochet Shell Stitches, Lace Stitches and Cables Using Post Stitches

This is a book review of 99 Crochet Post Stitches: 99 Tempting Textures to Crochet, Leisure Arts Book #4788

Book Details

Author: Darla Sims


Publisher: Leisure Arts


ISBN 13: 978-1-57486-144-0


ISBN 10: 1-57486-144-1


Book Formats:

• Softcover With Staple Binding

Number of Pages: 80


Cover Price: $14.95 US dollars


Skill Level: No skill level ratings have been assigned by the author or publisher for these stitches.

The Focus of This Book:

This book is all about giving you post stitches, more post stitches, and even more post stitches — 99 of them in all. There are lacy post stitches and many, many post stitches that incorporate shells in some way. There are a few multicolor post stitch patterns. There are bunches of textured stitches, and some cabled stitches that would be fantastic for incorporating into aran crochet designs.

Just a Few of the Crochet Stitches Included in This Book:

It would take a long, long time to give you a complete list of all the stitches in this book — so this is only a partial list highlighting some of the stitches that I think look most interesting, easiest or otherwise remarkable in some way.

In Depth — I thought this looked like both an easy stitch and an interesting one, so I decided to crochet a sample of it to test out the instructions for clarity. I wasn’t disappointed on either count; as far as post stitches go, this one’s definitely an easy one. I also found it to be a satisfying stitch pattern to work on.

I used a blended mystery yarn from my stash to crochet a small sample, and my sample turned out lovely. The instructions were clear and workable.

The fabric I made using these instructions is firm and doesn’t have a lot of stretch. The stitch looks different on both sides, which to my way of thinking makes it better suited for projects that have definite outsides and insides — like sweaters and hats. Not so much for scarves, unless you don’t care that the scarf wouldn’t turn out reversible.

This stitch would be useful for soooooo many different types of projects. I think it has a guy-friendly, masculine look about it. I’d recommend it for consideration if you would be interested in designing a project for a guy of any age, from baby boy on up. I think this stitch would make a super cute hooded jacket for little boys. But really, there are zillions of different ways to use this design, and you could certainly make feminine projects with it as well.

Boxed Shells — There are bunches of different variations on the popular boxed shell stitch, and I’m fond of all of them. This one looks like an interesting version. There are 8 rows total, with rows 3-8 forming the repeat.

Posted Shells — This is an easy two-color stitch pattern that features vibrantly colored shell stitches surrounded by a darker ground of post stitches and double crochets.

Flutter — This is an attractive one-color lace pattern featuring post stitches as part of the design.

Stand-Out Cable — This allover cable design would be a useful pattern to have in your stitch library. It would be a fantastic stitch to use for covering large areas if you need some sort of interesting background to use in an aran crochet design.

Stand-Out Boxes — This is an outstanding three-color pattern that has a mod, retro, geometric sort of look about it. If you want to create home décor items to use for decorating a mid-century modern home or a contemporary home, this stitch pattern would be a good one to consider. The colorway featured in the book is a tonal combination of dark brown, medium brown and ecru. That’s a safe colorway with a lot of appeal, but I could also see working it in bright, eye-catching colors for a different sort of look.

Horizontal Chevrons — This eye-catching stitch features stripes of a cable motif pattern alternating with plain single crochet. It’s quite an attractive stitch. This is another one of those designs that would be wonderful to use in a guy-friendly project like a sweater or scarf.

Simple Rib — There are many different ways to crochet ribbing, and this stitch pattern is one really nice option. It’s super simple, living up to its name nicely. There are only two rows, and you just repeat row 2 endlessly until the piece is your desired measurement. I think you’re going to love how easy this one is, and it looks great too.

Crossed Stripes — This is an eye-catching colorwork pattern that utilizes 3 different yarn colors.

Lace Shells — This is an attractive textured stitch pattern that incorporates front post stitches and picots.

Sharp Chevrons — This looks like a standard zigzag or ripple stitch pattern, only with a bit more texture.

Hourglass 1 and Hourglass 2 — There are two different stitch patterns that give you options for crocheting a classic textured ogee pattern. These are really trendy right now, and I’m sure you’ll think of zillions of different ways to incorporate them into your projects.

Basket Weave — This is a standard, classic basketweave pattern. You’d probably be disappointed if a book on post stitches didn’t have at least one of these, no?

Vertical Chevrons — If you enjoy working chevron patterns, you’ll definitely want to give this one a try. It’s a bit different than the others you might have worked, making it a fun and refreshing change of pace. The resulting fabric almost looks woven, and it’s really interesting and beautiful.

This isn’t a complete list of crochet stitches you’ll find in this book! There are so many more stitches that it’s almost overwhelming to choose one and get started. There are many more excellent stitches in this book that I haven’t mentioned. While I haven’t tried all of them, to my eyes they all look like they’d be useful and worth learning.

The Best Things About This Book

There’s a truly wonderful variety of stitches here, with a lot of different looks to explore. You’d think that, with all these being post stitches, maybe things would start to get repetitive after awhile — but I didn’t find that to be the case.

If you’re new to working post stitches, you’ll find plenty of easy options to start with.

There are also some really complex, challenging stitches for those times when you want to work a stitch pattern that is truly spectacular.

The stitches are all given catchy names for differentiation. I really appreciate the creativity and time it took to name each stitch. Which would you find more inspiring — working a swatch of “sculpted shells,” or working a swatch of “Stitch #11”?

There are lovely close-up photos of each stitch. The lace stitches are placed on a plain white background, which makes it easy for you to see the details.

The fonts used in the book are easy to read.

The design work is outstanding, with many of the stitches being eye-catching and attractive.

Other Observations About This Book:

There are no stitch diagrams, so you have no choice but to plod through written instructions. On the bright side, the written instructions that I worked from are concise, clear and well done with no obvious mistakes.

Some of the stitches were worked in dark brown yarn. While there’s nothing wrong with dark brown yarn, it is notoriously challenging to see the details of crochet stitches when they’re made using dark-colored yarn. While I do think the photos in this book are workable as is, the dark brown samples don’t have quite the same level of clarity as the ones that were made using other yarn colors.

I’d rate the graphic design of this book as being “average” rather than “outstanding.” It’s fine, and workable, but there’s nothing particularly inspiring about it — unlike competing books such as Crochet Stitch Dictionary that are more visually appealing. On the bright side, this book’s graphic design is not overly trendy, and it is likely to still look acceptable ten years from now.

Things to Be Aware of Before You Buy This Book

This is not intended to be a book that teaches you how to crochet. The book doesn’t include any of the basic crochet stitches, or any of the introductory techniques that a new crocheter would need to learn. If that’s the type of book you need, this book is not a good choice for you.

If you already know how to crochet, I think you’ll appreciate the fact that this book doesn’t waste a ton of space on things you already know how to do. The result is a portable book that isn’t too heavy to go along with you when you head out the door to do errands, take kids/grandkids to a game, or whatever. It’s also a more affordable choice than many of the other stitch dictionaries available.

This is not a pattern book. It doesn’t include complete patterns for finished projects like sweaters and scarves and blankets. However, the book does include brief, helpful instructions explaining how to use these stitches to plan your own afghans. Once you understand how to do this, the sky’s the limit on the projects you will be able to create — and you won’t always be reliant on having other designers’ patterns to work from.

If you’re hoping to find crochet projects featuring post stitches, check out Crochet It Love It Wear It 13 Crochet Patterns With Post Stitches by the Crochet Dude. That’s a fantastic project book featuring amazingly wearable, textured fashions that are all made using crochet post stitches.

If you’re looking for a book of crochet cable patterns, this one might not be the best choice for you. While there are some cable patterns included, they aren’t the main focus of the book. You get more lacy stitches, shells and textured stitches than you do cables. If cables are what you want, scroll down to see some additional book recommendations.

Conclusion:

99 Crochet Post Stitches is an excellent crochet stitch dictionary, and I’m delighted to recommend it to other crafters. While it isn’t a perfect book, I think it is an exceptional value for its asking price.

Where to Buy This Book:

• Click here to shop for this book at Amazon.

More Crochet Stitch Dictionaries

If you’d like to take a look at our reviews of other similar books, we invite you to check out our list of best crochet stitch dictionaries.

Additional Books to Consider if You Want to Crochet Cables and Aran Designs:

Crochet Master Class — This book has 12 pages devoted to the technique of aran crochet; it also includes bunches of other techniques as well. There’s one cable crochet pattern in the book, and it is a spectacular one. It’s an experienced-level pattern for a ladies’ cable crossover sweater.

Noggins and Necks by Bonnie Barker — This book features finished patterns for five aran-style hat and scarf sets. It’s such a lovely book that we included it on our list of best hat pattern books.

Aran Afghans to Crochet by Bonnie Barker — These are all sampler-style afghans that will allow you to indulge your love of crochet texture stitches. There are cables, post stitches, popcorn and other sorts of stitches included in the designs.

Best of Interweave Crochet — While this is not specifically a book that’s just dedicated to crocheting cables and aran patterns, the few that are included in this book are really, truly outstanding ones. There are three all together.

One is the “Luna Sweater” by Kim Guzman that features faux cables. The design of this sweater is so clever that you have to look closely to determine whether it’s crochet, knitting or some other craft all together.

The second cable design in this book is the “Stone Path Hat” by Lisa Naskrent. It incorporates post stitches and popcorns to create a beautiful cabled hat that’s uniquely beautiful.

The third cable design in this book is one with an interesting Irish name: “Solas Caomh.” It is a richly textured called bay blanket with really detailed Celtic-style cable motifs. The design is by Jodi Euchner.

This book also includes one page of illustrated instructions for how to crochet post stitches.

Panel By Panel Afghans by Becky Stevens — This is an interesting combination of pattern book and crochet stitch dictionary. The first part of the book gives you instructions for crocheting 44 different panels. Then there are 4 different blanket patterns in the book. You can use the panels to design other customized blankets of your own. Some of the panels incorporate cables and post stitches; others are worked in Tunisian crochet.

Quick Comforts — This book doesn’t have a large number of cable crochet patterns, but the brilliant bolster pillow included in this book is one of the prettiest cable crochet designs I’ve ever seen. There’s also another textured pillow pattern that utilizes post stitches. The other designs in the book are crocheted using other techniques, so you get a variety of projects in this booklet.

So there you have it: our review of 99 Crochet Post Stitches plus a bunch more recommendations for similar crochet books. We hope you’ll find this information helpful when you shop for titles to add to your crochet library. Happy stitching!

By Amy Solovay

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This page was last updated on 10-4-2024.