This is a book review of Panel by Panel Afghans: 44 Mix and Match Crochet Panels by Becky Stevens.
TL;DR Summary: There’s a massive amount of useful information packed into this short, affordable crochet book called Panel-By-Panel Afghans. Its contents include blanket patterns, crochet stitch instructions, Tunisian crochet lessons and an introductory course in crochet blanket design. I highly recommend this book!
More of the Important Details You Need to Know About This Crochet Pattern Book:
Author: Becky Stevens
Publisher: Leisure Arts
Copyright Date:
ISBN 13: 978-1601404398
ISBN 10: 1601404395
Book Formats:
This book is available in the following formats:
Number of Pages: 56
Skill Level: The patterns in this book are rated as beginner-level, easy and intermediate-level patterns. This is book I would definitely recommend to beginners, but also to intermediate and more experienced crocheters, too.
The Focus of This Book:
There’s a massive amount of appeal packed into this short, 56-page booklet:
- You’ll get 3 patterns you can use for crocheting beautiful textured blankets and afghans. You can use these exactly as the author designed them, or you can customize them to make them the way you want them — or the way your blanket recipient would want them, if you choose to make any of these blankets as gifts.
- You’ll also get instructions for crocheting 44 different crochet stitches, which are organized into panels. The panels are designed to work together with each other, so you can mix and match them together as you like.
- Besides that, you get an easy and safe mini crash course in very basic-level introductory crochet blanket design.
- This book also offers you a very detailed and helpful crash course in how to do Tunisian crochet. If that technique is of interest to you, and you don’t want to invest in one of the more comprehensive references on the topic, this book offers you an affordable introduction to the technique.
This book offers you instructions for crocheting a selection of 44 different crochet stitch patterns, some of which are Tunisian crochet stitches and some of which are traditional, textured crochet stitches.
The author has taken each of these stitches and organized them into “panels” that can be used together.
When you design crochet projects, one of the major frustrations is that a lot of crochet stitch patterns don’t “play nicely” together.
So, the “panels” in this book solve that problem for you. They’re designed to work together, and the book’s author has already worked out all the messy math that would give you a headache if you were to try to take a bunch of different, random crochet stitches and throw them all together in the same project.
From the back cover of the book:
Add variety to your crochet with 44 exciting pattern stitches. Follow the easy instructions to re-create Becky Stevens’ three amazing sampler afghans, or choose stitch patterns to create your own original projects!
Topics Covered in This Book:
- Crochet blanket and afghan patterns, including one baby blanket pattern;
- Crochet instructions for beginners, including brief illustrated tutorials for all the basic crochet stitches.
- Instructions for crochet stitches, including popular stitches like the Star Stitch and Moss stitch.
- Instructions for working Tunisian crochet stitches; this book includes very detailed photo tutorials for Afghan stitch, Tunisian Single Crochet, Tunisian Knit Stitch and other interesting Tunisian crochet stitches;
- Instructions for working crocheted cable stitch patterns using post stitches;
- The Tunisian crochet technique and how to do it;
- And more.
Crochet Projects Included in This Book:
The Easy Stitches Baby Afghan Pattern
This is the ultimate, customizable baby blanket pattern.
All the Basics Afghan Pattern
If you’re a beginner to crocheting, or you want an ultra easy project to kick back and relax with, this is a fantastic pattern to add to your pattern collection (or to use for starting your pattern collection.)
This blanket will provide you with instructions to use the easiest, basic beginning crochet stitches for creating a beautifully textured blanket.
If you’re a total beginner to crochet, and you have never made a crochet project before, there is one possible bugaboo that could trip you up with this project. And that is, it can be a challenge for beginners to figure out how to hold the work and get a piece like this started.
This could potentially be an issue with any crochet project worked in rows rather than rounds; it isn’t unique to this project.
To solve that, I recommend asking a friend who knows how to crochet to help you get started with the first couple of rows on the first afghan panel you attempt to crochet. If your friend can work the first couple of rows for you, that will give you a piece that is sizable enough to easily hold onto — which will make a big difference in helping you succeed with this project.
After you figure out how to hold the work as it grows, it’ll be a lot easier for you to get your projects started on your own.
If you don’t have anyone who can help you, but you are determined to try this anyway, I’m positive you can succeed with it. Your mindset makes a big difference. You’ll have to be forgiving of your own mistakes, and it is a given that you will make some; nobody crochets perfectly at first.
If you don’t have anyone who can help you, and you question your own ability to persist even if you encounter challenges with it, I would suggest that you start with a different book than this one.
In that case, there are a few other books I’d recommend in addition to, or instead of this one:
- You could try working from a book like Quick Comforts, which uses thicker, heftier yarns, that are much easier to see and to hold onto. This makes it less likely that you will get frustrated and give up before you manage to complete the first row of your project.
I’d recommend starting with the “Peekaboo pillow” or the ripple afghan from that book. - Or, you could start with a granny square (or granny hexagon) blanket made up of square or hexagonal motifs that are worked in rounds rather than rows. You can find suitable granny square afghan patterns in many books; for example, there are some in Color-Block Baby Blankets. Try the “Mitered Square Blanket” or the “Starburst Motifs” blanket for starters. The Scrappy Afghans pattern book also has some appealing granny square designs you might like to try.
Granny square projects are generally easier to hold onto in the beginning than projects worked in rows, and with a granny square, it doesn’t matter so much if you accidentally twist your starting chain.
But if you’ve figured out how to hold your work and start a project on your own, this project offers you a fantastic beginner-level project to tackle next — and with all the different textures it includes, it is quite lovely.
Fisherman & Tunisian Crochet Sampler Afghan Pattern
This is the exquisite aran-style textured afghan pictured on the front cover of the book.
This Book Can Serve as a Crochet Stitch Dictionary:
This book isn’t exactly intended to be a stitch dictionary, where the stitches could be used for any type of project. The panels are specifically created for the purpose of becoming panels in blankets and afghans, and they don’t necessarily easily lend themselves to being used in smaller projects.
But, the author included the stitch multiples for each of the more complex crochet stitch patterns in the book — so if you understand how to use stitch multiples, you can adapt these stitches to be used in other types of projects besides blankets and afghans.
So I’ve essentially been using this book as a stitch dictionary, even though this is not its most straightforward use. I’ve been using the stitches in all kinds of things other than blankets — in particular, I’ve been making fingerless gloves and dishcloths with these stitches.
And other experienced crocheters could likely use this book in the same way.
The Best Things About This Book
This book has broad appeal, and I think it could be useful to every crocheter who has a need for blanket patterns.
I’ve worked multiple crochet stitch patterns from this book, and I found the instructions clear and easy to follow.
There is a surprising amount of variety packed into this short book — enough that you could crochet dozens of blankets from it and not get bored with your experience.
Things to Be Aware of Before You Buy This Book
Some of the stitches included in this book are very basic; if you’ve been crocheting for awhile, you will already be familiar with some of them.
At least 7 pages of this book are devoted to presenting basic, introductory crochet stitches and techniques. If you’re a beginner to crochet, or you’re brushing up after taking a long hiatus from crochet, you’ll surely appreciate this — but if you’re an expert crocheter already, and you don’t need to rehash the basics, you should be aware of this in case it would cause you disappointment or annoyance that so many pages in a 56-page book are devoted to the basics. Personally, I still find this book very valuable as an advanced crocheter, but your mileage may vary.
As I mentioned above, this book is easily usable as a stitch dictionary once you understand the concept of how to work with stitch multiples, i.e. This is a “multiple of ____ stitches.”
Stevens does include a section on understanding stitch multiples; this concept isn’t explained in the amount of detail that I would have liked to see, but if you can figure it out, it will make the book infinitely more valuable to you.
This isn’t a newly published book (it was released in 2010), but overall, it has aged well. The graphic design of the book is classic enough that it remains usable in 2026.
You really shouldn’t judge this book by its front cover. I secretly thought the book’s cover looked dated and underwhelming even in 2010 when the book was brand new, but that’s because they styled it with colors and home furnishings reminiscent of the 1970s. Perhaps this look will resonate with people who lived through the 1970s (Boomers and Gen Xers, I’m looking at you –although I’m a Gen Xer, too, and I feel strongly that a lot of 1970s design was atrocious. But I’m aware how not everyone shares that opinion.)
But if you focus on looking JUST at that lovely afghan presented on the front cover, and you ignore the other dated-looking accessories surrounding it, perhaps it’ll dawn on you that the afghan itself is not only a timeless classic; but that it’s right on-trend for home decorating in 2026. Even the light aqua yarn color is on-trend for 2026 (although that exact yarn color has been discontinued, so you’ll need to use something else if you crochet that blanket.)
I don’t honestly love the font Leisure Arts’ editorial team chose for the book’s minor section headers; it’s a fancy calligraphy font that is pretty but slightly distracting.
However, the majority of the book’s text is written in a classic font that’s readable and usable.
You don’t need to use the yarns originally suggested in these patterns; the editorial team at Leisure Arts has designed this book in a way that makes it easy for you to substitute yarns, and they’ve given you all the info you’d need to do so. I bring this up because some of the yarns originally used to make these blankets have been discontinued.
This book is reasonably affordable, especially as compared against more in-depth crochet stitch dictionaries.
Conclusion
I’m delighted to recommend this book to other crochet enthusiasts, particularly to beginning crocheters, aspiring crochet pattern designers, and crocheters who are interested in crocheting interesting afghan and blanket designs.
I also think the book is a excellent investment for crocheters who are specifically interested in learning how to do Tunisian crochet or make Tunisian crochet projects.
However, there are better Tunisian crochet books than this one. So if Tunisian crochet is your primary reason for being interested in this book, you might want to look through this list of my top picks for the best Tunisian crochet pattern books before you make a decision about whether this is the book that would best meet your needs.
From my point of view as a crochet pattern designer, this book is one of the most-used references in my pattern library. I think it’s absolutely worth its cover price, many times over, just because it’s a huge time saver, having a ready-made library of panels that work well together.
If designing your own projects is one of your goals, this book will likely become very valuable to you. It’s one of the mainstays in my crochet reference library.
But if crochet pattern design isn’t a high priority in your life, this is really just another blanket pattern book. And if that’s your situation, this book might be exactly what you want — but it’s also possible that other books might meet your needs better than this one does. If you want to look around at other options, I invite you to read on to the end of this page to find suggestions for other books you might want to consider instead of, or in addition, to this book.
Where to Buy This Book:
- Click here to shop for the paperback edition of this book at the publisher’s website.
- Click here to download the digital PDF edition of this book at the publisher’s website.
- Click here to shop for this book at Biblio.
Thanks for checking out this book review of Crochet Panel-By-Panel Afghans. I appreciate your interest!
You’re Invited to Stay Awhile, and to Come Back Again Soon!
If you love crochet, and you’re interested in building both your crochet skills and your crochet pattern library, I invite you to become a regular reader of this website. I don’t want you to miss out on seeing the latest crochet project ideas, pattern book reviews, and crochet stitch tutorials I’ll be posting. You can make sure you don’t lose track of this site by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack.
Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!
By Amy Solovay
Please Visit My Ko-Fi Shop HERE to Find My Sample Sale, Destash Sale and Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.
About Your Book Reviewer:
Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds an Associate of Arts degree in Textile Design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College. She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.
Amy learned to crochet as a small child, and she still enjoys crocheting all these years later.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles. Nowadays she uses online platforms for sharing her knowledge about textiles, crafts, current color trends and current design trends.
Craft Supplies That Complement the Panel by Panel Afghans Crochet Pattern Book
- If you’re new to crochet, perhaps you’ll need new crochet hooks to complete the patterns in this book or others. I recommend trying the Susan Bates Bamboo Handle crochet hooks (pictured at the top of this page) or the Clover Soft Touch crochet hooks (pictured above.) You can find more information in my detailed crochet hook product reviews.
- I’m not a fan of the synthetic yarns Stevens recommends in Panel-By-Panel Afghans, because they are toxic and environmentally disastrous. I suggest substituting lovely wool yarn such as Cascade 220 or Wool of the Andes in the adult-sized blankets that use medium-weight yarn.
- I recommend using a discbound planner to plan out your craft projects (and the rest of your life, too, while you’re at it.) You can find my favorite planner recommendation HERE.
More Crochet Pattern Books You Might Enjoy
This book is included on this list of the best crochet books for beginners and this list of the best crochet blanket pattern books. If Panel-By-Panel Afghans isn’t quite what you’re looking for, I invite you to check out these lists to find more options for other titles that might meet your needs better.
See Also:
Find More Outstanding Craft Books:
- Best Crochet Womenswear Pattern Books
- Best Crochet Edging Pattern Books
- Best Baby Knitting Pattern Books
Learn More Interesting Crochet Techniques:
This page was last updated on 1-2-2026.
