A Delicious Book Review
Instagram is a great way to discover new things, from inspirational people to beautiful indie dyed colorways to different and exciting books! I find myself drawn to certain things when scrolling through my feed. At the top of that list are cute stuffed toys and sweet treats. Rachel Zain’s new book, Crochet Donut Buddies: 50 easy amigurumi patterns for collectible crochet toys, combines both of my weaknesses! As soon as I saw adorable crochet donuts flooding my feed, I knew I needed to obtain a copy of the book.
Along with this review, if you are interested in reading other book reviews, check out my review of Crochet Iconic Women and Edward’s Menagerie.
About the Book
Crochet Donut Buddies retails for $22.99 in the US. You can find it on Amazon or through the publishers David and Charles. Within the 128 pages there are 50 patterns captured with fun photography and filled with extra details that make the projects more interesting.
As soon as you open the book you are greeted with cute donut designs. All start with the same basic recipe that creates that fun donut look. The instructions are clear and well written, and there are photographs showing different steps as you go. I always appreciate when authors explain any special techniques or abbreviations used in the patterns, and this book does a great job at covering everything! In the back of the book there is a techniques sections that goes over basic stiches, increases, and decreases. Given the (semi-ridiculous) amount of amigurumi that I have done over the years, I was pleasantly surprised to learn a new stitch for an invisible decrease. It is something I will carry on to future projects!
Baking Up Some Cuteness
The first project that I made from the book was the turtle. The book recommends adding sprinkles and tiny flowers to the back of the shell. This added a lot of color and made the finished turtle adorable! It is these details that make the final projects feel really well finished. Second, I crocheted (after much deliberation, there are so many options!) the triceratops. Rachel recommends adding a white stitch on the outside of the eyes, and I have to say it really makes them pop and adds a twinkle of life to the dinosaur! It is a simple and genius addition.
After looking through all of the projects I can definitely picture putting together a coordinating playset. You can make a set of farm animals, sea creatures, or holiday designs. While none of the projects are too challenging, they are rates on a scale of one to five donuts difficulty.
The Icing On Top
In short, Crochet Donut Buddies is a really fun book with a lot of tempting projects! I like the versatility of the base pattern and the easy to understand directions in the book. Although many of the projects build on the same beginning patterns, the unique color patterns and details provided in the book help customize each donut. My goal is to whip up a bakers dozen of donut buddies!