100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet: A collection of beautiful blooms for embellishing clothes, accessories, cushionsand throws

Even after reading the descriptions and ratings, I couldn't quite decide, so I purchased both "100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet" by Lesley Stanfield and "Crochet Bouquet" by Suzann Thompson. I far prefer "100 Flowers" and rated it 5 stars. I've rated "Crochet Bouquet" 3 stars. Here's why: To my eye, "100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet" has much prettier, more realistic flowers, as well as a wider variety. The organization was well thought out. The first section is a gallery of photographs of every flower, organized by color and type. The instructions section is divided into knit and crochet. The knit and crochet sections are then organized by complexity, from basic projects to more advanced. And the variety is great: There are plenty of really lovely (and realistic looking) flowers--also leaves and cute little items like pea pods and carrots. Every item looks really professional. The instructions appear clear and well written. I especially appreciate that the crochet instructions include text instructions as well as charted. By contrast, the flowers and projects in "Crochet Bouquet" look much more basic and, quite frankly, just not as attractive. Even comparing the most "basic" patterns in "100 Flowers" to those in "Crochet Bouquet", it was no contest--at least to my eye. Crochet Bouquet had some cute ideas for stamens, etc., but it's just not what I was looking for. I'll probably end up donating it to my public library.

I was thrilled to finally find a book that appears to be the ultimate source for both knit and crochet flower instructions. The book contains detailed colorful photos of each flower and easy to follow directions. There is also a great index by flower with small images so you can quickly select what you are looking for. This book even includes flowers I've never seen anywhere else, such as a lavender spray. I took this book to my knit and sew group and a couple of other ladies had to order the book because they also fell in love with it. This book will make a great gift for yourself or anyone that knits or crochets. Since most flower projects go fast, you get instant gratification. You should see the fantastic carrots hanging on an aqua tote bag. Who ever thought knit carrots could be stylish and so colorful.

This book is a pleasure to look at...clear colorful photos, and exceptional organization. First you look at page after page of beautiful flowers each with a clear number. You pick out one you like, go back through the book to find the corresponding number (easy to find). They run consecutively from 1 to 100 through the book. The knitted flowers and the crocheted are grouped separately, and those sections are divided into three for basic, intermediate and more advanced. This info is all noted at the top of the page. So you know in seconds whether that pretty flower is one you want to attempt. There is one improvement I would like to see, and I know it would cost more, but this is a book that I plan on keeping and using for years. If it were spiral bound, the pages could be opened up to lay flat while following directions. That would make it perfect!!!

I am giving this book four stars only because there are just 40 of the 100 patterns for knitting and I wish there were more. The variety is excellent -- even better if you are capable of knitting AND crocheting, which I am not! -- with attractive designs that make you want to grab your needles/hooks and get to work. There are a few suggestions for embellishing items in the back but mostly you are left to your own imagination on what to do with what you make. Everything is photographed very well and the instructions are fairly clear with the projects being split up into difficulty levels. There isn't much on knitting or crocheting how-to, so I would say this book isn't exactly for someone just learning to work with fiber. There was also one direction I noticed for some of the knit patterns that I feel is a bit unclear when they are having you do mulitiple stitches in one stitch, or I am assuming that is what they want as I haven't tried it yet. Aside from that, I would highly recommend this book to any knitter or crocheter but will say that just knitters might be a bit disappointed in not being able to do over half the designs. Or perhaps it will inspire those of us who can't to pick up some hooks and learn!

This book is a must have for any knitter looking for fun creative flowers and other stuff to knit. The patterns are well written and the pictures are very nice. I recommend this book to any knitter who is looking for a wide variety of flowers to knit. I bought this book because I can not crochet (even though there are some crochet patterns) but was looking for fun flowers ro knit. This book offers a wide range of flowers to knit as well and is worth every penny! 2 thumbs up!!

Wonderful collection of crochet flora and fauna patterns, with easy to follow instructions. Really very nice.

Beautiful book, lovely photographs and great layout. However looks are deceiving as once you actually start working with the flowers you realize the instructions suck. I have strong crochet skills and a basic knowledge of knitting and I can follow most crochet patterns. I found these difficult and annoying and I don't think a beginner would have an easy time. I would not recommend this book to a newbie, which is sad as just a few tweaks would have helped this book immensely. Newcomers should start with Thompson's book Crochet Bouquet. Both written and graphic instructions are poor. A simple arrow to show where to start the flower and numbering the rows would have helped. I've already penciled in additional instructions in many of the pages. I just want to crochet and I get annoyed when I find myself reading the written instructions then checking the graphic instructions back and forth over and over again...a sign of poor instructions. These are fairly simple projects, they need not be so complicated!!! Take the Centifolia Rose, page 69. It is difficult to crochet a second row (here row 2 was a fairly complex pattern) over 99 floppy chains!! I ended up adding an intermediate row of sc between row 1 and 2 of sc for the following reasons: 1. a sturdier base, 2. something to hold onto when crocheting and 3. something to sew the flower together when rolling it up. The graphic instructions have brackets below reading "repeat" but why couldn't the author type the number of repeats? How hard is that?! A simple arrow showing where the pattern starts and number of rows. How hard is that?! The oriental poppy's (page 100) is another example where the graphic instruction was unreadable. Once again just a simple arrow pointing to the beginning and numbering the rows would have helped immensely. A second graphic noting that there are 3 rows of petals underneath the top petals. You have to read the written instructions to understand the concept. I think that written and graphed instructions should each stand alone. Purchasing the following three books: this book, Stanfields' Butterfly book and Thompson's book, Crochet Bouquet will provide an excellent resource for making flowers. Stanfield assumes that you not only know how to crochet and knit but that you are a professional gardener. And you got to give Stanfield kudos for the meticulousness of her botanical creations...but we are not all gardeners. Maybe it's the fact that she is British? (not sure but that's where the book was published) I live in the US desert SW. I am unfamiliar with many of the flowers shown. Thompson on the other hand provides not only real flowers, but fantastical creations as well plus quite a few pages of helpful references, resources and tutorials. She also provides a description of the different parts of the flower and how to use different type of yarns and materials to match these parts. Less pretty pages and more instructions are needed in the next edition of this book. For example the Gerbera (page 93) looks like Chrysanthemum (p. 67), dahlia (p. 52) and Michalmas Daisy (p. 70) but in different colors....so just give us just one page with all these flowers and provide more detailed instructions!!... The same goes for crochet vs. knitting which many people complain about in previous reviews. The Dahlia p. 12 is the knitted version of the chrysanthemum p. 67. Crochet sunflower pg 96 vs. the knitted sunflower p. 63. Unbelievable none of these books provides a sample of a bouquet of flowers. Most of these flowers are just photographed flat on a white background. I've added a green cup (sepals?, see page 80) to the back of my roses and poppies, added a crochet covered stick and made a dainty bouquet for my mom who loves flowers. Uses for these flowers are mostly limited to slapping them on a hat or clothing.

I have been a knitter for a long time and am trying to learn to crochet. I needed some embellishments for a project and a friend recommended this book. (Thanks to my friend!!!) In addition to a huge selection of flowers, you can learn to create veggies and so many other embellishments. The carrots and peas, radishes and asparagus are just a few. In addition, there are butterflies and even a little bee! And as a bonus, these can be made with either crochet or knitting so you can use either method to make great embellishments for just about any project.