The Crochet Dude's Little Books Collection!

Me & Drew Back Stage at Knitty Gritty

Drew Emborsky’s new collection of crochet booklets are available now! The patterns are great, they’re easy to find at craft stores and at $3.95 each, you can’t beat the price! Check out my conversation with The Crochet Dude himself, and just a few of my favorite projects from the series!

Q&A with Drew:

VH: What made you decide to write a series of booklets rather than one, larger crochet book?

DE:When Leisure Arts approached me about doing a line of patterns under the brand The Crochet Dude I saw right away that a series of little books would be the perfect format. I love the concept of having a book with 8 or 10 really fantastic designs focused on one subject that you can just pop into your craft bag and go. This is also a great size for distribution on a national level since they can be hung right next to the yarns that are used making it a snap for the crocheter to put together the supplies. And at $3.95 retail you can’t beat the price either!

VH: What type of yarn do you recommend for people making handbags that will assumably get a lot of wear?

DE: For handbags, which are by far my favorite things to design, I recommend a fiber that is going to be able to handle the wear and tear of use. That’s the great part of crafting your own handbag because the investment is just a few skeins of yarn (and a really cool book of designs, ahem) and you have a runway-worthy purse to carry around and make all your friends jealous. I’m just saying is all. And another consideration is that the yarn needs to be able to hold it’s shape so a yarn that isn’t too thin works best. I used Lion Brands Vanna’s Choice in Must Have Handbags because it’s nice and strong and the color selection is just amazing. They did a great job designing that line of yarns.

VH: If you had to pick only one accessory–for body, home or pet– to crochet, what would it be?

DE: I would definitely choose dishcloths to crochet. You can choose colors that compliment your kitchen and it looks so much nicer to have a beautiful dishcloth hanging in your sink than a silly old sponge. Plus, they work up super quick-like making them perfect hostess gifts. I recently whipped up a set for a friend that moved into a new apartment and she loved how cute her kitchen instantly looked (despite all the boxes that needed to be unpacked).

VH: What’s your favorite crochet fashion trend for dudes?

DE: My favorite fashion trend for dudes has to be that they are moving into making sweaters for themselves now. For a long time all we were seeing was home decor from the guys, and then some accessories started to make their way onto the hooks, and now I’m seeing lots of guys that are making themselves sweaters. And the industry in general has really noticed and started to provide more and more great patterns for the men who crochet. I have been just blown away by the reception of my book, Designs for Guys which came out last December. I get emails all the time now from guys that are learning to crochet just so they can make stuff out of that book!

Flowers & Checks Pet Bed

from Sweet Pet Comforts