Super-Super Cute Crochet

Super-Super Cute Crochet

You may never have realized that you needed a star-nosed mole in your life until you see Brigitte Read's crochet version, and then you understand that this is what you've always lacked.  Or could that nebulous craving be met instead by a duck-billed platypus, or perhaps an African land-snail?

Brigitte's fine debut  book, "Super-Super Cute Crochet" also has a pink-nosed cow, a panda, an owl, a colorfully beaked toucan, anteater, whale, tortoise, flamingo, shrimp, squid, walrus, pig, bluebird  -- are you getting the picture? There are a lot of unusual animals in this book!  It's a truly remarkable display of crochet zoology by this Scottish fiber artist, clearly motivated by her love for the critters she recreates.  Here is part of a typical introduction to an animal:  

African land snails have developed a bad reputation because of their tremendous appetite.  If you get a group together they can demolish entire crops in less than a day. . . If you choose to make one, be sure you keep a close eye on him so he doesn't break loose and start munching on all the plants in your home.

The creatures are as huggable and sweet as the title implies, fanciful and childlike, and many are real sculptural marvels, like the flamingo poised on one leg, the toothy walrus and the lifelike, though oversized, shrimp.  The photos are delightful, with the crochet cuties placed in "natural" settings created from small bits of plants, rocks, twigs, shells, and pebbles. 

I wonder about whether the instructions go into sufficient depth for a novice to amigurumi, as there is no information about hook tension, materials, or how to stuff the pieces.  Those with more experience with amigurumi will do fine, and once you've studied Brigitte's construction methods, you may even want to create your own animal kingdom.

Dora Ohrenstein