lalylala's Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies: A Crochet Story of Tiny Creatures and Big Dreams

This is an excellent book. Lydia is an extremely talented crochet designer. Having already made 2 of her other amigurumi patterns (Kira & Dirk) I couldn't wait to buy this book. The patterns within are excellent, very easy to follow with very clear instructions. I completed one of Lydia's patterns as a new crocheter and when I was struggling a bit I contacted her via Facebook and she was very helpful allowing me to complete the pattern very successfully. If you are a fan of crochet amigurumi then buy this book, you will not regret it.

Bought this as a gift for my wife as she loves crochet. Thought it was just going to be a load of crochet patterns but I was delightfully mistaken. The patterns are for small dolls that go through the life cycle of little insects like butterflies, and lady birds. The doll starts off as a little grub or caterpillar that you can put inside its crochet cocoon and then hatch it and put on its wings. On top of this it is accompanied with a small story book so you can read through it with the dolls with your children. A fantastic surprise and if you know anyone that loves crochet I would recommend this as a gift.

Absolutely beautiful book - my kids kept borrowing it to read the butterfly life cycle pages before the patterns. Basic creature patterns work fine - although the ribbing as written to attach the wings on stretched to being useless relatively rapidly and I've had to tweak that, but the pattern for the cocoon defeated me and I'm pretty experienced in amigurumi!

A beautiful book with truly delightful patterns for little bugs to crochet. These are cleverly designed so wings can be added and removed from the bugs adding to the play-ability of the toys. I also loved the little beds for the bugs and I am already planning to make several bugs for my niece. The instructions are easy to follow and suitable for beginners and more advanced crocheted. Highly recommended to all.

I had seen a few of these makes on social media and thought I would give it a go. There is an adorable story at the start that shows you all the different insects you can make and the order they come in, just in case you aren't sure. There are then some very helpful explanations about how they recommend completing ALL the stitches and techniques. This means that if you aren't sure if it is UK or US terms there are explanations and pictures for reference. Forgotten what BLO means? There is a picure to help you out. Never done a bobble stitch and the pattern calls for it, just skip back a few pages.There are a lot of over laps in each indivdual make, so you do have to read it carefully at first to realise. For example, the heads are all the same but then there are 3 different styles for the body, this is usually based on colours and how you create the different stripes. They also have recommended colours for each variation, but you can happily forget all of that and complete it in your own way.When attaching the different wings together there is a very helpful diagram in the explanation section, but it only shows you with 1 style. I found that it was helpful, but with some of the different wings you need to use your own judgement a little more.I love this book and have had many orders from friends and family after seeing the first make. My Mother In Law even ordered it for herself.