200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets Throws and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix-and-Match

200 Crochet Blocks is a good book, but a not so good collection of patterns.I have owned and enjoyed the companion book, 200 Ripple Stich Patterns, by the same author, and it is excellent. I was excited to find 200 Blocks, but have been somewhat disappointed. The book is a collection of individual crochet block patterns, suggested pairings of those blocks, and directions on how to use the patterns to assemble custom projects. The patterns themselves are sound and following the pattern will indeed produce the desired block. However, most of them are blocks I would never care to make. There are quite a few that are basically just swatches, and some of them look dated to me. Out of the 200 patterns, I will probably only ever use 5. I can find dozens of block patterns that I like with a simple google search.If you’re going to buy one crochet pattern book you should buy 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns and skip this one.

I've owned this book for several years, and it's one of my most reliable pattern books for block afghans. Every block is EXACTLY the same size. This is the only block pattern book I own (and I own several) where the corners match perfectly every time. I can make any combination of blocks from this book with confidence.I gave 4 stars because (a) the "200 blocks" portion of the title is misleading--it's not 200 different blocks but rather ~50 different blocks with multiple colorways, and (b) I've found errors in some of the patterns. Even so, a book with 50 different blocks is still more than adequate, and most of my pattern books contain an error or two.Some commenters have mentioned that they were hoping for a book with a greater number of complete afghan patterns, but I really enjoy the fact that the author gives suggestions for me to create my own design and expects that I will create a truly unique piece.

There needs to be a disclaimer in the description for this book that it is NOT a companion to the original 200 Crochet Blocks.It is the same blocks but different cover and written with UK terminology.

Written very oddly... i am advanced crocheter and .. this is impossible to follow!!!! Good thing I can wing it with just looking at photos. DO NOT BUY!!

This is a beautiful and unusual book. It offers about 127 different block patterns, some worked in rows, others worked in rounds, plus a wealth of suggestions about how to combine these block patterns into larger pieces (afghans, shawls, etc.) with a very modern, "non-granny" style. It has heightened my sense of what Eaton calls "color ways," combinations of colors within a block and combos of blocks in a larger piece. She offers 12 complete afghan patterns, but the real value of the book lies in its usefulness to a crocheter who wants to imagine and create unique and personal pieces of work. A different and wonderful addition to my crochet library! (I subtracted one star because of the various errors in the instructions, pointed out by other reviewers, which need to be corrected by looking up the publishers website.)

The reason that I gave this book four stars instead of a much lower rating is that so far, all my blocks have turned out exactly the same size, and I do mean exactly. They are not precisely square, but that just means that I must orient them all the same direction when joining them for my finished piece (which is large, and I will probably complete most of the blocks worth doing in the process). This is true even though I have not used the same yarn, but very similar yarn, for the different blocks. The other thing I like is that there are a nice variety of blocks, including many very lovely ones, whether you like flowers, texture, lace-like patterns (sturdy enough for an afghan, not the fragile, complicated lace designs), bobbles, or granny squares.Now for the bad: Interweave Press is very good about posting corrections to patterns on their website and keeping them there long enough so that you can still access them if the book is old, but they only do it when someone points out an error, and that means that someone who is experienced has to do every block. Stitch diagrams or stitch counts would have helped a great deal with this.Also, as someone else pointed out, for many of the blocks they give four color schemes and count those as four different patterns. That is really stretching it, since apparently I have invented a host of new blocks, as I used my own color scheme. Just as bad is the number of blocks that are just single crochet all the way, but they have a row or two in a different color. Change the number of rows that are a different color, or change their position within the block (near the bottom instead of near the top), and they count each of those as new patterns. (They do the same thing with bobbles.) A better book would be one with just 50 patterns, each with diagrams and stitch counts, and checked for accuracy, and if all blocks were designed to be the same size, it would be a classic for all time. (And they should show as many of those blocks as possible on the front cover, as their cover choice has little eye appeal.)

I LOVE this book. They have a wide assortment of different types of Granny squares which are all 6 inch in size so you can mix and match at will. They have guides for helping you choose different color combos and help with choosing styles that go well together. I am about to start my first blanke5 and I will let you on9w how it goes. Definitely a good buy!

I have hugely enjoyed this book. I first found out about it when watching Bella Coco crochet on YouTube- she did some really clear tutorials using patterns from this book. I used it to make a patchwork of whatever I felt like making that day!(see photo). All the squares come out the same size and I am planning to use a couple of my favourites for my next project.

Crochet blocks, squares, triangles and hexagons. From Easy, Intermediate and the more complicated although none that can't be mastered. Although it states 200 blocks there are less than that as some are the same but in different colour ways. A beautiful book that can be dipped into and something can be found to be made. It's also pleasing that there are blocks to make and not only just the usual "grannies" . Also a lovely book to use up yarns from your stash and if you are a crocheter you WILL have a stash! I would have given the extra star but for the little exaggeration of 200 blocks!

Great book. There are suggestions for blanket layouts & mix and match squares. Instructions are clear and each square is ranked by difficulty. Great book for any crocheter

Some great ideas, as other people have put in their reviews a lot of the squares are repeated just in different colours but still a lot, I'm fairly new to crochet, . Only started earlier this year and it's great for me, easy to follow with lots of great ideas, also it's written in uk terms so I don't have to try and convert it which as I said being new to crochet would just be something else to slow me down at the moment, lots of ideas for Christmas patterns to and ideas for me for making gifts etc.

I only recently took up crocheting, so this is exactly what I wanted. The instructions are clear, although I've taken a star away from perfection as some of the photos aren't best at showing detail (due to being too light or dark, or not contrasting enough to see the detail). My favorite so far is definitely willow (#189). Some useful ideas at the start for afghan blankets and how to mix the squares. The end has some crochet basics, which I found useful as I still can't get my head around stitches being very different depending on US/UK pattern (such as dc), so useful to have a guide as to which method to use for the patterns. Some basic edging patterns, too. Overall, a useful book to have.It is a bit cheeky to change the colour scheme and call it different, so there are actually get 125 different blocks.