I'm absolutely thrilled to have had the opportunity to review this fantastic book! Drew's patterns are nothing short of remarkable, and the book covers many beginner-friendly topics in detail. From introducing the different types of yarn and tools required to start crocheting to explaining the basics of reading a crochet pattern, this book has it all. The clear and concise explanations make it easy for even the most novice crocheter to get started on their journey. Furthermore, the patterns included in the book are simply breathtaking. Drew's attention to detail and creativity are evident in each piece, and it's evident that he put his heart and soul into this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning new patterns and techniques, whether you're a seasoned crocheter or just starting out. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to take their crochet skills to the next level!

Absolutely adorable! I love the patterns. It’s great that it goes through the basics of crochet so that even if you have no idea or experience with crochet you can still make cutle little creatures! My friends will get little guys from now on, and I will probably lame a giant kraken for myself…

This is my review of Crochet Magical Creatures by Drew Hill. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy via NetGalley.

I learned to crochet years ago through tutorials on the internet. It was mostly a side-side hobby that didn’t get practice for long periods of times, and then I’ll get my muse back until it faded, and so on the cycled repeated. When the recent pandemic, I picked up my crochet again with new inspiration: Amigurumi. I improved time folds compared to my preview skills set.
But at the time of the beginning of my journey, I would have loved an extensive and encompassing guide suitable for beginners, to help me be a bit less intimidated. I admit, visual help, such as video recordings of techniques, are in my opinion, crucial to pick up this skill quickly. This could be a replacement for some, with enough reading comprehension and perseverance. But for me, this guide could be a wonderful companion alongside video recordings.

In particular, the introduction is great for a beginner, getting you started with tools and materials, and especially, the Crochet Hook Sizes chart. I’m a nerd when it comes to technical information, and I appreciate this very much, even as an advanced crocheter.
More helpful information in the guide is about reading a pattern, and crochet terms specific to Amigurumi, and how their name differs in the US compared to the UK. This guide provides the US terminology, which I am personally more familiar with. The glossary is a good summary. More is explained about what a is round, how to read repeat instructions, decorations, changing yarn color, placement, stuffing, fastening up, sizing and more.
The graphic depictions of techniques, especially basic ones- are done very well. I really wish I’d had this a few years back. It certainly would have saved me time and frustration. Who’d have known how advanced I could have been right now?
Such terms with helpful graphics are: ‘magic ring’ (a term very suitable to the theme of this guidebook), simple chain, single/half double/double crochet stitch, back and front loop only stiches, picot (which I don’t personally like to use, because of my tight tension), increase, invisible decrease, and whipstitch. And how can we forget the infamous (in a good way) Popcorn Stitch, so famous in Amigurumi patterns? Its graphic tutorial is even better than most video tutorials I’ve watched to learn this stitch.

And after, we get to the magical patterns section. The patterns are very appealing to my personal taste and current trends. The fact that there aren’t as many of them could be seen as too little for some, but to me this seems very achievable, and realistic for a novice crocheter.
The formatting of the patterns is good, easy and understandable, keeping to the unofficial standard (that I notice only when trying to figure out a poorly written pattern). The hyperlinks referring back to previous covered stitches, that are detailed in the beginning of every patter, is absolutely genius.

The theme of Magic leaning into Fantasy is cute, especially since crochet is a sort of craft magic. My personal favorite patters in this guidebook are: Cosmo the Caticorn, Leonard the Dandy-Lion, Toshiko the Kitsune, Gus the Enchanted Mushroom, Nessie the Loch Ness Monster and Joaquin the Phoenix. But all patterns are adorable. I’m sure to give them a try soon!
A suggestion for improvement is to provide patter measurements also in cm, not only in inches.
My tip for beginners: your creations might take a while to get done, and they won’t necessarily look exactly like the promised picture. But don’t give up! It takes practice and perseverance, the journey is a part of the fun, alongside the final product. Good luck!
Overall, I’ll recommend this for beginner crocheters and those looking to pick up the craft. This could also make a good gift.

Loved this!!

We will update the review with the link to on our blog as soon as we are able.

I'd like to thank the publisher Callisto Media, Rockridge Press and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review

This was an interesting book to look at. It had crochet patterns of different types of small animals with. The instructions were easy to follow and put together. They even had a glossary if you did understand a term of crochet instructions. They had pictures of all the small animals within that you could make.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

This is a fun book for making crocheted magical creatures. Beautiful photos and patterns! Instructions are pretty clear. Good for beginners and intermediate alike!

I enjoyed reading Crochet Magical Creatures by Drew Hill. The photos of the projects were adorable and the patterns easy to follow. Happy Reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

There are some absolutely brilliant patterns in here which I can see myself making time and time again.

I am an avid crocheter and this book was great! I loved all the patterns and pictures. I would love to see any other books this company makes!

This was a solid crochet book! I liked that the intro had the tools you'd need, how to put together a set of those tools, and even the conversions. As someone who is frequently confused by the UK vs. US versions of hooks and terms, this was super handy. I made a few of these critters for friends this Christmas and they all came out really fantastically. The instructions were clear and the projects were fun.

Crochet Magical Creatures: 20 Easy Amigurumi Patterns by Drew Hill is an instructional book for readers of any age that want to try their hand at making magical creatures out of yarn and fluff. Learn about amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed toys, and use it to make a collection of cute, magical creatures. Easy patterns for critters like griffins and caticorns are simple enough for beginners while also offering plenty of fun for experienced enthusiasts. The book includes information on building your tool kit, clear step-by-step instructions to review essential crochet techniques, including the magic ring and single and double crochet, as well as fun stitches like the picot, and easy crochet patterns. Make dazzling dragons, marvelous mermaids, and more, with 20 simple amigurumi patterns that will have you crocheting with confidence.

Crochet Magical Creatures: 20 Easy Amigurumi Patterns is a solid instructional guide and well organized. I do like that the book includes a basic crochet refresher, because if you have put down your hook for awhile sometimes a refresher is good, and it is great instruction for newer crafters that might not know all of the terms and techniques yet. It also helps to clarify the stitches, because anyone that has studied crochet patterns from other countries might have discovered that even the basics like double and half double can mean different things in different countries. I learned that the hard way. I thought the patterns and instructions were all well worded and easy to follow. I also thought that the collection of creatures was nicely varied and there were some that were new to me. This is a fun and well done book on the topic for those getting started in amigurumi. For many crafters I think this will be a resource to borrow from the library or share with friends rather than a permanent addition to a personal library, but it is still very well done.

This book is fantastic! Featuring patterns for 20 magical creatures anyone would love.

This book has full colour photos and simple to read patterns. I feel like an advanced beginner would be able to make all of these, but even more experienced crocheters would get a lot of joy from these fun characters. I’m pretty sure Gus the Enchanted Mushroom and the Dandy-Lion are my two favourites.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Amigurumi is my favorite thing to crochet. I follow Drew on Instagram and love his creations. His book did not disappoint. All of the designs are adorable and great for crocheters at various skill levels!

If you’re new to crocheting and want to learn how to make amigurumi, this is an excellent pattern book for you! From start to finish, there’s an excellent amount of information that’s great for those either new to crocheting or new to amigurumi without being overwhelming. The opening has instructions for every technique one will need along with some techniques that aren’t a must, but just make life easier. One of those techniques is the magic ring. I’ve been crocheting for well over a decade and when I learned about the magic ring, I am not even exaggerating when I say it was life changing. It makes every project that’s worked in the round start up like a dream.

In addition to being a great instruction manual, there’s also 20 adorable and easy patterns that’s perfect for anyone getting started out. The instructions are easy to read, easy to follow, and have all the information provided to make the projects go as smoothly as possible. I think that this is a great book for people new to the craft and just folks who are looking for more amigurumi patterns.

fun and easy. Everything came out so freakin cute. I am an experienced crocheter but I gave this to my cousin as well who is a newbie and they were able to pick it up and complete the projects with no issues. I love these patterns and how easy it would be to change them up just slightly to make something totally different.

I am an avid crocheter and have looked through many crochet books. This one has solid instructions and diagrams, but I found that I wasn't super interested in any of the patterns. A lot of them are pretty darn cute, but I feel as a more advanced crocheter, I probably wouldn't make any of these. If you are interested in amigurumi and making cute little friends, I would recommend!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Callisto Media for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Super cute designs!

A great collection of fun, magical themed, crochet projects. While it does include common creatures such as dragons and mermaids, it also includes quite a few unique creatures that I haven't seen patterns for before, such as the kitsune, hippocampus and jackalope. The range of difficulty in the available projects is great, and the patterns are clearly set out and written. I particularly like the detailed descriptions for assembling each project. And the overview of techniques and helpful tips at the start was really well written and explained, with some of the best visual representations of crochet I've seen (I'm not sure but I think the colouring they used in the images was the magic thing?).
I am particularly excited to try making the dragon, the garden fairy, the dandy-lion, and the griffin (his name is Percival!).

I totally loved this book about amigurumi the creatures are not all too complicated, and it would make a great start in learning this skill. The book is divided into two parts. Part one explains what you need to start making these projects and part two are the patterns. There are full color pictures throughout the book. The creatures are so cute and the instructions are well laid out. You should already have a working knowledge of the basics of crochet before you start. But you do not have to be an expert. There is a glossary in the back of the book to help you as well. The hard part trying to figure which one I want to make first.

Crochet Magical Creatures was a fun book of different crochet patterns. There were tutorials for each stitch you'd be using and I felt like all of the information was really easy to understand. These patterns each worked up really quickly for me.

I do wish that there had been more photos of the creations, so the maker could see more angles, but otherwise the book was great and the amigurumi creatures turned out really cute! My favorite was Gus the Enchanted Mushroom!

Thanks so much to Callisto Media, Rockridge Press, NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.