From the very beginning I've been very interested in Japanese amigurumi patterns and books. They seem more innovative and the overall quality of patterns seem to stand out.
I had been eyeing this particular book for awhile and decided to cave in and buy it even though the $15.29USD seemed a bit steep for me. I was also wary of the fact that it was in 100% Japanese and I had never tried following a Japanese style amigurumi pattern. Upon receiving the book I quickly discovered this wasn't a problem because there are very clear step by step pictures at the back showing what to do for each symbol. As long as you know the basics this book shouldn't be a problem at all and if you get stuck you can just quickly flip to the back to search up what a symbol means.
There are a total of 12 projects in the book, spreading out to around 20 patterns because of each individual fruit and colour combinations. There are also clear colour photos of each project so you know what you're going to make. A problem I think some people might encounter is not having the right yarn colour; certainly more than 10. I didn't have a problem with this because I tend to hoard yarn in any colour I can get my hands on...
The pattern details are very clear letting you know where each row starts and finishes. A few aspects I found nice about the patterns were that they let you know how many pieces of each pattern you needed to make for each project, provide a column showing how many stitches you need for each row as well as approximately how large in cms that your pattern should end up. I personally found it helpful to know katakana (english sounding Japanese characters) as it made it quicker for me to identify what I was making but it isn't necessary as each pattern is also coloured in the colour of yarn you're supposed to use and if needed you can look at the real photo for reference.
The only problem I ran across was what sized hook I was supposed to use, I'm sure it must state it somewhere in the book but because I can't read Japanese I wasn't sure as there were many different mm references throughout the book. I used a 2.5mm hook for all the the normal sized patterns and a 1.25mm hook for the smaller keychain sized patterns and everything turned out nicely sized. A 3.5mm hook also worked out for the taiyaki as I ended up snapping my 2.5mm hook so the patterns are versitile enough between hooks.
The book can be purchased online here:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sweets-Amigurumi-Japanese-Craft-Book-/360432988680?pt=US_Crocheting_Knitting_Patterns&hash=item53eb7af208
If you live in Japan then it only sells for 500yen which is equivalent to around $6 so rather cheap.
My verdict is if you are confident in your crochet basics then this book is a very nice purchase for your book collection. With patterns for pouches, keychains and containers it's not only super adorable but practicle as well so perfect for gifting as well.
I hope you give this book a look as it's well worth the money.
Happy Crafting ^^
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