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Bella Coco's Stitch Library Deck - A Review

bramblesandhart
4 days ago
6 min read

(This post may contain affiliate links)

This is my own review of the Bella Coco's Crochet Stitch Library Book and the Bella Coco's Crochet Stitch Card Deck. I bought both of these with my own money from Amazon, this review is entirely my own opinion.

I have been crocheting for almost 8 years now and I have never owned a crochet stitch book before. I kind of can't believe that! I've always wanted one but whenever I've looked at ones previously they've either not had a varied enough selection of stitches to warrant me buying the book, they've been written in UK terms which I don't tend to use or the instructions haven't been very clear.

Recently, I've been feeling a bit stuck-in-a-rut when it comes to my crochet and pattern designing. I've been wanting to try new stitches but kind of drawing a blank when it comes to anything more adventurous that the bobble stitch!

Of course, the internet is full of stitch tutorials in both written and video format but I found that you kind of have to know what you're looking for in order to find them. Getting random inspiration was harder than it should have been!

I then saw a TikTok video of a creator sharing some crochet related gifts they'd received for their birthday which included a set of Bella Coco's Crochet Stitch Card Deck. As someone who loves an Oracle Card I was intrigued to see crochet stitches being presented in such a way and like a lot of people I used Bella Coco's YouTube tutorials when I was first learning to crochet so I had high hopes for this product.

The Card Deck vs. The Book

When I searched for the card deck on Amazon the book also came up so of course I decided to order both and see which one I liked best.

Skip ahead to comparison table and overall thoughts

Bella Coco's Crochet Stitch Card Deck

The card deck is beautifully presented, the storage box is nice and sturdy and the quality of the cards themselves seems really good. There is an accompanying booklet inside the box that gives you some information to help you with using the deck, a recap of the basic stitches (SC, HDC, DC, TR, DTR) and a glossary of the abbreviations used throughout (US terms).

There are two 'Extra Information' cards, one that explains how to use the deck and the other provides stitch conversions from US Terms to UK Terms as well as all the different hook sizes from 2mm to 12mm.

I was slightly disappointed that these 2 cards counted towards the '52' meaning that there are in fact 50 individual stitch cards.

The cards are split into two sections the blue cards are 'Simple Stitch Combinations" and include things like the ripple stitch, moss stitch and suzette stitch.

Then the yellow cards are 'Textured Stitches' and include things such as the basketweave stitch, almond ridges and a personal favourite, the even moss stitch.

Each card is double sided. On one side you have the name of the stitch, a photograph showing a swatch, a skill level and the basic information you need for that stitch e.g. the mutlipes needed.

On the back of the card there are full written instructions for that particular stitch/ stitch pattern.

My thoughts:

As I said I was a little disappointed that there were 50 rather than 52 stitch cards as the information cards counted but overall I was really really impressed with the deck.

The quality of the cards themselves is great, they feel like they could withstand a lot of looking through and usage. Having them in a sturdy little storage box makes them easily portable so they could come with me when I go away or on road trips which is super handy.

The photographs of the stitches themselves are beautiful, really clear and with great stitch definition so you get a good sense of how the stitch will look worked up.

There is a fantastic selection of stitches included in the deck, some stitches were completely new to me and I've been crocheting for a long time now!

Shuffling through the deck and picking out cards at random to see what stitch I would get was a lot of fun and I think they will be a great source of inspiration for future crochet projects and designs.

If you are not familiar with reading written instructions for crochet then I do think that you would need to practice this skill a little before using the cards or be really confident with your basic stitches as there is no additional support alongside the instructions e.g. photos. Of course, this is to keep the cards small and concise.

If you can read a written pattern then I don't think you would have any problems at all and if you did need extra help then I'm sure you could find a YouTube video for the particular stitch that you like, maybe even by Sarah-Jane (Bella Coco) herself.

Bella Coco's Crochet Stitch Library (Book)

As with the card deck the book looks and feels fantastic quality. It contains a grand total of 75 different stitches, so an extra 20 compared to the card deck (if you don't include the 5 basic stitches).

There are also 25 'motifs' including granny squares, solid granny squares, solid half hexagon and a block stitch square, 5 different border tutorials and even a few projects for you to try.

As with the card deck the stitches are split up into different sections including basic stitches, simple stitch combinations, textured stitches, squares and shapes and borders and edges.

At the beginning of the book there is a detailed information section that covers tools, yarn weights, fibres, gauge, basic crochet techniques such as making a magic ring and even stitch anatomy, all with photographic support.

For a beginner this section would be invaluable, even for an experienced crocheter it's nice to be able to refer to something like this.

My Thoughts:

What I love about the Stitch Library is how the contents section is laid out. There is a photo of each stitch with it's colour coded bar so that you know what type of stitch it is and then there is also a difficulty rating using crochet hooks (1 - beginner, 2 - intermediate, 3 - advanced) for each one. I just think it's so clever and really user friendly. You don't need to flick through the entire book searching for a stitch, you can see it in the contents. Great if like me you often remember what a stitch looks like but not what it's called!

There are so many stitches and motifs included within this book that it would be a great source of reference and inspiration for any crocheter. Again, the photos are perfectly clear and show the stitch definition really well.

The written instructions are provided in both US and UK terms which is wonderful. As someone who prefers US terms I'm glad to see them being used but having both should suit just about everyone and will help people to better understand US and UK terms and see the differences between them. Being able to read and understand both is a skill I think everyone should have.

I think it's great how the colour names of the yarn used are included for each swatch however I couldn't see if it said what brand of yarn was being used. From the shade names though I am fairly certain that it's Paintbox Yarns!

Which One Is Best?

Honestly, I love them both and will be keeping them both!

The book does have a lot more contained within it; more stitches, the motifs and borders and also the education section at the beginning which would be especially good for those new to crochet.

The card deck would be well suited to people who travel a lot and want to take them along as they're nice and portable. They have the element of fun of being able to pick a card at random and try the stitch on the card, this would be great if, like me, you've been feeling stuck-in-a-rut or just want to challenge yourself to try new stitches. I also think they make great photo props, as someone who loves a flatlay for instagram that's a bonus point for me for sure!

	Crochet Stitch Card Deck	Crochet Stitch Library (Book)
Stitches Included	50	70 (+5 basic)
Variety of Stitches	Excellent	Excellent
Motifs Included	No	25
Terms Used	US Terms	US and UK Terms
Diagrams/Charts	No	Yes for some motifs
Portability	Excellent - sturdy storage box	Good - could get damaged
Price*	£13.29	£12.49