Cute to the power of cute
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts will have you saying domo arigato!
By Melissa Silvestri
Published: March 10th, 2008 | 4:50pm
Chronicle Books has put out a new series of craft books, entitled Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts, the Japanese word translating to “cute.” These four books - Lacy Crochet,Amigurumi,Fuzzy Felted Friends, and Wooly Embroidery - give simple and detailed instructions on embroidering felt slippers, crocheting mobile phone cases and little teddy bears, and whipping up a small ornament. These are how-to books that teach you to create anything out of wool and yarn to decorate your home and feel snug and warm amongst your own creations.
Fuzzy Felted Friends, by Saori Yamazaki, focuses on using raw wool fibers with a felting needle - “no knitting involved “- to create cute animals. The book is divided between the adorable animals and everyday items, like an grey elephant tea cozy , a teapot cover to keep the teapot warm while you enjoy your jasmine green tea, or a chubby mouse pincushion, “the wool preventing the needles from getting rusty due to its natural oils.” The book has beautiful illustrations of the creations being put to use around the house, and Yamazaki’s descriptions next to the photos give the book a great color and warmth.
Lacy Crochet gives directions for elegant accessories, the illustrations harking back to visiting Grandma’s house and admiring the sweetness and delicateness of admiring crocheted cozies around jars or a tissue box cover to disguise the squareness of a Kleenex label. These items encourage the passion of the embroiderer to add color to their humble abode.
Wooly Embroidery focuses on crewel work, adapting Japanese patterns with English instructions. Making felt slippers to pad around in when it’s raining outside or illustrating a story on a cushion can give you such comfort and joy, living in peace and tranquility as you are unfolding the pattern to reveal a beautiful creation.
In Amigurmi, the title translates to the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals or anthropomorphic creatures (inanimate objects adorned with animal features.) From the country that brought you Sanrio, small black-dot eyes, smiles, and a soft innocence characterize these stuffed animals. “Piggies in Love” and “Cotton Candy Elephants” exemplify amigurmi’s undeniable sweetness.
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ABOUT THE BOOKS
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts (Chronicle Books)
80 pages
List Price: $14.95 each
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Fuzzy Felted Friends
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Woolly Embroidery
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Amigurumi
Issue #34
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