75 Lace Crochet Motifs: Traditional & Modern Designs for Clothing, Accessories & Home Decor - Perfect for DIY Fashion, Scarf Making & Bohemian Home Styling (Knit & Crochet Patterns)

I have three other books by Caitlin Sainio so when I saw this I bought it right away. There is a nice selection of motifs, including some snowflakes, squares, animals, hearts, and doilies. The instructions include written directions and charts for every motif. There's a crochet basics section, an index, and photo pages that show each motif at the beginning of the book.All of Caitlin's motifs start with a chain stitch; she does not use the magic ring for any of them (this was a technique that flummoxed me for some time so I was glad to avoid it). I'm using #5 cotton perle thread for the motifs with a size 6 crochet hook and getting good results from the patterns. So far I've tried Hobby Lobby's Artiste series (you can get a variety pack of 10-yard skeins for a reasonable sum, but make sure not to buy embroidery floss because the plies come apart easily when you crochet) and DMC cotton perle (there is a wide color spectrum, the cotton has a silky finish, and the skeins are 25 yards). I haven't tried using larger hooks and yarn, but I think many of the motifs would work if you sized them up, although some of the finer holes might fill in.So far my favorite has been the seahorse. I used a multicolor brown thread and it worked very well with that motif. Sometimes the multicolor threads make it hard to see the details in a motif, so I would suggest using a solid color if you really want to see the detail of your work.