Review: Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies

Summary: With Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies, crocheters can have their cupcakes and wear them, too. The founder of her own popular line of food-inspired fashions, Twinkie Chan has whipped up a feast of head-turning scarves, mittens, hats, and more so that her many fans can learn to make her culinary creations at home.


You'll find recipes for food-themed scarves that feature sushi, salad, gingerbread men, buttered toast, eggs and bacon, ice-cream cones, popcorn boxes, and more. You'll also learn how to make a pair of strawberry fingerless mittens, a chocolate cupcake hat complete with a cherry on top, and even a coconut-lemon cake tissue box cozy. Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies is divided into three chapters—Sweet Things, Fruits and Veggies, and Savory Stuff—and comes complete with an illustrated how-to section, lists of "ingredients" for each project, easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions, and full-color photos and illustrations. Beginning and experienced crafters alike will go wild for these quirky, colorful, wearable confections. -- Andrews McMeel

When I first discovered TWINKIE CHAN'S CROCHET GOODIES FOR FASHION FOODIES by Twinkie Chan, I couldn't get over how amazing (and original) the patterns were. I have been crocheting since my early 20s, but I've never seen scarves like these! I immediately fell in love with almost every pattern (each one is cuter than the last) and knew that I had to get started on making some of these "foodie" accessories.

TWINKIE CHAN'S CROCHET GOODIES FOR FASHION FOODIES includes 20 "Yummy Treats to Wear." The book is divided into the following sections: Sweet Things, Fruits & Veggies, and Savory Stuff. It's hard for me to pick a favorite pattern because I love so many of the scarves. Some of my top ones include the pink grapefruit scarf, the sushi scarf, the cookie scarf, the popcorn scarf, and the bacon and eggs scarf. Of course, those are my favorites at this snippet in time. All of the patterns are positively adorable and I hope to try many of them. Twinkie Chan also includes some basic crochet instructions as well as some on-line resources for crocheting in the beginning of the book.

I also really appreciated that, for the most part, the yarns in this book are readily available at local craft stores like Michaels and Jo-Anns. Since the stores around here aren't that large, I did have to place an on-line order for a few of the colors. There are a few specialty yarns listed in this book, but I think you can easily substitute more general (and less expensive yarns.) The only issue I've found so far in all my yarn shopping is that one of the colors for an easy-to-find yarn seems to have been discontinued-- it's not even showing up on the yarn-maker's website.

Much to my dismay, I'm probably too old to wear most of these accessories. Some 40 year old women could probably pull it off, but I'm not one of those! Fortunately, I have an 11 year old daughter who also loves this book. She marked at least eight of the patterns that she "'has to have." The first one that I tried is the Rocket Popsicle Scarf (I call it the Bomb Pop scarf!) I was able to finish it in a little over a day and I thought it turned out extremely well. The instructions were very clear and it was actually quite easy to make. Booking Daughter has worn it quite a few times already and the feedback has been very positive!

Next, I'm going to tackle the Ice Cream and Cookie scarves as well as the Strawberry Fingerless Mittens. I also plan on making the Pink Grapefruit Scarf as soon as I'm able to locate an alternative yellow yarn. Truly, there are so many wonderful ideas in this book. The ideas and color combinations are endless as are the different ways you can "decorate" the goodies. For example, you can make an assorted cookie scarf or a plain chocolate chip one. You can also make a cupcake scarf with assorted cake and icing flavors as well as different colored sprinkles. You are only limited by your imagination!

Check out this video to see how the cupcake scarf is made:



I have a feeling that this is going to be my go-to crochet project book for the next few months. I absolutely love the patterns and I can't stop planning my next projects. As far as I'm concerned, this book is a must-have for crocheters who love making fun and unique projects!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy of my new favorite craft book.

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