The Wizard of Oz Crochet Paperback – November 19, 2013

I wish I could find more kits like this one. Or even instructional booklets! This kit is wonderful, it contains all the yarn you need to create 2 of the Wizard of Oz characters and even includes the correct size crochet hook! Somehow I didn't notice that when I purchased this kit, but thought how absolutely wonderful that is for someone who it trying to crochet with smaller yarns/threads and isn't sure about steel crochet hook sizes. I hope that Kristen develops more kits like this! I have seen some instructional books for making famous English characters from history, and another one for the same only Scottish characters. But they were for knitting only and although I can knit also, I much prefer to crochet figures like this as I think they look better when finished. And I do prefer crochet now in my retired years. So Kristen Rask, hint hint! I would purchase any future character books you develop, and I don't mind providing my own yarn and hooks. GREAT kit!!!!!

I am an avid Wizard of Oz fan and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this. It is just so stinkin' cute.There are patterns for 12 characters in the booklet that comes in this kit...although you only get the yarn to make the Tin Man and The Cowardly Lion. It also comes with a crochet hook...even though most crocheters have their own hooks it's a nice added perk.If you have an Oz fan in the family that also crochets they will be over the moon with this gift. Even though I purchased it for myself I know it would have made a perfect gift for me!

Very cute book. It's very small though. I'm assuming the large amount of packaging is because of the yarn. They give you enough yarn to make two characters: the lion and the tin man. Twinkie Chan is one of the writers and I really like her work. This is great for a Wizard of Oz fan.

My husband loves Wizard of Oz so this was an easy sell. I have previously purchased the two Start Wars crochet kits that are produced by the same company and they are great, so I was absolutely shocked by the poor quality when I attempted to start crocheting from the patterns in this kit. While the characters are super cute, there is no way they were made from this pattern book. There are multiple mistakes throughout the patterns and you can't move forward in the pattern until you re-write it so it comes out with the proper end result. Beginners have no chance with this kit. Unlike the Star Wars crochet books whose patterns were all written by the same very talented author, this pattern book is made up of patterns from multiple authors. This in and of itself is not bad, however it appears that the publisher just accepted the patterns from these authors without ever having another single soul look them over before going to production. Even more disappointing, while it appears that this kit came out at least four years ago, the publisher has never posted any corrections to the patterns. As this publisher has multiple other kits just like this, I am sorry to say it appears that they have put making money over quality control. I could have forgiven the cheap crochet hook and cheap acrylic yarn (after all these are meant to be given to children who are hard on their things, so shouldn't be made from your best cashmere yarn), but I cannot forgive poorly written patterns, especially because many of these errors could easily have been fixed prior to publication with a little bit of effort. Finally, I will note that the only reason this kit seems to have an ok rating on Amazon, is because all the people who gave 5 star reviews either 1) hadn't actually started using the kit yet 2) had purchased as a gift for someone else (i.e. hadn't started using the kit themselves) or 3) purchased as a display piece only (again, hadn't started using the kit themselves). I will be very careful to read the reviews on future kits before purchasing any more.

Unless you want to drive yourself crazy, I woudn't suggest buying this kit. First, let me put out there immediately that there is enough yarn for two characters (Tin Man and Cowardly Lion). This is not advertised enough. I had a little yarn after Tin Man, but was counting inches to finish the Lion. I downloaded the Errata sheet for the Lion on ThunderBay's page, since there are so many mistakes in the book, but lo and behold, the errata has enough errors to make you nuts. The important thing is to count your stiches, becuase the final number is what you need. The math that went into the pattern is horrible!...makes me think the author didn't make the characters, just wrote down something someone told them or tried to count/guess stitches on a completed doll. There is one line where you're supposed to decerease by 2 or so stiches. The instructions tell you to increase every other stitch, decrease ever other stitch to come out to...exactly the same number of stiches if you just single crocheted in every stitch! WTH?! The finishing instructions are poor, too. So, if you're new to this craft, Google crochet finishing techniques to help things go more smoothly. I have been doing crochet for at least ten years, and I don't think I've ever been so grumpy on a project. I will be debating with care, whether I'm willing to lose more sanity to complete the characters/book.

I had a little trouble with the witch of the west, there is a spot on the beginning increases that is a little confusing, but I got her figured out. All in all, it is a great pattern set and I love it!