It’s a runaway best seller in the UK, especially to baby boomer men, who are also buying it for their sons.

It’s Conn and Hal Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys. DBB, as we’ll call it, summarizes all those activities and crafts that boys used to do before TV, computers and video games came on the market. Many of them are now effectively banned by the Health and Safety “police” who dog our lives and make them unnecessarily miserable — especially for boys.

For North Americans, I should tell you the book is very Britain-oriented, in that it contains bits from Shakespeare and poetry from Kipling and other patriotic poets and authors.

Nevertheless, it contains a lot of Boys Crafts, which is why I like it. For instance, how to make “the greatest paper plane in the world”. Now there’s something to know about.

How to construct a battery, build a treehouse (oh, the danger!), make a bow and arrow (is this a terrorist’s manual?), make water bombs (it is a terrorist’s manual), and invisible inks, marbling paper, understanding girls (very coyly done), tricks with dogs and skimming stones on lakes.

In short, my sort of book. If you want to know about “The Golden Age of Piracy”, it’s all here. From making a pinhole projector and a crystal radio to grinding an italic nib, it’s a veritable treasure trove.

So, if you’re interested in boys’ crafts, or crafts for Real Men, you know where to go.

I’m Duncan Cairncross, your new Craftmaster here at Craftmodo, the place to be for all things crafty.

I just want to introduce myself and explain how I’m going to go about this job of bringing you the best of craftage and craft commerce, especially in the runup to Christmas, when we’re all looking for great gifts for our craft-conscious friends and acquaintances.

First, thanks to my predecessor, Adelle Tilton, for writing some great stuff on the female side of crafting. There’s lots to see in the archives if you appreciate that.

I want to tilt the balance a little at first by covering a few typically male crafts that are often ignored in our society. Men need crafts too, you know. We don’t just stand around watching you girls create the world around us.

John (our editor) thought it would be a good idea if I started out reviewing the craft bits of The Dangerous Book for Boys. This is a British book which has taken the market by storm in the UK. I’ll be looking at that in my next post.

Keep crafting.

Owing to the indisposition of the author of Craftmodo, we are drafting in another writer.

Our new author, Duncan Cairncross, is well-versed in crafts and is also an artist, book and web designer. We look forward to a change of emphasis and a new voice for Craftmodo.

John Evans
Syntagma Media

Crocheters know her as The Sweater Babe.  Her real name is Katherine Lee and she has a book out that is a must-own for every crocheter.  Why is this book different than so many?  It’s modern, and stylish and it isn’t the heavy clunky crochet apparel that has been so common over the years.  Fabulous and Flirty Crochet is hip and young and shows just what you can do with crochet.  Crochet isn’t just for doilies any more!

The common complaint of crocheters, and rightfully so in the past, is that crocheted garments were matronly and very bulky.  They looked homemade instead of handmade, which is the curse of death on a garment.  Perhaps crochet had a natural evolution it had to progress through; all I know is that it is a craft that is finally coming into its own, and it is because of books like this, and designers like Katherine Lee, that crochet is gaining a new respect.

The book contains 20 projects.  The first section of the book presents the finished garments in a fashion magazine layout that clearly shows the piece without hidden areas that make the crocheter wonder what the designer is trying to hide.  These photographs will show you exactly what the design lines of your pattern are - no surprises as you are crocheting, which every hand stitcher will appreciate.  The second section of the book has the detailed instructions that you should have no trouble following. 

There is a section in the book that explains the yarn weights that are used.  As yarn weights are now standardized within the industry, it will be easy to substitute yarns if you choose to use a different one or can’t locate the one used in the photograph.  It is nice to also have some space dedicated in this book to crocheting and gauge; gauge instructions are almost always written for the knitter.  This explains how to use gauge in crochet.

There is a table of abbreviations and symbols which is most helpful if you don’t have them all memorized.  The book is spiral bound but the cover lays over the spiral so it won’t tangle in your yarn.  It is large enough to be able to read comfortably but should still fit inside most yarn totes.

The patterns are all wonderful.  I really didn’t find any I didn’t like.  For the plus-size lady, it will be easy to increase the size if necessary, which makes it the only downside of this book.  The price is reasonable and it is a book you will use time and time again.  I know Fabulous and Flirty Crochet is a definite keeper for any crocheter who would like to ramp their crocheting up a notch.

Buy Fabulous and Flirty Crochet Here

Sweater Babe Online