This is a redemption of sorts. Except not really since this kit actually has pretty good reviews on Amazon (4.5 stars out of 5 out of 199 reviews). But I watched a negative review of this kit on Youtube and disagreed with it so strongly that I needed to review it myself. I already own this kit, but since it had been so long since I had purchased it, and that I had given away all the included materials, I bought it again solely for this review.
This is the Disney Princess Crochet kit by Thunder Bay Press. You may not be familiar with Thunder Bay Press by name, but if you've ever seen one of these crochet kits in Barnes & Noble (and there are quite a few different themed kits, included licensed characters like this one and more generic cute animals/plants), it's likely from Thunder Bay Press. In fact, before I started actively researching and purchasing kits for review, it was the only company I was familiar with that made mass-produced crochet kits.
Thunder Bay Press kits are fairly affordable and cost between $15-$25, though I wouldn't pay more than $20 as the included materials, as we shall see, aren't the highest quality. This kit is currently (as of writing this post) $18.24 from Amazon.
These kits include a pattern book with amigurumi patterns based on the theme of the kit and enough materials to make two specific plushies. The pattern book in this kit includes 12 Disney Princess(ish) patterns:
...the Fairy Godmother (why?), Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Aurora, and Tiana. As all the pattern were created by the same person, Jana Whitley, all 12 plushies have a similar chibi/cute style.
The pattern books in these kits are on the smaller side (about a third to a fourth the size of a full-size book), but have large, colorful photos and quite a lot of content, included information on basic crochet stitches and techniques. The pattern book is the most valuable part of these kits and, since full-size pattern books retail anywhere from $12-25, I'm pretty sure that it's where most of the cost of these kits come from (...it sure isn't coming from the yarn...). This pattern book seems to be holding up okay, but some of my older books from Thunder Bay Press kits (including the Disney Princess book from my previous kit) have broken, crackly binding.
To be blunt, the yarn in this kit is garbage. It's thin and rough, and not pleasant to crochet with. The colors are weird (it looks okay in this photo, but the 'skin tone' color is an off-white/eggshell color), and it gets tangled up with itself while crocheting. It is tightly twisted, though, so it's not prone to fraying at least. It's okay to practice with, but you wouldn't want to make a plushie to sell, gift, or display with it.
The included stuffing is alright; it's soft and you get a bunch of it, and it's a big improvement from the stuffing in the previous (it was extremely scratchy and dense). The safety eyes are way too big for the weight of the included yarn (it's a DK/3) and hook (a 4/E 3.55mm) and look a little bug-eyed/goofy on the plushies. The aforementioned hook, however, is metal, as is the included yarn needle, which is good, but they're not really high quality and are easy to bend (still better than plastic, though).
This kit includes enough materials to make Ariel and Cinderella. I'm kind of surprised they chose Cinderella as one of the plushies to make as her pattern is a little complicated, especially her hair. It's very obvious that the materials used to create the plushie samples on the box and in the pattern book are not the same as those included with the kit; they are clearly much higher quality. This is my biggest issue with the kit, and why I would not pay more for it than you are willing to pay for the pattern book as, again, that's the most valuable part.
Rant start:
Which brings me to my biggest issue with the negative Youtube review; this kit is not for beginners. No where on the box does it say this kit is intended for beginners or those who are learning to crochet. It does say the patterns are 'easy to follow', which I agree with overall, though there are some tricky bits, but I don't think this implies that it's for beginners.
The person who gave this kit a very strong negative review had never crocheted before trying this kit, and a large part of their review was that this kit did not include extensive instructions and photos for very basic crochet stitches and techniques, including how to cast on and how to read patterns. Which, again, is not the intention of this kit and, in fact, would be an entire kit in-and-of itself. The reviewer then proceeded to deride the creators of this kit and the people who created the book and patterns over this.
Crochet patterns are not easy to make, and they take a lot of time, patience, and trial and error. The patterns in this book are complex and create complex and interesting shapes, and likely took Jana Whitley a long time to perfect. I think it's extremely unfair to say that Jana did a poor job with their patterns because a person new to crochet was unable to understand them. They are written in standard crochet pattern terminology, using standard abbreviations, which are included in a glossary at the beginning of the book. They are not 'lazy', 'poorly done', or 'made to sound like you know what you're doing'.
I understand that a large part of Youtube content is hyperbole--I myself use hyperbole for humor--and I have nothing wrong with giving this kit a negative review, but it feels irresponsible, egregious even, to call this kit 'misleading' without having any previous experience with crochet (the reviewer has stated themselves that they hate sewing and textile crafts).
No, this kit is not good to learn how to crochet with, but that's not what it promises to do; it's not any different from most other kits, or even most crochet pattern books. If you want to use a kit to learn how to crochet, it's important to purchase a kit that is specifically made to do so. You can totally learn from kits such as this and books (I started with Twinkie-Chan's first crochet pattern book), it's just more difficult. I strongly recommend using Youtube videos to learn if possible as learning how to crochet is generally much easier if you are able to watch someone and copy them instead of looking at a series of photos.
Okay, rant over.
Since I wasn't happy with how the plushies turned out using the included yarn and safety eyes, I wanted to make one using my own yarn and more appropriately-sized eyes.
I think this Ariel turned out much better than the one made using the included yarn; better colors, better proportion, and much more enjoyable to crochet. It also shows just how good the included patterns are; these plushies are extremely cute, while still being detailed and recognizable.
I only made Ariel using my own yarn and not Cinderella due to time constraints, but I would like to revisit these patterns and make all the included Princesses (...and Fairy Godmother. Again, why?) at some point.
You do get more than enough yarn to make both plushies, but I won't be keeping it for future projects as I normally do with the leftover yarn from kits, so, eh. At least you don't have to worry about running out if you do want to use it to make Ariel and Cinderella. I have a ton of stuffing left, even after stuffing my two plushies firmly (I didn't use it to stuff my second Ariel), but this I will definitely be keeping as it's soft and of reasonable quality.
Overall, the patterns included with this kit are great, though I would recommend them for advanced beginner/intermediate crochets or for beginners looking to challenge themselves. The patterns are very unique and use some interesting techniques that can be applied to other projects, especially in regards to hair (this is actually why I originally bought the kit; I wanted to explore different techniques to create different hairstyles). The yarn and other items included are not the best quality, though, so I don't recommend paying more for this kit than what the patterns are worth (again, no more than $20).
<3 Thank you for reading!
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