Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Folk Embroidered Felt Birds
20 Modern Folk Art Designs to Make & Embellish
BY Corinne Lapierre

Search Press
2 April 2019/ ISBN 9781782216988
How-To Books / Needlecraft

Reviewed by Rachel Hyde

AMAZON UK

Anybody who cut their sewing teeth on felt will enjoy this book; inside it are twenty folk art style birds to make up and display. If, like me, you have loved working with felt since early childhood you will probably want to dive in but if you are new to it, read the first section of the book before picking up a needle. This will tell you what type of felt to use (a mix of viscose and wool sold on the author’s website) and how to work with it, do several embroidery stitches, sew up the patterns and make the wire legs and feet. When you have the basics sorted you can progress to the patterns. Each one features a page-sized photograph of the bird in a suitable setting, a list of materials, tools and templates and written instructions. These usually come with a simple diagram or two, but unless you are a total beginner you won’t have problems making them up. The first section lays it all out very clearly with staged photographs, including some excellent ones for the embroidery stitches, which are so good I wish there was a whole book of them! I think the family pet could learn how to embroider with these…the birds themselves are mostly those familiar to UK residents including robin, blue tit, heron, swan, peacock, hen, goose, herring gull and owl. A few exotics are included such as a flamingo, toucan and parrot, and many are suitable for certain occasions such as Christmas (robin and dove), Easter (hen and goose) and new baby (stork). At the front is a handy double page spread showing all the birds for easy choice, and at the back are all the templates life size. No sewing machine is required for these projects, and all are ideal quick makes for somebody who knows a few basics but is not confident enough for larger projects, including older children (be careful with that wire though). Anybody in more need of something easier can go to the author’s website and buy kits of some of these birds as well as lots of other creatures and Christmas decorations.

If you cannot find a good range of felt locally try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.

Bundles of wool/viscose felt and kits available from www.corinnelapierre.com/ Worldwide shipping.

UK Reviewer: Rachel Hyde's work can be found in The Bead Magazine, Making Jewellery and www.craftsuprint.com/rachel-a-hyde/
Reviewed 2019
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