| Stitch twenty-seven beautiful
mandalas using the gorgeous drawings of Monique Day-Wilde
married to the sewing skills of Hazle Blomkamp and Di van
Niekerk. Using a combination of freestyle stitches plus some
other needlecrafts, you can bring these designs to life and
use them to adorn your home and wardrobe.
Mandalas and embroidery – a wonderful combination! This
book brings needlecrafts into the 21st century with an option
of colored prints as well as line drawings plus all the materials
you can find from floss to beads. Stitch on plain cloth or
try the latest embroidery style by stitching on patterned
fabric and augment your work with ribbon, trapunto and appliqué.
The mandalas range from the abstract to those featuring “real”
motifs such as shells, flowers, feathers, stars, snowflakes
and more. Some are seasonal, and three are sea-inspired, which
pleased me! The book states that it is ideal for “rank
beginners” as well as experienced stitchers, not a claim
I would make. I suggest improver level upwards as there is
too much for a newbie to cope with. However, the stitch and
technique diagrams are very easy to read so a beginner could
certainly learn freestyle embroidery from this book. Each
project has a list of what you need, a large photograph of
the finished design and written instructions. The numbers
correspond with numbers on one of more diagrams so you know
what goes where. Projects are also graded from 1-3 for difficulty
and a finished size is given in metric and imperial. The mandalas
range from 5½” to 11” and some are shown
worked using the plain line patterns while others show what
you can do with a colored pattern. Instructions are given
on how to do both methods; you will need a special type of
iron-on paper or a copy shop for the colored variety, and
all patterns need enlarging. As I said earlier, this is a
book of modern embroidery so some technology is required alongside
the needles and thread. A beautiful book for the keeper shelf.
If you cannot find a good range of embroidery and needlecraft
materials locally try http://www.searchpress.com for a list
of suppliers.
Visit Di van Niekerk’s site at https://dicraft.co.za
which includes a worldwide list of where you can buy her ribbons,
kits and other items.
Reviews of other titles by these authors
Hazel Blomkamp
Crewel
Creatures
Di van Niekerk
Dreamscapes
in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork by
Monograms
and Words in Ribbon Embroidery - Di van Niekerk
A
Perfect World in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork - Di
van Niekerk
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