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you think that freestyle embroidery is all about fussy rules
and old-fashioned florals think again! This versatile way
of making colorful marks on fabric can be as individual and
modern as the stitcher, and this book shows you how to express
yourself in stitches.
This is an ideal book for a beginner as not only does it tell
you what you need and show you enough stitches to get you
started it also contains plenty of simple projects and even
some embroidery transfers. I love the way the author points
out that a beginner does not need to own everything on the
list and says in just a few words how little you need to start.
The projects start with several fun but very basic pieces
that can be hung up in their hoops, and continues through
garments, accessories, soft furnishings and even jewelry.
The stitches are all shown at the back in a beginner-friendly
way together with instructions on starting and finishing off
plus how to transfer with and without the iron-on method.
There is a section containing the templates, a list of projects
with the DMC threads used and a couple of useful alphabets
to trace if you are monogramming. Each project has plenty
of captioned photographs as well as a large photo of the finished
piece, size and a list of materials. If I could choose I would
have opted for a darker, slightly larger typeface and most
of the projects also require a sewing machine plus some basic
skills associated with it. Some pieces can be made without,
and none of the items are difficult to make up. I think my
favorite is the zippered makeup purse decorated with lipsticks
worked in a mixture of fabric paint and embroidery. Stitch
a botanical fern, cactus napkins, winking pillow, watermelon
sunglasses case, pictures in hoops of a rainbow, bees, wildflowers
and many other things. I was impressed with the pom-pom instructions
that show a totally different method to the one I have always
used that can be done with a maker or just some card scraps.
If you want to learn freestyle embroidery without a lot of
unnecessary fuss and prefer contemporary designs you will
love this very beginner-friendly book.
If you cannot find a good range of embroidery materials locally
try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
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