This
is the fourth in this author’s stunning “Crewel”
series that updates crewel/Jacobean embroidery for the 21st
century while losing none of its beauty and unique style.
I love these books; not only because the projects in them
are so gorgeous or the stitch diagrams so clear but because
they use mostly cotton or silk threads rather than wool which
I am allergic to. That was the main type of thread available
back in the 17th century, but now we have many more choices
and look at what you can do with them!
There
are six beautiful bird embroideries to stitch in here, depicting
a phoenix, mallard, two pheasants, flamingo and rooster. You
get to use not only cotton floss, perle, cordonette, silk
ribbon, metallic thread and seed beads, but have the option
of an unusual method of displaying your work. If you have
walls filled with pictures like the author (or too many large
windows like this reviewer) you might like to make a quilted
“rag book” to house them and instructions for
this are given. To begin the author goes through what you
need to buy and how to do things like transfer patterns, wash
embroidery if you need to and other useful tips. This is followed
by a section of pale green pages containing all the stitch
diagrams and instructions. There are quite a few, but all
the stitch diagrams are easy to follow and mostly of a good
size. Learn the basic freestyle and crewel stitches, various
bead stitches, needle weaving techniques and needle lace.
The latter tend to look quite involved but the written instructions
are a help and if you go at it slowly it is surprising how
easy it really is. The rest of the book contains those glorious
bird projects and in case you were wondering no, this is not
a suitable book for total beginners. It is aimed squarely
at experienced stitchers who can tackle quite large involved
patterns with mostly text instructions with a few small inset
photos showing what section is being done. There are many
good books on the market for beginners, so it is great to
see something for those of us who are up for a challenge!
One of my favorite things about the designs is their muted
backgrounds of ecru leaves, grasses, chicken wire, etc recalling
the unpainted backdrops to the hand colored natural history
books of the 18th and 19th centuries. They perfectly frame
and set off the lively colors of the birds providing just
enough detail to place them in a setting but not vie with
their beauty. At the back of the book are all the templates
which need to be enlarged before use, or if you want to buy
printed panels, just the materials you need to make a project
or a full kit you can do so from the author’s website.
Even if you just want to learn the stitches and make up your
own designs you can find out most of what you need to know
in here. Another winner from this hugely talented author.
If
you cannot find a good range of embroidery and needlecraft
materials locally try http://www.searchpress.com for a list
of suppliers.
Kits,
printed panels and more available from https://www.hazelblomkamp.com/
Worldwide shipping.
Full
range of DMC threads available from https://www.dmc.com/uk/
Presencia Finca #12 available from https://www.ginabsilkworks.co.uk/
Presencia Finca #12 and #16 available from http://www.gavand.co.uk/
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