Sometimes
Search Press really goes the whole nine yards and produces
a book with extra wow factor. From its larger format, sturdy
colorful covers and elastic to keep it closed like a box you
know that something special hides within, and you won’t
be disappointed. Inside is a pocket full of transfers for
stitching eleven stunning studies of flowers from Kew Garden’s
botanical illustration collection.
The
lush colors and elegant layouts of 18th and 19th century botanical
art are just made to be captured in embroidery, especially
the thread painting style worked mostly in long and short
stitch. The author promises that this is not too difficult
for even a beginner to master, and there are not many stitches
to learn. Mostly it is a case of practising getting the shading
right and there are quite a few staged photographs to show
the right way. You won’t need many tools and materials;
a slate frame or hoop, six stranded cotton floss and fabric
is most of what you will require. You can learn how to work
the various stitches as well as prepare a hoop, use transfers,
choose materials and care for your finished work. To limber
you up for the actual projects there are several simple pieces,
all with captioned photographs as well as a diagram showing
the order of work, list of threads and anything else you need.
All sizes are given in both imperial and metric, and after
the first project there is an option of working a sampler
featuring another eighteen small studies plus two simpler
larger projects. Following this are two more chapters containing
the intermediate and advanced projects, the latter of which
concludes with another sampler. Full projects typically have
photographic stages with arrows indicating what color floss,
essential when working on complex, variegated flowers with
a lot of different shades. Each finished piece is shown in
a large format, often over two pages so you can appreciate
its beauty and see what you are working to achieve. At the
back is a handy table of thread substitutes so you can opt
for DMC instead of the more costly and harder to source (at
least in the UK) Au Ver A Soie thread. When your transfers
have worn out, or you want to work on a dark background there
are also full-sized outlines for tracing, showing that the
author has thought of everything! This is one of my top choices
for this year and a book to treasure.
If
you cannot find a good range of embroidery materials locally
try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
DMC
floss, Au Ver a Soie and other hard to source threads available
from www.ginabsilkworks.co.uk/
DMC
threads large range available at www.lovecrafts.com
Huge range for the embroiderer at www.minervacrafts.com
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