Whitework embroidery traditionally features beautifully intricate designs using white thread on white background fabric, examples of which can be found in many cultures across the world. Without the addition of colour, the fabric surface is ornamented with high-relief stitching, cutting, pulling or withdrawing threads with some styles utilizing all these techniques. Whitework Inspirations highlights the very best whitework has to offer in both design and technique. Featuring talented embroidery designers Kim Beamish, Deborah Love, Judy Stephenson, Christine P Bishop, Susan O'Connor, Patricia Girolami and Luzine Happel, this special collection - including a tablecloth, table mats and sachets - has been curated into one publication. With 8 stunning whitework projects to make, there are clear step-by-step instructions, pullout patterns, a stitch guide and all the information you need to create them. Discover the origins, stitches, techniques and designs that are uniquely whitework, and learn how to make your own beautiful works of art.

A sampler is a project made from a "sampling" of different stitches or different motifs. Once the learning tool that helped generations of girls master basic needlework skills, this traditional project is still a great way to learn and practice embroidery skills-as well as a creative way to add color to a room or a fabric item.Covers samplers in several different styles: cross-stitch, counted thread, surface, and freestyle embroideryCreative uses for sampler art beyond the basic wall hanging: gift bags, ornaments, scarves, tote bags, and moreIncludes a how-to section with step-by-step instructions for basic embroidery stitches and sewing skills16 projects for decorative sampler designs plus creative variations

Capture the essence of Japanese style in your sewing with this collection of projects inspired by the wabi-sabi concept of 'perfect imperfection'. This collection of 20 sewing projects for home decor and accessories is based on the popular Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi, which celebrates the beauty in the ordinary and imperfect. Designer Karen Lewis, has used a limited palette of earthy tones and the best quality natural fabrics including linen, cotton, denim and wool to create a stunning collection of simple, sewn projects. Try out some simple wabi-sabi style sewing techniques such as hand piecing, sashiko embroidery, big stitch quilting, and visible mending to create unique items for your home whether it's a full-sized bed quilt, simple coasters for your favourite mug or a stunning scarf to wrap up in.

Transform ordinary artist canvas into an embroidered masterpiece! With easy-to-learn stitches, your embroidery needle becomes a paintbrush. Get your feet wet with small art pieces and step-by-step techniques for stitching on stretched canvas. Gather supplies to add applique, acrylic paint, fibres, beads, and even mirrors to your mixed-media pieces! Get tips on how to finish and display canvas embroidery art, with an extensive project gallery for inspiration. It's like art quilting for needlework lovers!

Be inspired to embroider all the elements of an idyllic English country garden. Suitable for beginners as well as accomplished embroiderers, Lorna Bateman's beautiful book includes 12 practical projects for you to make and adorn with exquisite floral motifs. Lorna walks you through a variety of stitches including raised and textured stitches, teaching you to embroider individual flowers with them and how to incorporate these into an original garden motif. For the nature enthusiast, there is plenty to get excited about: an A-Z of English garden flowers and how to stitch them; a section on stitching common garden insects; and how to embroider iconic garden imagery such as birdbaths and garden ornaments. Roses are the archetypal cottage flower and Lorna describes how to incorporate a climbing rose, rose spray and standard rose in your designs. Embroidered Country Gardens is peppered throughout with seeds of wisdom: invaluable hints and tips from the author to help you develop your own skills and unique style. As well as step-by-step instructions, there are also detailed photographs, outline template drawings and a fully illustrated A-Z of stitches.

Showcase your needlework on 5 pretty, practical projects; a drawstring bag, clutch, flex case, change purse, and zipper pouch. Learn beginner to advanced embroidery one stitch at a time, testing your thread choices in a lively sampler notebook on textured fabrics like chambray, yarn-dyed linen, and canvas. Each project is shown with 6 unique motifs and colour stories to inspire your own artistry.

The intricate designs of a lost art come to life in this illuminating instructional guide. Beautiful and delicate Schwalm embroidery is a form of whitework that uses surface stitches, pulled fabric, drawn thread, needlelace, and weaving. Precise instructions on fabric preparation and stitching technique, full-color photographs, and transferable patterns simplify a host of projects; some designs are suitable for beginners, like a dainty, lace-edged tea cozy while others cater to the more advanced needlecrafters. Each piece incorporates elements of the Tree of Life--hearts, flowers, fruit, leaves, sun, and dove--traditional hallmarks of Schwalm design. An illustrated glossary of stitches completes this unique volume, a must-have for everyone with a serious interest in needlework.

Bargello stitching is a form of needlepoint and making a comeback. There is a project for everyone, whether you are new to bargello, or are an original bargello fan. Tina Francis shows you how to combine bold, bright colours in attractive, almost psychedelic patterns to create the illusion of 3-D. Use her easy-to-follow charts and approachable instructions to create 15 projects including cushions, wall art, pincushions, bangles and a brooch. Bargello is easy to master, quick to achieve and very addictive. The stitches take on a rhythm of their own which makes it extremely relaxing and before long you'll be measuring your days in centimetres not hours. With only a handful of materials required - canvas, tapestry wool, tapestry needle and instructions - bargello is certain to become your craft of choice.

Embroidery is back! This book by Cristin Morgan, founder of the popular hand embroidery company Marigold + Mars, contains a stunning collection of contemporary embroidery motifs with bold colour palettes for you to stitch away at for hours on end. The 50 motifs include abstract and geometric patterns, botanical motifs, hand-lettered designs and much more, and will inspire you to get stitching in fresh and imaginative ways. Beginners will learn to master the 10 basic stitches and skills needed to create the motifs inside, all clearly explained in an attractive, approachable way; then, whether you're new to embroidery or the more experienced stitcher, your hand stitching skills can flourish by stitching the motifs onto 20 beautiful and practical projects inside, all featuring easy-to follow step-by-step instructions, lovely photography and helpful templates. Hoop Art will help you bring embroidery out of the hoop to add a touch of stylish handmade flair everywhere.

The half doll pincushions in this collection are exquisite in design and style. The dolls are a combination of silk skirts with wool embroidered top skirts to the most wonderful bridal gown of silk, heavily embroidered with silk ribbon and stranded threads. You will love this book from start to finish and ponder over which doll you should embroider first or just embroider the lot for a perfect collection. Thirteen dolls with easy-to-follow instructions, and clear, detailed illustrations for each, as well as extra notes on special techniques. Wonderful styled photographs bring the dolls to life, as well as close up photographs to show the exquisite embroidery. The designs in this book are for beginners, as well as advanced embroiderers alike.

For the embroiderer who appreciates the value of beautiful stitches but also likes to break a few rules along the way, Rebecca Ringquist's Embroidery Workshops is a refreshing new resource for both standard and out-of-the-box techniques. Based on the popular classes Ringquist leads across the country, Rebecca Ringquist's Embroidery Workshops teaches everything from the "proper" way to form a French knot and transfer a design to a canvas to new ways to stitch three-dimensionally, work with non-traditional threads and fabrics, draw with thread freeform and mix and match machine- and hand-stitching. Also featured are instructions for 20 innovative projects, including a cloth sampler designed especially for the book (and packaged in an envelope at the back), table linens, wall art and clothing embellishments.

Happiness and Cheer, Redwork Through the Year (Leisure Arts #5275) is a seriously cute collection of redwork embroidery designs that capture all the joy of the holidays and seasons. Designer Dolores Storm of Lakadaisies is winning the hearts of stitchers everywhere with her folk-art portrayals of childhood. These 10 whimsical designs celebrate Halloween, Christmas, Easter, May Day, Thanksgiving, and five more events and occasions youngsters have always adored. Each fun design uses only one or two easy embroidery stitches and can be worked in your favorite floss color -- redwork doesn't have to be red Our instructions also show you how to give your stitched piece an authentic folk-art look.

Discover the art of kogin, a style of traditional Japanese sashiko embroidery with modern appeal. Historically, kogin was used as a pattern darning technique to reinforce threadbare fabric and add warmth to the clothing worn by farmers in the villages of northern Japan. With dozens of beautiful and simple geometric patterns, kogin embroidery offers fresh inspiration and authentic technique to proponents of the decorative mending movement. Colourful photos offer step-by-step instruction for learning this simple counted thread embroidery technique. Beginners will discover how to prepare the thread and fabric, how to read kogin charts, and how to make the basic straight stitches that comprise kogin motifs. Once you've mastered the basics, try your hand at one of the 25 adorable and easy projects included in the book. Featuring bright and modern colour schemes, these accessories are designed for contemporary life. You'll find an assortment of pretty brooches, barrettes and hair ties, pouches and coin purses, framed samplers, pincushions, and ornaments, plus potholders, coasters, and place mats for the home. Once you start stitching, we guarantee you won't be able to stop!

From the beginner to the experienced stitcher, these 12 original and beautiful designs, each with detailed stitch instructions, will capture the imagination through embroidery. Detailed patterns, diagrams and simple, unique instructions throughout. Working any of them will help master the main techniques of Jenny McWhinney's form of thread painting. This gorgeous full colour book will delight any embroiderer who sees it and will be a must-have for her many fans.

Find endless inspiration in this photo guide for embroidery stitching. Beginners and experienced embroiderers will create new patterns by playing with stitches - manipulating height, width, symmetry, and layers - for crazy quilting and contemporary projects. An essential guide to surface embroidery with 120 contemporary stitches, including left-handed stitches, and step-by-step photos.

If you're looking for a simple and versatile stitch to make elegant formal needlework creations, you'll want to add French knots to your embroidery collection. The 10 projects featured here showcase designs inspired by 17th-century strolling gardens. With needles, threads, fabrics, and embroidery hoops, soon you'll enjoy your own miniature gardens, complete with colorful flowerbeds, hedges, and footpaths. Instructions cover stitching techniques, transferring and outlining the design, and tips on care and maintenance of your lovely finished projects. You can stay with the exact threads and colors listed, or experiment with your own, to create so many different personalized pieces that you'll never run out of ways to celebrate one of the most graceful of all needlework styles.

Make incredible personalised gifts for friends and family with this collection of over 100 letter and number charts. All the charts can be used for aida and canvas using embroidery thread and yarn for very different results. Felicity has selected three different fonts for the letters and numbers including the very popular circus font; a woodblock font and a screen print font, which pick up on current trends. As well as the alphabet numbers there are decorative end posts to break up number sequences and handy charts for ampersands, stars and hearts. She has also designed decorative borders for each of the alphabets to finish the designs beautifully. The letters and numbers can be combined to create names, words or initials as well as significant dates and times, to make special gifts for birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. Includes full colour cross stitch charts, colour charts and stitch guide information. Also includes beautiful styled photography and instructions for potential projects to inspire you to create your own very special cross stitched keepsakes.

Over two hundred and twenty five embroidery designs from best-selling author Brian Haggard are now available as iron-on transfers, to make applying and using his designs a breeze. Transfer and embroider beautiful designs from his popular books Embroidered Memories and Crazy-Quilted Memories. From florals and banners to birds and bees, this book has elegant images of all kinds (and in all sizes, too!). All projects, patterns and instructions include both metric and standard imperial measurements.

Raid the attic! Preserve family memories with new quilts that lovingly tie together the past with the present. Learn how to comb through bits of history and reimagine them into wall art, sewing notions, and more! Gorgeous embroidery adds richness to these vintage hybrids. Full instructions for five projects, fifteen stitch techniques, and a gallery full of ideas will help you rescue bits of history to create a cherished new piece for your home!

Globally recognised needlework expert Judith Baker Montano shares 180 stitches and 70 combinations in this improved and updated second edition. Featuring even more traditional embroidery stitches, silk ribbon stitches, and crazy quilting combinations, this beautiful handbook has an updated section of free-form inspiration for improvisational work. With full-colour illustrations and advice for lefties, the essential reference goes far beyond the basics!

You don't have to be a master embroiderer to create beautiful crazy-quilt seams! With 480 seam designs to inspire your creativity, you'll learn to stitch with uniform spacing for a professional appearance. Line everything up perfectly with five pages of full-size stitch templates and dozens of step-by-step illustrations. Then dress up embroidered seams with sparkly beads, buttons, sequins, and silk ribbon embellishments for endless creative combinations!

* Greeting cards are a popular project for cross-stitching enthusiasts* This creative guide bridges the gap between cardmaking and cross stitch, two perennially popular craftsFor crafters who like to create personalized greetings, and for cross stitchers who like to bring their art to cardmaking, comes Sue Cook's Cross Stitch Cards and Keepsakes, a collection of over 200 charted designs for a range of holidays and celebrations--from new babies and bon voyage parties, to age-specific birthdays, to the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. Readers will also learn how to add embellishments to their works--enhancing already beautiful quick-to-stitch cards or tags, or meaningful photo albums, ring pillows, or gift bags.

This book is about the processes and techniques of designing, stitching and completing realistic interpretations of Landscapes. The processes described in this book will enable any embroiderer from any country in the world to adapt and produce hand-embroidered landscapes portraying their own regions. The techniques are the combination and adaption of different art genre, textiles, traditional stitch's and hand embroidery techniques. It is the result of over 25 years of experiment, refinement and tutoring by author, Judy Wilford. The book is divided into 2 parts. Part 1 covers the materials and equipment needed to design and embroider a landscape: a simple landscape is adapted, designed, drawn up and used throughout demonstrating the layering techniques used for the background. Surface stitchery completes the foreground and covers the stitches used and adapted for the work required to produce surface elements such as grass, tress and flora that combine to make up the landscape. Part 1 contains the Project "Of the Tablelands", this project can result in 2 completed works, - one depicting grasses as the main foreground feature and the other depicting the verge side flora of the region. Part 2 contains projects based on different land forms -The coastlines, The Escarpments, The Plains and The Deserts, each further develop and extend techniques. They describe the landscape types and elements and the use of fabric and stitch to achieve specific effects. These effects could be sand patterns on beaches, the water ways of lakes and dams, vertical tree trunks and their textures, the wide expanse of deserts flowering or the crops and grasses of the plains and the closed secret canopies of the forests. As in Part 1, each of the land forms will have stitch samplers of specific elements and the flora of the region giving a total of 8 projects.