Unique designs combined with beautiful coloured threads and cloths, as well as stylish embellishments, make this book especially attractive for all embroiderers. Stitchers who have dabbled in cross stitch, hardanger and pulled work, as well as beginners and more experienced stitchers are invited to venture into Needleweaving and Embroidery, a combination of well-known embroidery techniques such as drawn thread, needle weaving and surface stitches. Specially selected stitches and finishing touches are sampled in small, useful projects such as bookmarks, greeting cards, pot pourri and glasses bags, table mat and runner, and more. Small and medium sized projects allow skills to develop through the creation of objects which are beautiful and useful, to keep or give as special gifts.

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.

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.

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.

The elegant form, fragile iridescent wings, mystical bead-like eyes and shimmering colours of the dragonfly have fascinated needleworkers for centuries. Jane Nicholas takes a close look at the anatomy of dragonflies and damselflies and their representation in natural history. She combines those observations with designs form as far back as the sixteenth-century and from throughout the world and then uses a variety of materials and techniques to build works of mesmerising beauty. Jane shares new ways of using unusual materials to interpret and create your own dragonfly designs. The projects - including a remarkable collection of nine creatures in a 'specimen box' - not only set off the dragonflies exquisitely, but they exemplify Jane's impeccable eye for detail and composition. This stunning book - fascinating for anyone interested in textured embroidery is a pure delight to read.

Enter this deliciously vintage universe of 500 patterns and add a touch of nostalgia to your stitchwork. Re-create designs from 1800s and 1900s fashion houses and milliners' catalogs. Take your cross stitch on a bon voyage into the past with traveling motifs like trunk labels of exotic destinations and railroad advertising posters. Other sections of patterns feature tea and coffee motifs, and daily life in vintage terms. Many of the designs include multiple scenes and motifs, offering you hundreds of components to use in a myriad of ways. Throughout, be inspired by "mood boards" of completed motifs, along with photos of projects that will show off your creations in daily life.

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!

Thorough guide to elegant form of contemporary embroidery, with illustrated instructions and patterns for 20 stitches, plus 188 embroidery patterns keyed to those stitches. Magnificent florals, repeats and borders, two complete sets of alphabets and more.

This practical step-by-step guide to haute couture embroidery covers everything from machine and hand stitching, to tambour beading, goldwork and monogramming.

Whether you are interested in adding monogrammed initials to your favourite bathrobe, stitching a flower on your favourite jacket, adding sparkling beads to a new dress or creating a goldwork embellishment, Fashion Embroidery teaches you how to add a unique touch to your clothes.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Jessica Pile, the Production Director at Hand & Lock embroidery, explores the intricate techniques used in fashion embroidery. With hand-drawn designs, catwalk photographs and step-by-step guides, this book is perfect for beginners looking to personalise their own clothes, as well as more experienced embroiderers who want to apply new techniques to different fabrics.

Beginning with an inspirational overview of the fashion industry, Jessica looks at examples of embroideries and embellishments by a variety of couturiers, including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hardy Amies and Burberry. The book then demonstrates the basics of three main techniques – goldwork, tambour beading and embroidery stitches including silk shading, satin and stem stitch. In do-it-yourself projects, Jessica first helpfully explains the basics of materials; she teaches you how to pick the right fabric, what tools to use, where to source materials, what types of wire or beads to use and terminology. Taking influences from existing couture designs, she then shows you how to execute these learned techniques onto your own clothes.

This book is perfect for fashion students, textile artists, and those who want a more unique look to their clothes.

Enjoy cross-stitching your favorite people and create high-quality, fun, personal works of art! Stitch up all the most important people in your life with this one-of-a-kind method that solves technical challenges for you but thrives on your creative input-only you know how to bring these characters to life. Using the PixlPeople method, select from a huge swath of elements that go beyond generic patterns and exact replicas-body types, skin tone combinations, hairstyles, outfits-and just follow the provided templates for each element. Add pets, hobby and career accessories, facial expressions, and even zodiac signs to round out your PixlPeople. This method works as a great introduction to cross-stitch, as well as a fun new type of project for those with more experience. Tips on design techniques will help your finished work stand out as a high-quality craft and charming gift.

Learn how to do the big stitch technique of sashiko with these 8 simple sashiko sewing projects. Traditional Japanese sewing technique, sashiko, is currently a major sewing trend in craft, interiors and fashion. Big stitches are used to create stunning, geometric patterns and texture to make home wares with a stylish, Japanese minimalist look. This collection, featuring content previously published in The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook and Japanese Sashiko Inspirations, includes eight patterns for home decor so you can try this traditional technique for yourself. Choose from eight simple projects including coasters, cushions, wall hangings, bag and greetings cards.

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** **RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK** **WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE MONTH** 'An astonishing feat' Christina Patterson, Sunday Times 'An inspiring and moving sideways look at history' Eithne Farry, Sunday Express An eloquent blend of history and memoir, Threads of Life is an evocative and moving book about the need we all have to tell our story. From political propaganda in medieval France to secret treason in Tudor England, from the mothers of the desaparecidos in Argentina to First World War soldiers with PTSD, from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland, Threads of Life is a global chronicle of identity, protest, memory and politics. Banner-maker, community textile artist and textile curator Clare Hunter chronicles the stories of the men and women, over centuries and across continents, who have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances. 'A beautifully considered book... Clare Hunter has managed to mix the personal with the political with moving results.' TRACY CHEVALIER

One of greatest living designers of charted cross-stitch offers exquisite collection of over 40 different florals: anemone, iceland poppy, wild fruit, pansies, many others. All designs color keyed to American threads. Full color designs on covers. Revised and enlarged edition. With illustrated instructions.

Discover the beautiful Japanese pattern darning technique kogin and how it can be used to create stunning stitched and quilted projects. Kogin is a variation of the popular Japanese embroidery technique sashiko and is rapidly becoming as popular as its 'big sister'.

Japanese embroidery expert, Susan Briscoe, has compiled a collection of over 60 pattern charts - kogin is a counted embroidery technique - and 12 accompanying projects to create The Ultimate Kogin Collection, following on from her previous title The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook.

The projects range from small and very accessible items such as simple greetings cards and coasters to larger projects including wall hangings and table runners.

Stumpwork embroidery, also called raised embroidery, takes hand embroidery to another dimension and lifts it off the surface of the fabric with strikingly realistic results. This technique uses all the usual embroidery stitches you would expect and includes padding, wiring and slips to achieve its raised effect. Stumpwork Inspirations highlights the very best stumpwork has to offer in both design and technique. Featuring talented embroidery designers Susan O'Connor, Wendy Innes, Susan Casson, Anna Scott, Lesley Turpin-Delport and Jane Nicholas, this special collection, including lovely framed pictures and a pot lid, have been curated into one publication. With 8 stunning stumpwork projects to make, there are clear step-by-step instructions, pullout patterns, a stitch guide and all the information you need to stitch them. Discover the origins, stitches, techniques and designs that are uniquely stumpwork, and learn how to make your own beautiful works of art.

Kay Dennis is passionate about Stumpwork. This intricate, raised and padded embroidery has its origins in the 17th century, and is enjoying a revival amongst embroiderers and lacemakers. It is wonderfully versatile and will appeal both to the novice and needleworker. Using a mix of flat, padded, wired and free-standing elements, it employs a wide range of embroidery techniques. This comprehensive and colourful book covers both basic and needle lace techniques - sections on each contain a series of elaborate step-by-step demonstrations showing how to work individual techniques, followed by a project combining all the methods. Kay takes inspiration from a variety of sources and her designs include animals, flowers, fruits and insects - popular motifs in the 17th century. She also creates contemporary designs and there are advanced projects on landscape and figurative work. A gallery of Kay's work is included to inspire the reader.

Blackwork is a traditional type of counted-stitch embroidery. Monochromatic, with superb shadow effects, it has been revisited here in a magnificently graphic, contemporary style highlighted with occasional splashes of colour. The 13 patterns designed by Bernadette Baldelli modernize the technique by adding a touch of red to the traditional black and white, and by including both geometric and more figurative styles. You'll discover a lush, graphic world with embroidery that is simple to do and gives stunning results. You can make a basket, a pouch, wall hangings, place mats, an embroidered shirt, throw blanket and more. Simple diagrams make them easy to do, and there is a wealth of tempting patterns to choose from. Bernadette's creations are known for their excellent finishing touches and these are no exception.

Discover Soutache, the art of creating modern and unique jewellery from looped braids. Donatella Ciotti shows you how to create stunning, expensive-looking costume jewellery, from earrings and bracelets to brooches for hats, with full-colour, detailed photography to guide you through each process. There is even a gallery of images at the end of the book to inspire you to create your own, bespoke soutache masterpieces. Learn about the history of jewellery crafting and the ever-growing trend for affordable yet stylish costume jewellery, before trying your hand at your own soutache pieces. Begin with the basic techniques of finishing and sewing the cords and inserting pearls and cabochons or cameos, discover the secrets behind coiling your soutache braids to make buttons, then begin to make bracelets, rings, headbands and much more. Your soutache creations will be eye-catching and entirely unique to you!

"Trish Burr has painstakingly recreated blooms from the paintings of 19th century botanical artist Pierre Joseph Redoute in exquisite embroidery. Using only the simplest stitches, she provides instructions, illustrations and photo- graphs to take you step-by-step through stitching 17 beautiful buds--roses, lilies, birds of paradise, dahlias, magnolias and more. A gorgeous gift for anyone with a passion for flowers or needlework."--"Vogue Patterns."

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!

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.

Join the Queen of Latina Style to make joyous, vibrant, sparkly Latin-inspired crafts that are stunning to look at yet surprisingly easy to make.The Crafty Chica is back! In The Crafty Chica Creates!, a revised and expanded edition of The Crafty Chica Collection, Kathy Cano Murillo enthusiastically welcomes you into her world of making and affirmational thinking with colorful, Latin-style craft projects inspired by her Mexican heritage. With 45 projects-26 completely new joining 19 previous favorites-get fun techniques for painting, sewing, mixed media, clay, and paper crafts using affordable and recycled materials. While some are more in-depth than others, the projects are ideal for all skill levels. The Crafty Chica welcomes you to infuse the projects with elements of your own cultural heritage to make them personal and unique. Each project is presented with a materials list, clear step-by-step instructions, a large photo of the finished project, and the personal and cultural history behind it. Organized by category-Clothing, Artful Affirmations, Home Accessories, Jewelry and Accessories, Garden Decorations, and Fiesta-the projects include: Milagros (miracle charms) layered resin phone grip Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) papier-mache dog sculpture Stamped clay folk-art boxes and ring dish A stunning poncho made from Mexican scarves A picture frame upcycled with an embroidered blouse As you embrace the Latino culture or let your cultural heritage shine with creative crafts, you'll discover: Innovative ways to work with a wide range of materials, including air-dry clay, resin, and fabric How to fully embrace vivid color palettes Ways of repurposing everyday supplies into gorgeous art pieces that make great gifts Great techniques for sculpting, sewing, painting, and embellishing that will boost skills and confidence Whether you are looking for dazzling things to make for group crafting, to decorate your casa or workplace, to release stress and lift your mood, or for gift giving, The Crafty Chica Creates! is your friendly, inspiring guide.