Book Review: Sublime Stitching

I bought myself a copy of Sublime Stitching for my birthday last week.

This is a basic embroidery book for a beginner. I like that she addresses in particular detail things that most books take for granted. Things like what type of floss to use, how many strands to use, how to separate the strands, and how to tie knots. There is an illustrated primer on a dozen or so basic hand embroidery stitches.

She assumes that you will want to create and design your own patterns, once you begin learning embroidery. There is a section on how to transfer designs, although she left out the simple solution of using a light box or window and simply tracing designs through the fabric. The actual text of the book is fairly brief, the rest consists of basic embroidery patterns.

The author, Jenny Hart, also has a website where she sells individual design packs. I think the designs she sells on her website are more interesting and campy/retro/cool. The ones in the book are more basic, with a fair amount of baby and kid designs. You can see how I combined three different motifs above to create the holiday kitchen towel.

If you are trying to learn or relearn this craft on your own, this is a great starter book. Unfortunately, my mom isn't always around so I can ask *how do you make a French Knot again??* This book is a great substitute mom.