Embroider Your Stress Away Escape the chaos of everyday life by embroidering yourself a romantic and tranquil getaway. Allow Charles Henry and Elin Petronella to whisk you away to the calming villas of the French countryside. Discover the hidden gems of Paris, stroll down the colorful tiled streets of Lisbon or float along the canals of Venice. Let go of your worries stitch by stitch through these 20 delightful European scenescapes inspired by Charles and Elin’s favorite places throughout Europe. Beginners can confidently complete any design in this book using five common and simple embroidery stitches. As leaders in the modern hand embroidery movement, Charles and Elin invite you to let go of perfectionism and instead slow down, unwind and enjoy the meditative process of creating something gorgeous one stitch, and breath, at a time. For a printable download of the pattern design templates, please email Charles at [email protected].

Explore personal transformation through the stitching of dreams and intentions. Anything but ordinary, Mystical Stitches combines the beloved and accessible craft of embroidery with a spiritual element, introducing a rich treasury of 200 magical symbols you can use to set an intention and create personal icons to wear or embellish items in the home. Christi Johnson offers unique patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, zodiac signs, and mythical beasts, for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson’s folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Embrace a simpler approach to stitching with bold one- and two-color embroidery motifs Zakka Embroidery presents designs that are an elegant blend of Japanese and Scandinavian style. The motifs and patterns are spare and graphic, yet softened with organic shapes and imagery drawn from nature. The result is embroidery that evokes a personal feel and conjures a sense of nostalgia. The task of picking just the right palette for an embroidery project can be overwhelming to beginners and experienced stitchers alike. But when you take away that challenge, a whole world of texture and style becomes available. Here Japanese designer Yumiko Higuchi presents embroidery motifs to be stitched using just one or two colors—creating patterns and designs that are more evocative for their form than for a play of colors. Each embroidery design is paired with a simple craft project, transforming the stitched fabric into a functional object, including pouches, pillows, aprons, and more. With beautiful photographs, clear step-by-step instructions, and detailed diagrams, Zakka Embroidery will be an inspiring guide for those new to embroidery and a delightful experience for those experienced with needle and thread.

Learn the art of thread painting from Instagram sensation Michelle Staub Cats and dogs seem to always have a paw planted firmly in our hearts. Capture the life in their eyes and the texture of their fur with a unique embroidered pet portrait! Insta-famous artist Michelle Staub puts a modern spin on thread painting with her easy-to-learn approach. Get started with 4 basic embroidery stitches, and follow the detailed tutorials to hone your skills. Capture awe-inspiring details of your pet with lessons in full-color thread painting or go clean with a simple line drawing—the choice is yours. Learn to personalize your art piece with names, dates, and decorative accents. With 20 sample patterns to customize, you can easily recreate any breed! Paint stunningly realistic pet portraits with just a needle and thread Try your hand at two styles—minimal outlines and incredible full-color renderings Make it modern with floral garlands, personalized banners, and crisp lettering Start today with 4 easy stitches and 20 customizable projects

Stitch a modern crewelwork sampler Rediscover crewel embroidery with colorful wool and cheerful designs sure to brighten any home. Jo Avery invites stitchers of all levels to take on this traditional heritage art and make projects that pop! Create texture and dimension using wool thread and felt appliqué. Stitch up flowers, honeycombs, fish, and so much more. Embroiderers, cross-stitchers, and curious crafters looking to expand their skill set will enjoy the range of hand stitches and instructional illustrations accompanying each design. Relax and unwind with this hands-on art form! 15 fresh designs breathe new life into traditional crewelwork embroidery Beginner friendly! Basic and more advanced embroidery stitches with complete illustrations Create pincushions, pillows, wallhangings, hoops, and more

Keeping to a theme started in Crewel Twists, this book continues the concept of using non-traditional techniques and materials in crewel or Jacobean embroidery. It showcases four large projects, each with an accompanying small project similar in technique, and shows needle workers how to be creative with threads, alternative stitches and beads. Traditional techniques are explained but are extended with the use of bead embroidery, needle lace techniques, and stitches not normally used in crewel work. Many new needle lace and bead embroidery techniques are incorporated, and the book also explores weaving techniques used to create textures like twill and lace weaves, as well as patterns similar to tartan and houndstooth check. Every project is clearly explained with step-by-step instructions and lots of photographs, and the completed embroideries are once again displayed in ways that are both decorative and functional in the home. Templates of the original designs complete this magnificent source for creative embroidery.

Learn to create stunning needlecraft projects inspired by traditional fairy tales, including The Wizard of Oz, Karolcia, The Wild Swans, and Cinderella. This magical collection takes as its central theme a magnificent embroidery depicting the “Tree of Happiness.” Each part of the embroidery is then explored in detail through stitch diagrams, explanations of the threads used, and alternative ways of working. There are seven wonderful designs in total, each dedicated to one of Tatiana’s favorite fairy tales, and all illustrated with gorgeous photographs and informative diagrams. Over 90 stitches are described in the book, all worked using stranded cotton and cotton pearl thread rather than traditional crewel wool, which gives the embroideries a fresh, modern appeal. Whether you are new to embroidery or an experienced embroiderer looking for inspiration and expert guidance, Tatiana’s beautiful book is one you will turn to again and again. “Tatiana Popova is a major craftswoman in her art, and what she does is beautiful. She not only demonstrates the techniques of crewel, she simplifies and breakdown each design into small achievable parts.” —Postcard Reviews

Lose yourself in the creative process with 35 meditative makes. In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to find time to slow down and make time for the simple joy of making, so Clare Youngs has designed a wide range of beautiful and tempting projects to help you experience the pleasure and satisfaction that making something with your own hands can bring. The best thing about practicing mindfulness through craft is that you have something tangible to show at the end, and you can start small with the coral reef-inspired embroidery hoops, or just by making pompoms and tassels to be added to the edge of a pillow or blanket. You can learn techniques such as block printing, punch needling, shibori dyeing, weaving, macramé, and quilting, all of which encourage a mindful approach, and a way to experience a feeling of “flow”. Make unique things for yourself and your home, using natural materials such as wool, cotton, linen, and leather. Clare is a believer in making new things from old, using what you have, and adapting old fabrics to counteract a throwaway society, and all her designs have a Scandinavian-inspired, modern esthetic.

This guide explores visible mending techniques in both hands-on projects and thoughtful insight about how mending relates to mindful well-being. Mending Matters explores sewing on two levels: First, it includes more than twenty projects that showcase visible mending—styles that are edgy, modern, and bold, yet draw on traditional stitching. It does all this with just four simple mending techniques: exterior patches, interior patches, slow stitches, darning, and weaving. In addition, the book addresses the way mending leads to a more mindful relationship to fashion and to overall well-being. In essays that accompany each how-to chapter, Katrina Rodabaugh explores mending as a metaphor for appreciating our own naturally flawed selves. She also examines the ways in which mending teaches us new skills, self-reliance, and confidence, all gained from making things with our own hands.