Embroider Everything Workshop: The Beginner's Guide to Embroidery, Cross-Stitch, Needlepoint, Beadwork, Applique, and More

A spirited guide packed with everything you need to know to embroider like a pro and transform any plain piece of fabric or fabric surface into a work of art. Combining attitude and instruction, projects and inspiration—plus iron-on transfer pattern sheets and a die-cut practice stitch card— Embroider Everything Workshop is a complete how-to. It covers all the major embroidery stitching techniques: freehand embroidery, appliqué, smocking, needlepoint, beadwork, cross-stitch and blackwork. Then come the projects: 40 hip, clever, stylish, and useful patterns that give readers a real taste of embroidery’s possibilities.

"Rupp (Sew Everything Workshop) presents a beginners' guide to embroidery that replaces granny and aunty, or mom and dad. Usually one relative can teach one or two forms of embroidery glory, but this spiral-bound book, which includes a 'practice stitch card' and iron-on transfers, proves its middle name by teaching everything. The first half, 'The Basics,' covers equipment, from a gallery of needles to a discussion of weaves; preparation, including proper lighting; stitching — freehand, needlepoint, monograms, etc.; and transferring designs onto fabric with pencils, heat, carbon paper, painting, etc. Jim Franco's photos and Sybille Schenker's illustrations beautifully augment the text. Tucked beside text are tips, such as using lip balm to re-marry separated threads, and history (Coats and Clark's 'ONT' means 'our new thread'). Rupp's enthusiastic, colloquial writing style unfortunately includes limp puns and cutesy titles ('The Scoop on Hoops'). The second half presents Rupp's original projects, ranging in degrees of difficulty from a simple cat toy to a tricky family-tree album cover." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Diana Rupp founded and runs Make Workshop in New York City, the hip craft school that teaches everything from how to use a sewing machine to spinning your own yarn. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.