Modern Folk Embroidery: 30 Contemporary Projects for Folk Art Inspired Designs

If you love folk embroidery (or would like to give it a try), this book is a must-have. No boring old hearts and flowers here. Instead you get traditional motifs arranged into colorful, clean-lined designs by Nancy Nicholson, a very talented British designer. The book itself is beautiful to look at, with photos of the projects that will have you reaching for thread and needle. The projects themselves are simple, yet classy: ornaments and framed pictures; bracelet and brooches; pillows and pincushions and bags. Ho-hum, you might be thinking; nothing new here. But the projects are not really the main point of the book. Nicholson's aim is to expand your repertoire of stitches and motifs so you can ornament anything you choose with embroidered designs. And she succeeds brilliantly. In addition to the motifs and designs in the projects, there are several pages of motifs (that is, one or more stitches that create a little design, like a sun or a leaf). You can choose from all of these motifs the ones you want to use; and--even better--you can draw on Nicholson's ideas to create your own designs. If you love how-to books that teach you techniques instead of just giving you instructions for projects, you'll love this book. For novice stitchers the book has one serious drawback (for which I ought to have deducted one star, but it's very possible the publisher, not the author, is responsible). The instructions for stitches are seriously limited, consisting of one diagram per stitch and no verbal instructions. I don't think any beginner could learn stitches from these diagrams alone. However, if you also get yourself a copy of Marian Nichols's Encyclopedia of Embroidery Stitches, Including Crewel (Dover Embroidery, Needlepoint) , the best resource for learning stitches, then you'll be all set to enjoy yourself with Nancy Nicholson's inspiring book.

Nancy's book is very different from every other embroidery book that I have seen and I have seen 1000's of embroidery books. The projects in the book are not only beautifully designed, but Nancy uses colors that are not usually seen in the other embroidery books. I also love the size of the projects. Most of the projects are small, such as pin cushions, a bracelet cuff, ornaments, pillows, brooches along with other designs. Well, speaking of charming projects, One of my favorite projects is the design that is featured on the front of the book. It is of a bird that is cut out of wool felt and then eloquently embroidered with a variety of different stitches. The finished piece is then put in a small frame.There are also other designs in the book to embroider and hang right next to the bird project. Nancy's book will surely be one of your favorite embroidery books and you will have lots of projects to keep you busy for a very long time.

I've been very happy with Modern Folk Embroidery. The photography is beautiful and the book is full of great ideas. I've very pleased with this purchase.

A number of fun, pretty straightforward patterns to make using a combination of embroidery and applique. I'm not an expert in needlework, but to me, these projects seem to be Slavic/Scandinavian inspired. It's very stylized, and would work well with a range of decorating themes, especially Scandinavian and/or modern. (It would look awful with French Provincial!) The patterns are pretty and enticing, and offer a lot of variation. I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because the graphics for some of the more complicated stitches do not demonstrate or explain well how to do them. If you are an experienced embroiderer, you can probably figure them out... but the lack of explanation and detailed how-to is a problem. Still- I really love many of the patterns! and the techniques can certainly be applied to other projects. Recommended for ideas for straightforward, attractive projects for embroiderers.

Love this book. Beautiful patterns with good instructions. Lots of unusual new stitches for me. So many great ideals.

Looking forward to using these motifs. Some comments about stitch details being too brief, but YouTube and other sources can bridge any gaps.

I reviewed MANY embroidery books from my local libraries before purchasing, and this is one of the few I chose to purchase. I found her designs to be very appealing and exactly what I was looking for. I think she has another book that I'm going to have to look in to also. If you like the folk embroidery look, this book is for you.

I adore this book! I've made a few of the projects in it and they turned out adorable. I add my own touch of embroidery but you can do what you like, revise, revisit or make your own. Very fun book with a lot of great projects.

とっても可愛い作品ばかりで、そして刺し方も丁寧に説明されていたので納得のいく本でした。 見るだけでも楽しいです。

Precioso libro

I got this book for a gift. I love it. The illustrations/photography is beautiful and I find it all very inspiring. The instructions for the stitches are well communicated. I've successfully made a few of the projects.

Amei. Pra quem gosta desse estilo de bordados, é muito facil e inspirador. Um bom livro . Se nao souber inglês, da pra usar do mesmo jeito pq é bem explicativo.

Nice patterns God colour combination