A book recommendation

I picked up this book some time ago in the bargain bin at a local discount store. And didn’t really examine it closely until this weekend. Wow! The Embroiderer’s Floral: Designs, Stitches & Motifs for Popular Flowers in Embroidery by Janet Haigh covers just about everything you need to know about embroidering flowers. The author starts with some history:

“Flowers and embroidery are inextricably linked in the English language. In the past the verb “to flower” was a synonym for embroidery, and embroidered flowers are found recorded throughout textile history from ancient China to modern times.”

She discusses materials, making your own patterns and transfers, hand and machine embroidery techniques, and projects like napkins, cushions, and aprons. But the main part of the book is the Floral Directory where she focuses on specific flowers with beautiful pictures and specifics on how to create each one. Patterns for most of the motifs and instructions for individual embroidery stitches can be found at the back of the book.

Flowers include allium (done in star filling stitches and French knots)…



...anemone, convolvulus, cornflower, daisy, dianthus, fritillary, hellebore (shown on the cover), hydrangea (done in ribbon embroidery), iris, lavender, lily, narcissus (done in machine-stitched appliqué)…



…pansy, poppy, primrose (!), sweet pea, rose, tulip, and violet. This is a great book for when you’ve graduated from stamped-for-embroidery projects and want to create your own designs or to learn new stitches and techniques to expand your repertoire. The work shown reminds me very much of the projects you find in the magazine Inspirations, which is published in Australia but can sometimes be found here. I occasionally see them at my local Borders.

Copyright 2002 Collins & Brown. Text by Janet Haigh, Photography by John Heseltine. Krause Publications ISBN 0-87349-443-1