Satisfying Stitches: Learn Simple Embroidery Techniques and Embrace the Joys of Stitching by Hand

by Hope Brasfield

Overview

Discover the creative satisfaction and stress-relieving benefits of embroidery while stitching fun, modern, vibrant designs such as flowers, plants, animals, landscapes, and celestial scenes.

Beginning a new creative pursuit can be intimidating, but Satisfying Stitches takes all the guesswork and fear out of getting started with techniques designed to boost confidence and provide relaxation. This easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated guide includes a review of the basic and inexpensive supplies needed to get started, foundational techniques, and step-by-step instructions for creating a variety of stitches. As your skills and confidence grow, you will find that stitches that may look advanced are quite simple, and you’ll be able to easily add dimension and texture to your designs.

The exclusive embroidery designs include a wide variety of motifs and patterns, such as houseplants, florals, mushrooms, butterflies, fish, landscapes, and sunsets, in a variety of color palettes. The projects are divided into three levels to match your confidence, skill level, and time.

While most beginner books don’t go beyond a couple of easy stitches, Satisfying Stitches takes the opposite approach, incorporating stitches that pack a big “wow” factor but are quite easy, such as fern stitch, wheatear stitch, thistle flowers, and woven wheel roses. Author Hope Brasfield offers tons of encouragement to beginners and beyond. You’ll learn to embrace imperfection, slow down, and enjoy the process.

You will also discover, as Hope did, that embroidery offers much more than a creative outlet. Focusing on something that requires imagination, handwork, and concentration can help reduce stress and promote relaxation.

Satisfying Stitches features:
 

• A wide range of attractive embroidery stitches that can be used to create any embroidery designs
• 18 original embroidery designs for popular motifs
• Detailed step-by-step instructions with clear photographs
• Troubleshooting tips and tricks throughout the book

So much more than pretty patterns, Satisfying Stitches offers an exciting opportunity to gain new skills, become a more confident creative, ditch the smart phone, and de-stress.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760377703
Publisher:	Quarry Books
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	833,456
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Hope Brasfield is an embroidery artist, designer, and teacher. She has a master’s degree in applied psychology. Originally from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, she now lives in east Tennessee.

Website: Hopebroidery.com
Instagram handle: @hopebroidery
Facebook: hopebroidery

Table of Contents

How to Use This Book 4

1 Creative and Emotional Success 6

Embroidery and Mindfulness 8

Embroidery as a "Corrective Emotional Experience" 10

Setting Yourself up for Success: Key Reminders as You Get Started 12

2 Embroidery Supplies 16

Essential Supplies 18

Optional Supplies 21

3 Getting Started in Embroidery 24

How to Use an Embroidery Hoop 26

How to Separate Strands of Embroidery Floss 28

How to Thread a Needle 29

Transferring Patterns to Fabric 30

How to Start and End Your Floss 32

How to Back an Embroidery Hoop 34

4 Embroidery Stitches and Techniques 36

Line Stitches 38

Vines & Foliage 48

Filling Stitches 54

Embellishments 60

5 Projects 72

Florals 74

Houseplants 82

Fruit 90

Skies 98

Animals 106

Mushrooms 114

Patterns 122

Acknowledgments 126

About the Author 126

Index 127

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/03/2022

Embroidery is a breeze in this stellar debut from designer Brasfield. Suggesting that the craft can go a long way in combatting day-to-day stress, Brasfield notes that “embroidery taught me that it’s okay to be imperfect, that it can be healthy to move onto something new, and that it’s okay if I’m starting with fewer resources or knowledge than somebody else.” She explains how to use a hoop, transfer a pattern to fabric, split floss, and thread a needle (if a needle threader isn’t readily available, a small piece of paper will do the trick). Basic stitch tutorials cover the back stitch, stem stitch, and gentle blending, and after readers stock up on supplies, they can choose from Brasfield’s 18 projects. There’s a simple gold and pink flower that comes together with whipped back stitches and seed stitches, a charming strawberry with floral adornments made with the woven wheel rosebud stitch, an intricate sunset scene that uses gentle blending and French knots, and a goldfish made of satin and split back stitches. Brasfield’s simple language and step-by-step photographs make this a great starting point for those new to the craft. This delightful resource is sure to inspire. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Embroidery is a breeze in this stellar debut from designer Brasfield. This delightful resource is sure to inspire.”—Publishers Weekly STARRED Review

“A mix of crafting and self-help, Satisfying Stitches is a call to make lovely embroidery projects and to craft an experience that is meaningful to the stitcher.”—Foreword Reviews

From the Publisher

12/16/2022

Embroidery artist and designer Brasfield (Hopebroidery.com) has penned an accessible and easy-to-use craft book. She introduces tools of the embroidery trade with an upbeat approach and an emphasis on affordability and making do. Through clear photographs and easy-to-understand instructions, readers will learn simple embroidery techniques and stitches. The embroidery projects are small and organized by the pattern's theme or subject matter—houseplants, mushrooms, flowers, fruit, skies, animals—and the patterns increase in difficulty from one theme to the next. Readers also get a glimpse into Brasfield's transformation from a self-described "sad, anxious failure" thanks to the "corrective emotional experience" of embroidery. Common-sense advice and other tidbits not strictly related to embroidery are sprinkled throughout the book—for instance, Brasfield writes, "Focusing on our own progress and work is difficult, but it beats comparing ourselves to others to the point that we decide to quit altogether" With clear instructions, vibrant photos, a retro color palette, and projects that embroiderers of nearly any skill level can do, this book checks all the boxes. Tweens, teens, and adults will all find it useful. VERDICT Highly recommended, especially for libraries looking to expand their beginner-embroidery offerings.—Sarah Sieg

Library Journal