Cover Image: First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch

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Member Reviews

The “Getting Started” portion of this book gives very clear information regarding the tools and materials one will need to take up this craft. The fundamentals of preparing fabric, transferring patterns, and stitching basics are well described and reinforced through helpful photos and diagrams.

The chapters on “Creative Embroidery” and “Crewel” include extremely good descriptions of a wide variety of stitches with very clear photos and diagrams of each. These are some of the best I have seen, having looked at many such books over the years.

The chapter on “Cross-Stitch” is the weakest part of this book. While a variety of individual stitches are shown, the chapter does not address a run of stitches or the best way to transfer from one line of stitching to the next, or working with multiple colors of floss where the color on a line of stitching may change a multiple of times. While the projects given for creative embroidery and crewel are practical, the first one given for cross-stitch is not.

I am grateful to have received a copy of this book from Quarto Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

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This is a good beginning introduction to embroidery and cross stitch that is simple to follow. The embroidery stitches can be a bit hard to remember, and the book illustrates them well along with pattern ideas to use them. I wasn't a giant fan of some of the ideas, like a fedora, but the stitch can be applied to anything and the accompanying idea completely discarded. I liked that the steps to complete a stitch were illustrated clearly and labelled with numbers to guide the reader. I read on an ebook arc, but I would suggest using a physical copy to follow the directions since it's a pain to juggle thread and a phone at the same time.
Again the cross stitch section was pretty bland with patterns, but really good as an introduction to the stitches used. There are basically just flowers to choose from, but the directions are clear and helpful, and good as a reminder of some stitches I forget about. If you already know how to attempt cross stitch and embroidery, this may be very dull for project ideas, but is a great refresher and teacher of stitches.

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Whilst the book states it is for first time embroidery and cross stitchers, it also includes a chapter on something called Crewel. Plus the Getting Started chapter doesn't explain what the difference is between embroidery, crewel or cross stitch. As a first timer, I would expect this to be there rather than telling me all the equipment I might need; the first explanation what each method is doesn't come until page 45, 79 and 107 respectively.

In this book you learn 8 cross-stitch stitches, 16 crewel stitches and 21 embroidery stiches, which all come with good colour photography, drawings and steps to show how its achieved.

Once you have mastered the stitches, included are six simple projects to carry out: Embroidered jacket collar, Embroidered pillow case, Paisleys & pearls pillow, Fedora hat band, Candle band and Journal.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

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First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide by Linda Wyszynski is currently scheduled for release on September 3 2019. This beginner’s guide teaches everything you need to know about a variety of hand stitching techniques. It is filled with detailed descriptions of materials and tools, the easy step-by-step instructions for classic embroidery, crewel, and cross-stitch will have you creating and embellishing projects like jewelry, journal covers, pillows, fashions, and more with confidence.

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch was a wonderful reminder for me, because I used to do a great deal of needle work but had switched most of my crafting time to crochet- mainly because I can read on my kindle when crocheting and that does not usually work out so well when working with a sharp needle. This has inspired me to get back to it and maybe get through some audio books or my Netflix queue instead of my reading pile once and awhile. I liked getting the refresher course on tools and supplies, and think that newcomers to the craft will get a good understanding of the options- but they might be a little overwhelmed. There are so many options out there that I had never even considered and details I was unaware of that I was eager to try something new, but all that information at once might be too much for someone that has yet to thread their first needle. Beginners might just want to take it in small pieces or read what they are interested in at the moment. I found all of the writing to be very accessible and clear, both in the supply descriptions and the instructions. The pictures and diagrams were helpful and were well placed for optimum usefulness. The handful of designs included were simple and well explained- a nice starter set for beginners. I now how a few personalized pattern ideas running through my head.

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch is a nice stitch guide and a good resource for beginners. I would have liked a few more patterns and a little less about supplies that a beginner is not likely to need, however it offers exactly what the title suggests.

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This book features some cute beginner projects and really easy instructions to finish each one. It will help a new stitcher stay motivated to learn more. A more experienced stitcher can also enjoy these projects, most of which can be wrapped up quite quickly.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book would make a welcome addition to any crafter's bookshelf. There are only a few projects featured but the appeal of this book for me was the variety of stitches showcased.

The intro with equipment needed was informative and helpful

It would make the perfect stocking gift for crafting friends and I think will particularly appeal to crafters looking to try something new.

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Very thorough for the beginner stitcher. Great description and great visual references. Highly recommend.

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Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this eBook.

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch by Linda Wyszynski is a very useful manual/book for anyone interested in embroidery and cross-stitch. The instructions are easy to understand to follow which makes it a good gift to all the beginners out there.

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Gorgeous book. I have done cross stitch in the past and had done some complicated patterns. But I had a strong desire to learn how to embroider. This book has great examples for the beginner. The pictures are clear and would allow the beginner to create a simple but beautiful design on an project. Supplies can be found at local craft stores but more unusual fabrics may need to be purchased online. I look forward to trying some of the examples on my own knitting/crochet projects. Thank you for allowing me to review an advanced copy.

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I just got early access to “First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch” by Linda Wyszynski. As the title suggests, the book provides an introduction into information that you’d need in order to get started with freehand embroidery, crewel embroidery, and cross stitch. The book is adequate. I understand that the author has undertaken a daunting task, these are historical crafts with a lot of history and variation over continents.
The embroidery section seems straight forward and very well illustrated. I do wish there was more projects though. There are only 1-2 projects for each example and they are pretty basic. They also are kind of unfinished. The examples are pretty dated as well. I have seen so many cool applications for these crafts, it is disappointing to see them limited to flowers.
Cross-stitch is the only craft in the book I have experience in and as a result, it also feels like the least explained craft. They go through the several stitches of cross stitch, but they leave out the variety of counts that cloth comes in, the different number of strands one is suggested to use depending on the fabric count, the various types of coloring systems (DMC is not the only item out there). I understand not inundating the new user, but I don’t feel like these instructions even begin to explore the fun of cross stitch.
Most projects don’t really take the learning of the craft as the focus. They all have the embroidery and cross-stitch as an accent which means most of the instruction is assembling instead of focusing on the practice/learning of the craft. Overall I wouldn’t buy this book, this information is already present in many forms on the internet with better projects and more detail.

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First Time Embroidery and Cross Stitch is one of the First Time Guides. Due out 3rd Sept 2019 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.

It's nice to see embroidery and other fibrecrafts enjoying a renaissance of sorts. In times (long) past, people would learn these skills as a matter of necessity, handed down from generation to generation in the family. That's no longer true, so crafters must turn to other sources of instruction. The internet (youtube, ravelry, et.al.) and social media are a good sources of instruction, but for not -strictly-visual learners like me, books are still vital. I learn better if I have a book sitting in front of me and if I don't feel like I constantly have to pause the video to figure out what I'm doing.

These first time learner guides are formatted attractively and logically. The photography is stellar across the series and this one is no exception. The concepts, tools and terminology are shown simply and understandably.

About 30% of the page content is used in the introductory and starting chapters. The author covers tools, supplies including fabric, scissors, needles, fibres and more, charts diagrams and patterns, transferring patterns, stabilizers, and a basic introduction to fabric preparation and surface embroidery.

The next three chapters cover surface embroidery, crewel, and cross stitch. All of the stitching chapters have project tutorials. The stitch diagrams are clear and well photographed. It would definitely be possible to learn to do the stitches with the instructions in the book. It's helpful to have a stitchy friend to consult, of course, but it's not absolutely necessary, and a total beginner could do the projects in these chapters without any other resources. The projects themselves are attractive. They include embroidery embellishments on clothing, soft furnishings (pillows), a cross stitched candle band and an embellished journal cover.

This is a basic beginning-level book. Advanced stitchers won't find a lot which is challenging. I was very happy to see surface embroidery getting some love; it seems like cross stitch dominates the embroidery crafts these days. The step by step stitch diagram tutorials are worth the price of the book for reference.

Five stars.

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This is an excellent source for embroidery, cross stitch patterns, ideas, tips and projects. The directions are illustrated and every tool you would need is explained also. The book says for beginners, but it is also is a great refresher for anyone who does stitching. I have read several books on embroidery and this is truly the best one yet. The book is a treasure.



I was given this book as an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. The opinions are my own and freely given.

I would recommend this to anyone beginning or an old pro.

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This is an awesome resource for those who want to learn this craft or to develop your skills. Very descriptive info from what one needs to start to how to do various stitches. Would make a great gift for someone just learning!

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A handy guide to embroidery for beginners, offering an introduction to creative embroidery, crewel and cross-stitching, with a couple of project ideas for each style. My favorite part of this book was the helpful stitching guide, instructing how to do stitches both elementary and more advanced with textual descriptions, photos and illustrations (for all types of learners). Most of the projects strike me as between challenging and difficult for a true beginner, though, but I recommend this book for the stitch guide itself!

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This book is a great introduction to embroidery and cross stitch. It covers everything you need to know to get started. I'm excited to use this for my projects!

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This is a great introduction to embroidery, crewel and cross stitch. It covers all the bases you need to get started, from the supplies you'll need to how-tos on the basic stitches for each craft.

I really liked the range of stitches that were included in this guide, and the inclusion of a couple small projects in each craft was a great addition. This would be a fantastic guide for those looking to dip their toes into needleart!

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An excellent introduction to three types of needlework on fabric: free embroidery, crewel, and cross stitch. The information about techniques and supplies is excellent, and the illustrations and photos of stitches are outstanding. Throughout the book you'll find little tips for success that are not often found in most introductory books but that make it easier to create successful projects.

After the chapter on basics, there are three sections, one for each technique. Each has a dictionary of stitches at the beginning. Every stitch has both a picture and diagrams. Following this are two projects in the technique.While I wish there were more projects, this is enough to get the reader started and to try out these forms of needlework.

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This is a wonderful book for those who want to learn how to do embroidery and cross stitch. It is well written with lots of photos and explanations. The book begins with a comprehensive list of materials, explaining what is needed and how they are used. There is a nice list of projects with very good explanations and lots of easy to follow photos. An excellent book for a beginner and I will be sure that I will get a lot of use from this book. I received this book as an ARC and was very happy to do my review.

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A very accessible step-by-step guide to embroidery,cross-stitch and crewel.

The book is very easy,with clear instructions and great descriptions.
As the cover says,it is meant for beginner but as a old lover of cross-stitch this was a great memory refresher.

A detailed list of what is needed is offered at the beginning of the book:different types of needles,scissors and other materials.

I particularly appreciated the graphic parts that show the way to do the proper stitches.

The final part of the book includes some projects to work your skills on.

Truly enjoyed this book!

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First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch by Linda Wyszynski is a wonderful primer for first time cross-stitchers and embroiderers. The book also includes Crewel work. The book is therefore divided into three sections. In each section there is detailed information about what materials to use, what types of needles and other supplies. There are wonderful graphics depicting each type of stitch and how to make it. So if you are a visual learner this book will be perfect for you. There are several projects for each section so you have something to work on to practice your newly found creativity. Well done.
I would like to thank Quarto Publishing, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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