The Hand-Stitched Flower Garden: 40 Beautiful Floral Designs to Embroider, Plus 20 Great Project Ideas

I preordered this book and just received it today; I'm happy to be the first reviewer. First, let me say this is a pretty good book.Second, let me point out that that I like a couple other books more as the directions are more clear. On design and variety, this book earns 5 stars. On simplicity of actually producing projects, something is missing: the stitch directions show disembodied stitches and show the direction of the stitch pretty clearly...but not how you stitch it onto the fabric. I was most happy to see this book is all about linen and counted thread instead of surface embroidery. However, the stitch designs will resonate only with experienced stitchers. You will not be able to teach yourself embroidery if you are a raw beginner unless you're extremely talented in discerning missing information. There is a spate of recent embroidery books out there authored by Japanese design experts but sadly they assume stitchers are more advanced than we often are.How to make up the actual projects is really well-illustrated and explained. The projects can be unusual: you don't see egg cozies every day! While my in my husband's native England, tea cozies are in daily use to keep the water in the teapot warm. Here, if you saw an egg cozy w/o an egg, you'd scratch your head to identify it.Cultural differences are exemplified in the choice of colors and seasons of flowers.I have a personal dislike of 4 sided snowflakes, especially when 6-sided would be so easy to map out here.It's unusual that I couldn't immediately identify the stitches used: what looks like a 3-D tufted stitch is actually 3 colors of ribbon mashed close together with the ribbon standing upright. The stitch dictionary has many tried and true stitches you'll be familiar with like the lazy daisy, straight stitch, satin stitch and French knots. But the 2-spoke woven picot, the "granitos stitch" which I've never heard of and don't really understand based on the diagrams, and the gathered ribbon flower doesn't seem to match its pictures. Most of the stitch dictionary shows the finished stitch on the fabric and only one or two diagrams; believe me, you will not discern how to make that padded satin stitch flower without some practice. What is super annoying is that each page in the stitch dictionary displays only 3 stitches, but very few of them extend to the bottom of the page--too much wasted blank space!! Show us how to stitch it on the fabric! With how fine the linen is, you'll be hard-pressed to see the scale of many flowers based on the diagrams.All these complaints aside, I couldn't give this book less than 4 stars because it can give you inspiration on designing and the diagrams to make nice projects are exceptionally well-illustrated.So this book is appropriate for medium to advanced stitchers...not beginners unless you have a good stitch dictionary or patient friend to rely on.

In The Hand Stitched Flower Garden, Yuki Sugashima showcases her cleanly exquisite style via a wide range of sophisticated linen projects. Personal accessories like a brooche, a barrette, and a compact mirror complement the more domestically attuned oven mitt, pin cushion, and napkin ring.Surprisingly, what might make the most satisfying project is a sampler inspired by the book's seasonal presentation. Combined with Sugashima's elemental handwritten labels (without page numbers, of course), a crafter could customize their own beautiful botanical medley.There is a bewitching simplicity of appearance here that belies the more skilled techniques and specialized resources that this book could entail. For example, The Chestnut is a charmingly successful adaptation that seems relatively straightforward in 2 different pieces. Closer scrutiny reveals about 500 tiny seed beads must be manipulated to achieve the effect ... for just 1 chestnut. Many needle crafters will be joyfully undaunted, while beginners may wonder why we love this detail.Scale of the embroidery units is actual size per the templates section at the back of the book. (Unless specified otherwise in the instructions for a specific project.)Skill levels beyond basic will be beneficial. Regarding written instructions, more emphasis is channeled towards assembling the embroidery and stump work into the complete project, rather than on the individual embroidery unit itself. A wide variety of tools and materials will be needed, a task likely not feasible for many beginners.But as with any new hobby, if a project entices you sufficiently, it won't be long before you have an enviable range of resources. Sure, one day you will own just linen cloth, an embroidery frame, a beading needle, an embroidery needle, felt, brown floss, and 500 seed beads to make that chestnut. A month later your craft closet is overflowing with additional necessaries that The Hand Stitched Flower Garden may spur you to amass: at least 6 more needles of different types and thicknesses, specialized frames, rhinestones, floral wire, sequins, wool roving, ribbons, delica beads, fusibles, markers, and glues ... plus everything needed for sewing, such as fabrics, threads, and machine needles.Better start now. Yuki Sugashima gives us a lovely place to begin or continue, whatever the case may be.

I find that I do not like the book as much as I thought. Most of the techniques I am familiar with which means I will not have much use for the book.

As advertised and prompt delivery.

Beautiful designs

Muy decepcionada. Sin darme cuenta compré dos veces el mismo libro porque se vende con distintas portadas. Esto antes no pasaba porque se podía ver el interior de los libros.