Books about Stitches - longish list

That book (Marion Nichols) is marvelous, and I love her style of
writing. Our local library has it, and I've often been tempted to get
it for myself.

Unfortunately, books with just "stitches" leave you wanting because you
often don't know how to use them or combine them. I once had the
Reader's Digest book of embroidery stitches (Melinda Coss) which I gave
away to a "newbie" because it didn't offer me any information I didn't
already have, and she was so eager - it contained samples to try and
showed some "combinations". I have since - for the sake of reference -
wished I still had that book grin, but I know who has it has
appreciated it.

The reason I listed "technique" books is because they are really
"stitch" books, but limited. They help you to understand how to use the
different stitches.

I wish someone would redo Dillmont's work with modern photography. Some
of those plates make it difficult to understand the workings. I have
the most up-to-date edition, which claims better graphics, but, in my
opinion, still is a problem area.

Dianne

Marie C wrote:
"Linn Skinner" wrote in message ...

All great books and most of them in my "General Collection" Do you have any
books dedicated to just stitches? I'm always looking for moreG

Linn



Hi Lynn: Looks like we both have quite the library LOL. One
book of stitches that I have, that I didn't see in your list is:
Marion Nichols - Encyclopedia of Embroidery Stitches, including
Crewel.
Marie C.

Dianne, I know what you mean about "just" stitch books lacking in design
reference.......illustrations and information helps that much more as a
point of reference.

As you or someone noted earlier about the books Linn listed being
slanted towards her primary stitching interest........even though I
primarily focus on needlepoint, also have many of the previous books
listed that I also use for reference.
Overall, in my opinion, many stitches can be used for any type of
stitching...... if a particular stitch works for a design, use it!
No need to worry if the stitch was supposed to be originally for counted
thread or crewel embroidery......it's from this type of experimentation
that "new" techniques and designs come about.

I have many stitch books based on world stitching as compared to western
needlework because of my great curiosity and love of color and pattern.
Some favorite stitching books have to do with embroideries from India
and other areas of the east as I love the color and details of these
farway places, different from the usual western stitching.....here are
some books that haven't been mentioned so far.......

The Techniques of Indian Embroidery - Anne Morrel
pub: Interweave Press

Shisha Embroidery - Traditional Indian Mirror Work - Nancy D Gross &
Frank Fontana.......Pub: Dover Books

The Art of Kantha Embroidery - Niaz Zama
Pub: University Press Limited

There is also a Japanese Embroidery Technique book with history and
techniques shown but don't have the book next to me at the moment.
---------------------------------------------------

I've read many books about Indian and other countries to see and learn
about the application of stitching and needlework embellishment
techniques in costumes, textiles of daily life and festive occasions.
A list of some favorite books about needlework & embellished textiles,
many with wonderful photos and background info:

Mud, Mirror and Thread - Nora Fisher Editor
Pub: Grantha Corporation, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Afghan Embroidery - Roland Paiva & Bernard Dupaigne
Pub: Ferozons (Pvt.) Ltd.

Jan Messent's World of Embroidery
Pub: B.T. Batsford Ltd.

The Bayeux Tapestry Embroiderers' Story - Jan Messent
Pub: Madeira Threads (U.K) Ltd

Chinese Embroidery - Wang Yarong
Pub: Kodansha International New York & Tokyo

The Chinese Purse - Loretta S. Wang
Pub: Hilit Publishing Co., Ltd.

World Embroidery - Caroline Crabtree
Pub: David & Charles

Embroidered Textiles - Sheila Paine
Pub: Thames & Hudson
---------------------------------------------------

Following the exotic needlework techniques leads to metallic
stitching....

Metallic Thread Embroidery - Jacqueline Kreinik
Pub: David & Charles

Metal Thread Embroidery - Edna Wark
Pub: Kangaroo Press

These following are stitch books slanted towards needlepoint techniques
and the use of the many wonderful threads and yarns
available.......these books are excellent stitching guides with their
clear stitch diagrams and suggestions on what threads will look good
with what stitches along with info about thread thickness and number of
plies to use for the best effects.
I like to compare stitch versions by different instructors / designers /
authors and read about their approaches towards using stitches........a
partial list of some of my favorites:

Brenda Hart's series of needlepoint stitch books.......such as Favorite
Stitches, book 1 and 2......think she has written another such book
since

Then there are these two well known stitch books to needlepointers by
Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson.....Stitches for Effect & More
Stitches for Effect

Bargello Stars, Shells and Borders - Josephine Ruth Paine
Pub: The University of Georgia

Similar to the above specialty stitching books I use for reference are
technique books by Jean Taggart and Ann Strite-Kurz

Caroline Ambuter's Complete Needlepoint & Caroline Ambuter's Even More
Complete Book of Needlepoint

The Liberated Canvas - Penny Cornell
Pub: Triple T Publishing c.c Capetown

Design Your Own Needlepoint - Ann Gittins & Jennie Petersen
Pub: Batesford

June McKnight's series of needlepoint books......wonderful small sized
books packed with specialty stitch diagrams, how-to-use, lots of info.
Each book focuses on a specific use, such as Architectural Stitches,
Shading and Thread Blending Techniques, Plants & Animals in Needlepoint,
Holiday Stitches and many more such technique books.

Three years ago, I finally broke down and splurged ($135) on an old copy
of A Pageant of Needlepoint by Sherle Lantz - very nice diagrams and
interesting to read her philosophy on stitching.

My other interest is surface embroidery......the closest thing to
traditional drawing techniques:

Exploring Elzabethan Embroidery - Dorthy Clarke - designs by Stephanie
Pwell
Pub: Georgeson Publishing Ltd

Royal School of Needlework- Embroidery Techniques - text by Sally
Saunders - designs by Anne Butcher & Debra Barrett
Pub: Brassey's Washington, D.C.

Traditional Embroidered Animals - Sarah Don
Pub: David & Charles

Lalla Ward's Countryside Embroidery Book
Pub: Pelham Books

Embroidered Pictures - Dorothy Tucker
Pub: A&C Black - London

Color and Design for Embroidery - Richard Box
Pub: Brassey's Inc., Washington, D.C.

Beginner's Guide to Crewel Embroidery - Jane Rainbow
Pub: Search Press - wonderful how-to pictures and beautiful finished
color samples - inspires one to do crewel now.....

The Judith Montano series about silk ribbon is great one to learn silk
ribbon techniques......I love the color pictures in her books.

There's a series of stitch books beginning with A-Z about various
embroidery stitches from Australia are great for the step-by-step
pictures......really like these books.

The above are a sampling of mostly stitch technique reference books I
like using.....then there are the numerous wonderful needlework and
needlepoint books full of wonderful designs I love to look through for
inspiration......also have a great interest in samplers and have many
books about samplers and how to design them.

I have a huge library of needlework books that I enjoy for many
reasons. It would be extremely difficult to have to choose just one
book........but I'd grab my stitching suitcase filled with threads,
fabrics including canvas and a few needles if I ever got stuck on a
desert isle.....I'd then stitch an illustrated journal of new adventure
and thoughts!
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:

That book (Marion Nichols) is marvelous, and I love her style of
writing. Our local library has it, and I've often been tempted to get
it for myself.

Unfortunately, books with just "stitches" leave you wanting because you
often don't know how to use them or combine them. I once had the
Reader's Digest book of embroidery stitches (Melinda Coss) which I gave
away to a "newbie" because it didn't offer me any information I didn't
already have, and she was so eager - it contained samples to try and
showed some "combinations". I have since - for the sake of reference -
wished I still had that book grin, but I know who has it has
appreciated it.

The reason I listed "technique" books is because they are really
"stitch" books, but limited. They help you to understand how to use the
different stitches.

I wish someone would redo Dillmont's work with modern photography. Some
of those plates make it difficult to understand the workings. I have
the most up-to-date edition, which claims better graphics, but, in my
opinion, still is a problem area.

Dianne

Ooooh, there's a few on this list I would like to add . . . but only a
few. You're a counted stitcher, and your list exemplifies it. huge grin


Diane - Whilst sorting the bookshelves, I ran across a book you might
enjoy - "Embroidered Flowers" by Pamela Watts ISBN 0 7134 7056 9

Heaps of innovative surface stuff. Pushes the envelope with lots of
inspiration for projects.

Linn Skinner
Skinner Sisters
www.skinnersisters.com

Dianne wrote:

You're a counted stitcher, and your list exemplifies it. huge grin

Ah, yes. But a lot of free embroidery stitches have been metamorphosed to
counted thread.

Except for Pageant of Pattern, no canvas work stitch books have been mentioned:

Jo Ippolito Christesen - The Needlepoint Book - Generally considered the
canvas worker's Bible
Mary Rhodes - Dictionary of Canvas Work Stitches
Hope Hanley - 101 Needlepoint Stitches & how to use them. Still in print from
Dover - The needlework photographed for the cover is in the Smithsonian.
Mindy English - the Canvas Embroidery Notebook: Stitches - I've heard that
Mindy's daughters are keeping all of her books in print
Mindy English - the Canvas Embroidery Notebook: Filling Stitches - Crosses &
Eyelets
Mindy English - the Canvas Embroidery Notebook: Filling Stitches - Tied
Variations
Mindy English - the Canvas Embroidery Notebook: More Filling Stitches
Mindy English - the Canvas Embroidery Notebook: Borders I - This book is so
good, I bought it twice.
Mindy English - the Canvas Embroidery Notebook: Backgrounds
Jean Hilton - Needlepoint Stitches
Jean Hilton - Stimulating Stitches

Other interesting books include:

Linda Driskell - Favorite Stitches for Linen & Canvas - Volumes 1,2 & 3
Jane Zimmerman - The Art of Elizabethan Embroidery - Many variations of
detached buttonhole
Jane Zimmerman - Pulled Thread Embroidery Stitches

If you are interested in stitch combinations, there is no better book (IMO)
than Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches by Carole Samples. When I first saw this
book, I didn't even open it. I'm a counted person who doesn't care for the
overall look of crazy quilts. The second time I saw it, I casually flipped
through it. Then I picked it up & really looked through it and had to purchase
it immediately. So many of the combinations are adaptable to counted work.
Free embroidery people will love it, and not just crazy quilters!

Nancy Sue,
Professional Project Starter

P.S. Don't you just love MS Word's thesaurus? Metamorphosed indeed!

Linn Skinner wrote:

One of the books I crave is Mrs. Christie's
Medieval Embroidery (seldom on the market at going at $2,000 or so a copy)

Oh, I've not heard of that one. I crave Let Virtue be a Guide to Thee by Betty
Ring, and an original edition of American Samplers by Bolton & Coe. I love to
look at the pictures!
Nancy Sue,
Professional Project Starter

Susie Jordan wrote:

I have just ordered Darlene O'Steen's book "The Proper Stitch." I
paid an arm and a leg for it. PLEASE tell me if it is going to be
worth it.

It is worth it, IMO. She doesn't just tell you how to do the stitch, but gives
details about compensating at the beginning & end. She also explains ending
off your threads and turning corners. Plus, you get 2 sampler patterns. Such
a deal!

BTW, when you get it, take a close look (with magnifier, if necessary) at the
alternating backstitch on the cover (in white). You will see the horizontal
compensating stitch I talked about last week in the Lost Stitches thread. In
the book, that stitch is charted with a diagonal compensating stitch.

HTH

Nancy Sue,
Professional Project Starter

Dear Lula, I'm not Dianne, but since I have a collection of Dillmont's books
(she published lots as companion pieces to the Encyclopedia of Needlework), I
have some answers to your questions:

.a few questions come to mind,
were these graphics done at the same time and did Dillmont personally
proof them?

Yes and yes.

How much editorial control did she have over the contents of her book?

Virtually total.

In the preface to the original edition, published in the 1860s, she writes "in
the figures which illustrate the text, the work which served as model, the
drawing, and the plates are all entirely new, nothing having been borrowed from
pervious publications. Further, if only by the particular care bestowed on
these illustrations, we have succeeded in obtaining perfect drawings which,
faithfully reproduced, contribute all that can be desired towards making the
explanations clear and easy to follow."

In the revised edition, which is what most of us have, first issued by DMC
around 1910 and reprinted constantly for at least the next 50 years, more black
and white figures in the original style -- drawings so detailed that they look
at first glance like photographs -- as well as 16 color plates were added.
Both versions were state of the publishers' art for their time. The whole
thing was printed to the highest standard and sturdily bound, obviously very
expensive to produce, but DMC sold it quite cheaply, figuring, I guess, like
today's manufacturers of computer printers, that what they might lose on the
hardware, they would more than make up in the sale of supplies.

The main problem I have with the illustrations is that they tend to be a little
small and there just are not enough patterns. Dillmont and DMC addressed this
difficulty by issuing numerous companion volumes on particular techniques, with
larger diagrams, more use of color and more extensive directions. The earliest
ones were done as portfolios, and these too, were expensively produced and sold
at reasonable prices.

The pride of my collection is a set of the first three cross stitch portfolios
-- oversized embossed heavy cardboard folders tied with patterned silk ribbons
enclosing a bound instruction manual and DMC catalog. The design plates are
unbound for ease of use in actually stitching. It's an elegant presentation
and one that I wish modern book needlecraft publishers would revive as it
eliminates the urge to make a working copy when trying to actually stitch a
design from a large format book.

Annie, who has probably told you more now than you ever wanted to know about
the subject

The pride of my collection is a set of the first three
cross stitch portfolios
-- oversized embossed heavy cardboard folders tied with
patterned silk ribbons
enclosing a bound instruction manual and DMC catalog. The
design plates are
unbound for ease of use in actually stitching. It's an
elegant presentation
and one that I wish modern book needlecraft publishers
would revive as it
eliminates the urge to make a working copy when trying to
actually stitch a
design from a large format book.

That was wonderful information about DMC Annie, some of it
new to me.

I can think of one modern publication that was published in
portfolio style with large charts that can be removed for
use when stitching. It also has a ribbon to close it but
it's not silk. The book is well worth having.

OLD ITALIAN PATTERNS FOR LINEN EMBROIDERY
Collectied and Analyzed by Frieda Lipperheide
Translated and edited by Kathleen Epstein
Published by her own press, Curious Works press

http://www.curiousworks.com/Old_Italian.html

MaryR

pamfree (NancySue) wrote in message
It is worth it, IMO. She doesn't just tell you how to do the stitch,
but gives
details about compensating at the beginning & end. She also explains ending
off your threads and turning corners. Plus, you get 2 sampler patterns. Such
a deal!

BTW, when you get it, take a close look (with magnifier, if necessary) at the
alternating backstitch on the cover (in white). You will see the horizontal
compensating stitch I talked about last week in the Lost Stitches thread. In
the book, that stitch is charted with a diagonal compensating stitch.

HTH

Nancy Sue,
Professional Project Starter

It's here! All I can say right now is WOW! I know I'm going to be
pouring over the pages and making lots of doodle cloths. Plus the two
samplers are wonderful.

I'll report back after I've tried some.

Susie

Annie, thank you so much for the background facts about the Dillmont
book I had asked about. It was very interesting to learn more about the
publishing history of the Dillmont book.......now I have an even greater
respect for the enormous amount of research and work involved in the
writing of this book under the manufacturing and publishing restrictions
of her era.

Lucky you to have those stitch portfolios! They sound beautifully done
as well as instructive.......I agree with you, it would be lovely to
have such an elegant stitch publication available today.
It would give needlework that much more of a "romantic" artistic touch.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

FKBABB wrote:

Dear Lula, I'm not Dianne, but since I have a collection of Dillmont's books
(she published lots as companion pieces to the Encyclopedia of Needlework), I
have some answers to your questions:

.a few questions come to mind,
were these graphics done at the same time and did Dillmont personally
proof them?

Yes and yes.

How much editorial control did she have over the contents of her book?

Virtually total.



In the preface to the original edition, published in the 1860s, she writes "in
the figures which illustrate the text, the work which served as model, the
drawing, and the plates are all entirely new, nothing having been borrowed from
pervious publications. Further, if only by the particular care bestowed on
these illustrations, we have succeeded in obtaining perfect drawings which,
faithfully reproduced, contribute all that can be desired towards making the
explanations clear and easy to follow."


In the revised edition, which is what most of us have, first issued by DMC
around 1910 and reprinted constantly for at least the next 50 years, more black
and white figures in the original style -- drawings so detailed that they look
at first glance like photographs -- as well as 16 color plates were added.
Both versions were state of the publishers' art for their time. The whole
thing was printed to the highest standard and sturdily bound, obviously very
expensive to produce, but DMC sold it quite cheaply, figuring, I guess, like
today's manufacturers of computer printers, that what they might lose on the
hardware, they would more than make up in the sale of supplies.


The main problem I have with the illustrations is that they tend to be a little
small and there just are not enough patterns. Dillmont and DMC addressed this
difficulty by issuing numerous companion volumes on particular techniques, with
larger diagrams, more use of color and more extensive directions. The earliest
ones were done as portfolios, and these too, were expensively produced and sold
at reasonable prices.


The pride of my collection is a set of the first three cross stitch portfolios
-- oversized embossed heavy cardboard folders tied with patterned silk ribbons
enclosing a bound instruction manual and DMC catalog. The design plates are
unbound for ease of use in actually stitching. It's an elegant presentation
and one that I wish modern book needlecraft publishers would revive as it
eliminates the urge to make a working copy when trying to actually stitch a
design from a large format book.

Annie, who has probably told you more now than you ever wanted to know about
the subject