Animal Embroidery Workbook

by Jessica Long

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Animal Embroidery Workbook is a tutorial and style guide for surface embroidery by Jessica Long. Due out 1st Nov 2020 from Fox Chapel, it's 208 pages and will be available in paperback format.
I enjoyed this book a lot. The pictures are all very clear and colorful, the projects are well designed and appealing, and the text is upbeat and fun. The introduction includes a discussion of tools, supplies, and basic techniques. The bulk of the book is taken up by the 30 different animal projects. The projects themselves are varied and attractive. The display models in the book are shown mounted in hoops, but all of them could certainly be easily adapted to other finishes. All of the templates are included. Each tutorial contains an introduction, materials list (nothing too exotic or difficult to source), and step by step photo tutorials from start to finish. Tips and alternative finishes are included in the tutorials. The book also includes line drawn templates and an index but no index.

It should be noted that this book is about surface embroidery, not cross stitch. It's lovely to see tutorials and and upswing in interest for the other fibrearts; it seems like only cross-stitch had any following for a long long time and it's nice to see surface embroidery enjoying a renaissance. I really love the breezy and sweet style, and the quirky friendly animal projects.

Beautiful projects. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.