Stitch simple and striking embroidery designs with wool, cotton, pearl cotton, and metallic threads. Japanese artist Yumiko Higuchi is celebrated for her embroidery designs with a Scandinavian flair. The motifs and patterns she offers here are true to her trademark zakka style: simple and graphic yet softened with organic shapes and imagery drawn from nature. The result is embroidery that feels modern and nostalgic all at once. In Embroidered Botanicals, Higuchi offers 39 embroidery projects highlighting the distinctive quality of different threads. With motifs created specifically for different types of thread-wool, cotton, pearl cotton, and metallic-makers will become better versed in the materials available to them. With beautiful photographs, clear step-by-step instructions, and detailed diagrams, this book will be an inspiring guide for those new to embroidery and a fresh and unique offering for those experienced with needle and thread.

"Traditional Icelandic Embroidery has been out of print for almost a decade and is now available in revised edition. The main text contains a survey of the history of Icelandic traditional embroidery from the earliest times to the middle of the nineteenth century, emphasizing extant embroideries preserved in the National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavik. Included are fifty-four photographs in full color of embroideries and twenty-four pages of original patterns, all in the National Museum of Iceland, and an extensive updated bibliography of relevant books and articles. Also included are eight pages with stitch diagrams and descriptions of how to work the various techniques used in the embroideries, and twenty-four plates of traditional Icelandic squared embroidery designs.

CROSS-STITCH GOES WITCHY WITH DARK AND ELEGANT DESIGNS From spooky skulls to ghoulish graveyards, Lindsay Swearingen of Tusk and Cardinal gives cross-stitch a dark yet whimsical update. Curious creatures like phantom felines, legendary fixtures from folklore like Baba Yaga and all manner of haunted houses make the perfect subjects for these needlework masterpieces. Fun and easy to learn, cross-stitch is an art form that truly anybody can master. Lindsay gives you a crash course in the basics to ensure you have all the materials and techniques you need to start off on the right foot. Then, dive into her incredible patterns and stitch yourself some oddities that range from quirky to downright eerie. Anyone with an appreciation for the macabre will swoon for patterns like Lovers’ Graves, which features twin headstones and a heart-shaped weeping willow. Meanwhile, the ghosts, ghouls and ghastly bats of Trick or Treat and Haunted Wings are perfect pieces to hang on your wall to keep the spirit of Halloween in your home year-round. With moody tones, muted hues and spooky subjects, this collection of bewitching patterns makes it easy to add a little subversive charm to your cross-stitch repertoire.

Bright, versatile, and simple to sew, these 500 embroidered designs fit together beautifully to form an array of fabulous patterns. Choose from a wide variety of themes and then have fun arranging them. Some have beads and sizzling colors. Others are small and enchanting, perfect for giving novices enough confidence to move on to more ambitious stitchery. The creative possibilities are limitless.