Cynthia Thomas, self-published, 2013
It’s no exaggeration to say that embellishment has exploded in the needlepoint world. There are new threads and plenty of new items that can be used to add dimension to your needlepoint. And there are many tried-and-true techniques that still work beautifully.
If my email is any indication, many stitchers are confused at how to create 3-D effects on canvas. While dimensional effects in free embroidery are covered in books, material that applies these to canvas is rare.
Stitch guide writer Cynthia Thomas has created a short book with one or more effects per page. Each page has plenty of illustrations, some showing the completed effect on a stitched canvas, some showing how to create the effect. They are accompanied by text.
The book is full of inventive ideas, all of which are within the reach of an intermediate stitcher. For that it’s an essential book. But with a few changes it could be so much better.
First it lacks any way to find a particular technique. There is neither a Table of Contents or an Index. If I want a particular technique, such as Hedebo buttons, I have to page through the book to find it. The top and bottom margins are wide enough that you could list each technique in a corner, but if there was a list of techniques someplace you wouldn’t have to do this.
I also felt that the explanations varied too much. They are not consistent in format or style. It’s almost as if they were cut and pasted from different places. Sometimes stuff is formatted into boxes next to a diagram, sometimes not. Sometimes there are lines around the boxes, sometimes not. While each technique is consistent in format the book is not consistent, something that can confuse readers.
I also felt at times as if the explanations skipped over steps. On an early technique, wired flair, the explanation was incomplete enough that I am still not sure how to do it to get the pictured result, even though I have read it four times now.
The ideas are so good and so creative I wish she had taken the time to think about the questions a student would ask if learning this technique in a class and put the answer into the text.
It’s good, I recommend it, but it could be better.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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