Simply Stitched: Beautiful Embroidery Motifs and Projects with Wool and Cotton

I am puzzled by the response to this book. Its simple embroidery designs are suitable for beginners. But apparently no reviewer actually started a project before offering a 5 or 4 star review. This book offers EMBROIDERY patterns. This book is 10% about EMBROIDERY supplies, 10% about tracing EMBROIDERY designs onto linen, 5% about EMBROIDERY stitches, 5% about actually EMBROIDERING motif shapes & 70% about washing, ironing, folding, lining, seaming & hemming linen. This book simply lacks basic info needed to produce the beautiful, high-quality EMBROIDERY shown in the photos. There is only 1 page about embroidery stitches. There is nothing about modifying the stitches to create different shapes. For instance, the description of the satin stitch shows that its stitches are parallel and of the same length. This produces a perfectly straight—not curved—ribbon of stitches. No gaps exist between the perfectly parallel stitches. Most of the book’s designs require some satin stitch. The “petals” of a lovely flower are stitched as a wavy, oval-shaped ribbon of satin stitch. If you look closely at the satin stitching, the stitches are not parallel. Yet the ribbon of stitches shows no gaps. The author offers no guidance about gently changing the angles of stitches to create curves—without creating clumps of yarn or gaps between stitches. A simple diagram would have shown how this should be done. She is also relying heavily on the “puffy” wool to provide coverage. If you prefer using cotton rather than wool—you are on your own. Similarly, leaf & bird wing shapes are each comprised of two interwoven ribbons of satin stitch. To over-simplify what I’m describing—the stitches in one ribbon are angled left to right while the other ribbon stitches are angled right to left. Stitches of the two ribbons are carefully intermingled where the change in direction occurs. How the stitches intermingle can make the transition subtle or very obvious. This also could be explained with simple diagrams. Since the author doesn’t acknowledge that her satin stitches aren’t perfectly straight & parallel, I suggest users look at the photos with a magnifying glass. Or buy an additional book on how to embroider. In addition to the glaring lack of embroidery instructions, I’m giving this book a 2-star rating because each project’s directions are almost exclusively about folding & stitching linen. Project directions say “embroider” the project and that’s the only reference to the embroidering. No, I am not kidding. This is the equivalent of saying, “To paint flowers on fabric, buy paint. Project 1: Paint flowers. Now fold the linen. Stitch the lining. Fold the linen again. Hem the linen. Now press the linen. . . .Yes the designs are very pleasing. But they also have to be embroidered. The author seems not to have noticed.

Simply Stitched, by Yumiko Higuchi, shares much of the same content as the Japanese edition " Rustic and friendly wool yarn embroidery design WOOL STITCH JAPANESE EDITION " .The materials list is simple - cotton embroidery floss, wool embroidery thread or tapestry wool, and a fine even-weave fabric like linen. The tools are basic, easy to find, and you probably have many already. The number of specific stitches used is quite reasonable at just 7.Things start to get a bit un-simple when it comes to transferring motifs, and even more so for assembling a project, say, into a bag or a pillow.But all can be overcome when one particular project entices your left brain into believing it is just a secondary back-up right brain failsafe. It could be any project, such as the wee roosters or the twee candy wrappers. The pigeon and tree motifs are fine examples of how the height from the wool stitches complements the flatter flossed stitches. Remarkable effects can result.But your left brain might need to be called back into service at times. These Eastern inspirations can look so sparse and simple, yet some of them exhibit the influence of deliberate control over placement and measurement. You might find yourself using a ruler for placement of designs rather than simply eye-balling it.Yumiko Higuchi reminds us through her striking examples that "simple" does not necessarily equate to "easy". Actually, and this is just my opinion, Simply Stitched might have presented itself more simply. And its contents might have been more easy to assimilate if the completed project photos, related motif pictures, and their templates had been kept together as one entry. Instead, they are all separated, making for much flipping around.Still, well worth adding to that growing length of Eastern-inspired craft books that have just started a second shelf in my craft room.

I borrowed this book from the library and had to get my own copy!

Gave this to my daughter for Christmas and she loved it.

A truly beautiful and inspiring book for all those who love embroidery it's a must have.

Really nice projects

I love the designs.and easy to follow instructions.

Wonderful! Full of great ideas!

Lo compré como regalo para una amiga que acaba de iniciarse en el bordado y la gustó mucho. Las fotos de los proyectos están muy cuidadas, los diseños son bonitos y elegantes y las puntadas vienen bien explicadas.

Progetti facili, ben spiegato ma soprattutto tante idee e bellissimi motivi da ricamare. Lei è bravissima

Il libro è molto ben fatto, chiaro, semplice e con dei bei progetti. Ho già anche provato a ricamare qualche soggetto ed è molto chiaro. Ottimo acquisto. Idee originali con ottimi spunti di ispirazione.

Libro utile e chiaro nelle spiegazioni. lo consiglio a tutti anche a chi ha poca esperienza e ha iniziato da poco il ricamo.

Clear instructions and templates that are easy to follow. Threads used and mentioned are DMC wool and cotton embroidery threads.Amazon Delivery: Arrived sooner than expected. I received it in 3 days.