Embroidery Book

Christen Brown teaches embroidery, quilting, crazy quilting, ribbonwork, mixed media and beadwork in her best-selling books. With a degree in fashion design, she has shown her work in galleries and fashion shows internationally. She lives in San Diego, CA. www.christenbrown.com

This is an unusual and rather charming book. It describes itself as a Visual Resource of Colour& Design. It takes readers through the basics of fabrics, stabilizers and embellishments, all colourfully depicted with well-illustrated examples.Colour theory is covered with the inclusion of a colour board of fabric, threads and beads explaining hues, tints, shades and values. Design and construction are also covered - the book has a ‘vintage’ feel and this is very evident in this section. Design basics are well explained but bigger pics would have been better here – as in other parts of the book – although larger versions are shown elsewhere. A very good idea is the Colourful Creations section where anembroidery is shown together with a chart showing the components and colours. Many techniques are explained and there is a huge section on stitches and how to form them.This book has an old-fashioned approach to colour and stitch that works well although I think that rather too much has been crammed into it to do justice to the delightful work.

• Visual Guide 1. A Stitch Beyond Time 2. All The Right Stuff 3. Color Theory 101 4. Designing A Project 5. Flying Needles 6. Colorful Creations 7. Embroider, Embellish And Explore 8. Embroidery and Embellishment Stitch Reference Guide 9. The Basics 10. Resources 11. About the Author