From Mary Corbet's Needle 'n' Thread"A-Z of Stumpwork was originally published by Country Bumpkin Publications, but, as of 2015, it has been recently re-published by Search Press, along with the rest of the A-Z needlework series.This is good news for embroiderers worldwide, because the A-Z books are some of the best embroidery reference books (and the most beautiful!), and they’re now available to a wider audience, more affordably.A-Z of Stumpwork focuses on dimensional embroidery techniques, made famous in 17th century embroidery, and enjoying a huge resurgence in popularity today. The cover above is from the new A-Z of Stumpwork published by Search Press in 2015.If you own the old version, or if you’re considering buying a used copy, the old cover looks like this: The book begins with general information about stumpwork: materials needed, tools, how to transfer the design, and so forth. Then it launches into the instructional section, which covers surface embroidery stitches (both raised and padded stitches), padding and slip techniques, wirework techniques, needlelace techniques, and beading techniques. Each technique section is filled with step-by-step color photos. Below each photo is the written explanation of the step illustrated. If you’ve wondered how to use felt as padding, wonder no more – the book shows several different ways to use felt, whether in single layers or worked up over many layers. The book instructs on ways of making separate slips – that is, embroidered pieces that are separate from the main design and then attached onto the design. Wired leaves always come to mind when I think of stumpwork, and the book demonstrates clearly how to make these detachable leaves and petals, and how to attach them to the main design. Beads are a regular part of many stumpwork designs, so there’s a thorough section on how to attach beads to your stumpwork projects. And often in stumpwork, we run across covered beads – berries or whatnot made out of thread-covered wooden beads. The book details different ways to cover these types of beads. Finally, the back of the book features over twenty beautiful stumpwork projects created by talented designers from all over the world. (Incidentally, the “Magic Mushrooms” stumpwork designabove is available for free on the Country Bumpkin website.) The designs range from tropical birds to modern flowers to scenes of Africa to Elizabethan flowers – there’s a wide variety of designs, and they’re suited for beginners to stumpwork, to intermediate (and beyond). The back of the book contains line drawings for all the designs and their elements.What can I say about this book that the book doesn’t say for itself? If you’re interested in stumpwork embroidery, then I’d say this is one of those necessary reference books that you’ll want on your bookshelf!
