Four embroidery books to inspire you this autumn. Reviewed by Meri
Embroidery: A Modern Guide to Botanical Embroidery
Arounna Khounnoraj
Published in 2022 by Quadrille
160 pages. $22.99 US
ISBN: 978-1787138315
Arounna’s third book is on embroidery. She is an established textile artist and embroidery is merely one of her mediums, and why we get to rediscover the art with her unique vision. After explaining basics like choice of materials and tools, Arounna has put together a dictionary of her favorite embroidery stitches. Some stitches are what we often see in other embroidery books, but used in her own way, others are fairly unusual and interesting. The sample projects combine these stitches. I was especially fascinated by her use of embroidery and block printing together, as well as the three dimensional projects. My fingers are tingling to try them all myself!
Dried Flower Embroidery: An Introduction to the Art of Flowers on Tulle
Olga Prinku
Published in 2021 by Quadrille
160 pages. $22.99 US
ISBN: 978-1787136823
I found this book by chance, browsing through embroidery books on Amazon. Using dried plants for embroidery seemed like a farfetched idea at first, but this book captivated me enough to convince me. It’s a gorgeous book, full of inspirational ideas about using plants in your work. The author shows how to collect materials and types of plants; and how to prepare them, before going into actual projects. Using tulle on hoops and frames, this exceptional art creates an illusion that colorful flowers, seeds and twigs are floating in mid-air to form an image. I highly recommend checking out her Instagram account to see more images, too. Instagram: @olgaprinku
Darning Embroidery (ダーニング刺繍)
Tomomi Mimura
Published in 2021 from Seibundo Shinkosha
96 pages. ¥1,400
ISBN: 978-4416521854
The author has taken darning to the next level, creating cute and sometimes comical images with blocks of darned patches. The basic technique is the same as darning, making a woven texture with yarn and a tapestry needle, but combined with a few embroidery techniques, she transforms darning into a new embroidery method. Lucky for us knitters, we have oodles of colorful yarn and that’s all we need!
Joy of Wool Embroidery (ウール刺繍の愉しみ)
Yumiko Higuchi
Published in 2022 from Shufu To Seikatsu Sha
72 pages. ¥1,500
ISBN: 978-4391158311
Yumiko is a widely known embroidery artist from Japan with dozens of books published in and outside Japan. This is her second embroidery book using thick, wool thread. Combining regular embroidery floss with wool, her use of thicker fiber is more advanced in this book. Sample projects have bold motifs with rich texture and fresh designs. Embroidering with wool will definitely be faster and easier to try.