Stitching without tears
With her new book, embroidery empress Jenny Hart assists novices in starting and completing their projects
By Tori Rosin
Published: September 14th, 2009 | 10:30am
Jenny Hart needs no introduction to crafters. Her business, Sublime Stitching, brought embroidery back from the province of AARP members and turned it into a practice perfect for the 21st century.
Even Hart believed the craft wasn't for her at one time. "I had always loved the look of embroidery, but didn't think I could possibly sit still long enough to do it. I was foolish enough to not try it for many years, thinking it was probably too difficult, too boring, too tedious, and, well, just not my thing," she said in the introduction to her new book, Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching.
Hart said she wrote the book for all skill levels because many of the books she learned from didn't begin their patterns at the beginning. "...The basics can be strictly skimmed over or not included at all," she said in Embroidered Effects. As an embroidery novice, I appreciated both Hart's honesty and efforts to make her patterns as basic as possible.
Before getting into projects ranging from magnets to pillowcases to robot t-shirts, Hart details the tools needed to practice embroidery. First, readers need to get your tools together. (If you sew, you likely have most of the ingredients for embroidery, give or take some glow-in-the-dark thread.) Then, you have to decide on a ground, or background for your project. Your options range from patterned fabric, screen, paper, and beyond. Other items to check off on your pre-embroidery list include pattern making and a directory of stitches and stitch combinations.
Readers will be clamoring for projects by the time they arrive at the project directory. In fellowship with the rest of Embroidered Effects, the book's projects follow Hart's philosophy of including information for all levels. Projects that I plan on completing include the "Amy Butler Lotus Laptop Case," the "Stitched Senorita Card," the "Party Hostess Apron," and the "Stitch Sampler." I picked those projects partially for their ease of completion, but would also recommend any other project in Embroidered Effects.
The last section of the book educates readers on finishing and displaying their work. If you're not wearing, sleeping on, or carrying around your project, you can frame it or put it under glass.
Embroidered Effects has convinced me to join Stitcher Nation. I want to thank Hart for making her craft accessible to anyone with a needle. Embroidered Effects has everything, including detailed instructions and transfers for someone looking to complete their first embroidery project or their hundredth.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Embroidered Effects Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching (Chronicle Books)
By Jenny Hart
160 pages
$24.95
Issue #29
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