Satisfying Stitches: Learn Simple Embroidery Techniques and Embrace the Joys of Stitching by Hand

Embroidery artist and designer Brasfield (Hopebroidery.com) has penned an accessible and easy-to-use craft book. She introduces tools of the embroidery trade with an upbeat approach and an emphasis on affordability and making do. Through clear photographs and easy-to-understand instructions, readers will learn simple embroidery techniques and stitches. The embroidery projects are small and organized by the pattern’s theme or subject matter—houseplants, mushrooms, flowers, fruit, skies, animals—and the patterns increase in difficulty from one theme to the next. Readers also get a glimpse into Brasfield’s transformation from a self-described “sad, anxious failure” thanks to the “corrective emotional experience” of embroidery. Common-sense advice and other tidbits not strictly related to embroidery are sprinkled throughout the book—for instance, Brasfield writes, “Focusing on our own progress and work is difficult, but it beats comparing ourselves to others to the point that we decide to quit altogether” With clear instructions, vibrant photos, a retro color palette, and projects that embroiderers of nearly any skill level can do, this book checks all the boxes. Tweens, teens, and adults will all find it useful.