Bead Embroidery Stitch Sample, Book review

Bead embroidery stitch samples, Crk Design / Yasuko Endo

It is hard not to enjoy any book that comes from Interweave Press, and this book is no exception.  What I would suggest when you get it, is that you run it down to Staples and have it spiral bound.  Because, it will become a reference manual for you.

I have mentioned how I enjoy working with beads and when I was a child, I learned some embroidery.  This book is a combination of the two.  Embroidery with beads.  No, this isn’t a pattern book, but stitch samples.  As you know I’m a knitter, and any knitter knows the value of having a variety of stitches in their repertoire.  Which is why we flock to the stores in search of these educational masterpieces.  Soon this book will be among the masses that we clamor for.

What do I like about it?  The obvious.  They are stitch samples.  Something little, where you can just pick up some embroidery thread and try a couple.  It’s not difficult.  It’s not time consuming.  It’s not even expensive.  When you open the book, the left side has the final product.  (That’s just to suck you in, or at least it did for me)  And on the right, your shown, so clearly how to accomplish each stitch.  The photography is fantastic.  Normally, I would just go to You Tube and watch a video, but I don’t feel that I need to.  It’s so clear what to do and how to do it.  Besides, videos only show you a few stitches, this book has 130.  If you find you need more of a tutorial, never fear, look to the back of the book for a whole section on embroidery with beads.

What I didn’t like?  Not a lot of patterns.  But there are some.  However, I do believe that, when you get this book, you will overlook this, because just seeing the stitches will sprout all sorts of possibilities in your mind.

I have to acknowledge that books that come from Interweave Press are such a great value.  I don’t mean the price, but I’m referring to the amount of information they give you.  They aren’t skimpy, oh I’ll teach you something here, but then you need to buy three more books just to figure out the rest.  No, they cover their bases.  They can teach, on a level that I admire and this book is a fine example of that.