18th Century Embroidery Techniques

Extraordinary book! A must have for all living history interpeters who delight in embroidery and stitchery.

embroidery treasure!

Thank you Gail Marsh! What a delight! A book for any traditional needlewoman looking for new ways to explore or expand her skills. Marvellous photos, great descriptions, fantastic inspiration! I grabbed a ball of No. 8 coton perle and tried knotting just to see how easy/difficult it was (note to self: use No 5, maybe even No. 3, for couching my first effort). I already knew most of the techniques and stitches, but to see the way they were put together in the 18th century with such admirable talent and effect, was pure magic. A very worthy addition to my embroidery library.

Wonderful Details!

I gave this book to my Mom for Christmas and we have both really enjoyed looking at all the intricate details that were beautifully captured in the pictures. An excellent book for inspiration and appreciation of the craft.

18th Century Embroidery Techniques

Am especially thrilled with the historical information in the book, and the quotes from people who actually wore the clothes concerned.

very well researched

For what it is, a breakdown of 18th century embroidery techniques, this is a very comprehensive book. Lots of detailed research on stitching and techiques and 18th workshop practice and tools. Not a how-to book, as such. But fascinating for anyone who loves embroidery, particularly the beautiful embroidery of the 18th century.
My only real beef with this book is that there isn't a large number of photographs of original stitching and garments. A few, but the majority of the illustrations are the authors own artwork, which is fairly simple in style. I would have perferred more images and breakdowns of actual garments as this period is such a sumptuous one for beautiful fabrics and embroidery, whereas the focus of this book is mainly research orientated. Not suprising since the author states in the introduction that this is a breakdown of 10 volumes full of research that she did for a masters.