Cover Image: Satisfying Stitches

Satisfying Stitches

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Want to start embroidery but worried about not being good enough, or not having the right supplies, this is the book for you. The author comes from a psychology background and writes in an almost conversational style, giving you confidence to just give embroidery ago with whatever supplies you can afford.
The stitches are clearly illustrated with photos and the projects are well explained with handy hints of what to watch out for as you stitch. It's like having the author sat with you, and something I've rarely seen in other similar books.
The projects are small but satisfying, giving you confidence to go on to larger projects from elsewhere if you wish.
I definitely recommend this to beginner embroiderers and also unconfident ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I love this book as a resource for a beginners and just a reference to keep handy as you keep working on improving your embroidery. Lots of fun ideas and great pictures. Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto publishing

Was this review helpful?

Really easy steps to follow for a beginner and such a visually asthetic book! Made learning new stitches fun and easy. Definately recommend this book compared to others as its made to be beginner friendly.

Was this review helpful?

I appreciated the author's kind and insightful words in the beginning of her book about mindfulness versus a "corrective emotional experience." Creating and tapping into the artistic side of our brain can be a therapeutic exercise, but doesn't necessarily make it a mindfulness technique. The author prefers seeing it as "an experience that allows you to see yourself or a situation in a new, more emotionally fulfilling or productive way." Her reminders to be kind to yourself, learn from choices and imperfections, allow yourself to not finish a project, and work with what is available to you, allow the crafter to create without pressure or comparison. I appreciated the supply list was divided into two parts- must-haves, and optional extras. a couple of the extras I had not known about and am looking forward to trying out. The explanation and instruction for the different types of stitches are easy to understand, with clear photographs assisting. The projects are whimsical and fun, with florals, fruit, and plants in three different skill levels. They include all the patterns in the back of the book, and they are simple enough to finish in a relatively short amount of time, perfect for practicing the various stitches! A wonderful book for beginners that fosters enthusiasm and encouragement.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

Was this review helpful?

This is very a informative and delightful book on embroider! I learned great new stitches. Highly recommend for any beginner stitchers.

Was this review helpful?

This book was really insightful. It was different than anything I've read in the past. It really did impact my reading life in a positive way.

Was this review helpful?

Lovely graphics & a great starting guide to the world of embroidery! I really enjoyed how the author intertwined mindfulness with this art form too!

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book. Definitely works well for a newbie like me and a great gift idea for anyone hoping to start embroidery but aren’t confident about it yet.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Quarry Books for providing me with an e-ARC of Satisfying Stitches!

I absolutely LOVE embroidery & am always looking for techniques to make me better! Satisfying Stitches really breaks down different stitches and then takes you through several patterns where you can use the stitches you learned. The patterns are so cute & each section (floral, house plants, animals, and more!) comes with three different projects, all at different skill levels! If you're a beginner embroiderer or have been doing it for a while, Satisfying Stitches is a book to check out!

Was this review helpful?

Beautiful pictures with clear instructions that are easy aNd accessible for a beginner. would have liked a bit more variety in projects.

Was this review helpful?

If you’re looking to learn embroidery, this is the book for you! Here you will learn the basics: what supplies you’ll need, how to transfer a pattern onto fabric, how to prepare your floss, starting and finishing techniques, and a selection of stitches. There is also a chapter on mindfulness and how to set yourself up for crafting success that you can read or skip, but I highly recommend the section on setting yourself up for success. I feel like there’s this misconception that we can only have one project going at one time and that everything must be perfect when that simply isn’t true. I think that this part of the first chapter will help anyone who feels an internal or external pressure to make these things happen escape that. It will really help them come to their own conclusions about what they want to gain from embroidery.

As far as the rest of the book, it is an excellent guide. There are in-depth stitching graphs, an explanation on the supplies you’ll need and what is optional, and the starting and finishing tips are excellent. This is the first time I’ve seen anyone mention backing a finished project with cardboard, and I think I’m going to try that out on one of my embroidery or cross stitching projects one of these days. I’m an experienced cross stitcher, but I’m still somewhat of a newbie embroiderer, and the tips and tricks outlined in this book are excellent. I’ve never seen some of the stitches that are in this book and I understood exactly how to do those stitches from reading the instructions and looking at the graphs.

This book also features 18 patterns ranging from simple to a little more complex. They’re separated by the following themes: florals, houseplants, fruit, skies, animals, and mushrooms. There are three patterns for each theme, and they range from levels 1 to 3 in complexity but all look fairly simple depending on what you’re ready to take on at the time of reading this book. Each pattern also has a list of stitches and stitches along with a color theme that one can stick to or do their own thing with. All in all, this is a great book!

Was this review helpful?

This book gives and insight into sewing. I found that it allowed me to pick up new techniques easily. I would recommended this title to other sewing enthusiasts.

Was this review helpful?

This book is quite apptly named.
I started stitching, embroidering's a too grand word for what I do, some time since covid hit.
I was always saying I just stitch stitches, don't know what they are called because we haven't been introduced so far. Well now we've been introduced and I not only know what the two (yes, I know) stitches I was using so far are called but I already learned a new one!
There are lots of really nice projects in this book, they are quite easy to work and the description tells you what stitches you'll use, which is very important if you don't want to start with something where you have to use only new stitches.
All in all a book that brings joy.

Was this review helpful?

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is brilliant for beginners. The instructions are clear and there are plenty of pictures demonstrating each step. I even managed to do a perfect french knot thanks to this book that they have forever been a horror for me.

Definitely recommend this book and I'm going to buy a copy for myself!

Was this review helpful?

This book is beautiful and easy-to-follow. It opens with a chapter on the mental aspects of learning a new craft, as well as discussing some of the mindful benefits of hand-crafting an embroidered piece. While I have experience with cross-stitch, embroidery seemed somewhat intimidating to me. I really appreciated the encouragement as well as the motivational boost embedded in these pages; learning something new is a vulnerable activity for many people and addressing it so directly made me feel welcomed and at ease as I continued into the book.
The instructions and pictures are very clear, and though I have not yet embarked on any of the projects I am sure I can be successful based on the guidance contained in this book. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about embroidery, or more experienced embroiderers looking for some encouragement and inspiration.

Was this review helpful?

I loved the book.
It helped me to learn different ways of stitching in an easy way.
A wide range of attractive embroidery stitches that can be used to create any embroidery designs.

Was this review helpful?

A really useful book on basic embroidery stitches, with clear examples and some pretty templates. Interesting sections on mindfulness and embroidery as therapy too. Recommended for anyone starting out in embroidery.

Was this review helpful?

This is a nice collection of stitching projects that feature flora, fauna, and fungi.

The instructions and diagrams are clear and easy to follow, and projects are ranked according to difficulty. I love the author's unusual and soothing color palette choices.

This is a great book for both beginners and the more experienced stitcher.

Pour some tea, pick up a needle, and begin . . .

Was this review helpful?

This was such a cute and well organized introduction to stitching! I'm excited to get a physical copy soon, so that I can practise the methods in this book easier than looking on my phone. :)

Was this review helpful?

A lovely little introduction into embroidery! The book is wonderfully laid out - it didn’t overwhelm me, a complete novice to this craft.

I particularly love that the author highlighted that the craft can be as inexpensive, or expensive, as you like, but to start off you don’t need a lot. I also love how she didn’t disparage you if you put a project down, noting that those projects have worth, even if you don’t pick them back up - you’ve learnt something about yourself, how you like to craft, and what works (or namely, doesn’t work) for you.

I like how the final section, with the different crafts, has three different levels for each category - for instance, there is an easy mushroom project, a medium mushroom project, and a harder mushroom project, which applies for each subject. The author also encourages you to just have a go at each one, and learn as you go along.

Highly recommend if you’re looking to have a go at hand embroidery.

Was this review helpful?