A lovely, lovely book. Full of good advice and techniques, this feels like an old-school sewing lesson, taking you back to the importance of basics. Highly recommended, and just a bit different from a lot of sewing books around at the moment.

Hand Sewing Magic
by Lynn Krawczyk

Hand Sewing Magic is a complete guide of embroidery technique and stitches, including wonderfully illustrative photos; which would be helpful for beginners to embroidery work and those with some experience. Hand Sewing Magic is more than just a dry stitch guide, this is a handy book about hand sewing and the magic comes from the application of the stitches in fun projects.

Hand Sewing Magic is well written and organized with helpful suggested equipment and material listed for beginners. Hand Sewing Magic explains a lot more than listing supplies, it explains quite a bit about the different fibers used, how they are created and treated, including trouble-shooting options for common fiber problems. Showing the most basic stitches, including the outlines and filler stitches; so, a beginner can follow along. With even more complicated decorative stitches and dimensional stitches, for people who have been hand stitching for decades. There are clear instructions with great photos that are very colorful, and new ideas with helpful tips from the pros in each section!

Ms. Lynn Krawczyk gives her readers a complete set of instruction for creating a fiber storage system, explain the different needles, fabrics and explains how to transfer patterns to begin a project; even suggests some extra tools that are helpful for hand stitches with templates and stitch guides, and a resources section. I’m glad I got this book; the pages are filled with inspiring ideas for new projects and introduced stitches I had never seen that I'd like to try out a new stitch or two. I am delighted to see reassuring interest in hand work crafts coming back; therefore, I felt duty-bound to write a review of this book and to give Ms. Lynn Krawczyk and her book Hand Sewing Magic 5-stars. I received an ARC copy to read.

If you enjoy sewing or want to start sewing this is a helpful book. You'll find helpful information inside that is well displayed with tips and projects to help you. This is a great book that is easy to use. There are some interesting ideas too as well as guides, resources and templates as well as templates included. I recommend checking out this book.

This book was interesting to a person who does handwork. The patterns were beautiful . i also learned new stitches I had not seen before.

Sewing with hand will be a hobby for most women...... I like hand embroidery a lot.....This book has easy stitches for hand sewing beginners........

A comprehensive guide to a variety of embroidery stitches, including projects and ideas on how to use them. This book is filled to the brim with helpful tips, great photos, and information about everything you'll need to start stitching.

This book has single-handedly made me super enthusiastic about hand sewing. The kind of enthusiastic that I want to start a project right now and, if I wasn't dealing with my thesis at this moment, I would actually start right this minute and I would be writing this review with a project by my side.

The illustrative pictures in this book are gorgeous. They are full of color, whimsical at times, and they make my creative heart flutter. The instructional pictures are great additions to the written instructions & give clarity where only words on paper can leave you a bit confused. Some of these stitches are far more doable than they seem at the start, but still I wouldn't classify them as easy or straightforward.

I would say that this is a great guide for any beginner or intermediate hand sewer, but it might be a tad familiar for anyone with more skill than that. However, I am a big proponent of having a handbook nearby for when your brain has a temporary blank, so this book could be useful for every craft enthusiast.

This is a very thorough book with lots of different stitches I haven’t seen included in other books. The photography is clear and so are the instructions. This is a great resource for hand sewers and embroiderers. I received an arc copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Fantastic book with good details. Recently I have been able to rediscover my love of sewing and this book is an ideal helping hand for me!
Thank you

Hand Sewing Magic is a tutorial and philosophy-of-art guide by Lynn Krawczyk. Released 4th Dec 2018 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 144 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

There's been a renaissance of sorts for handcrafts, especially fibrecrafts. Once considered a necessary day-to-day survival skill and learnt by girls at a young age, handsewing is enjoying a resurgence as a valid form of artistic expression. There have been a number of really appealing books on surface embroidery and utility sewing lately. This is another good one.

The introductory chapters contain the obligatory materials lists and photos, but also contain and interesting discussion of the creative philosophy.. why hand sew when there are faster methods of creating a finished product. The author makes a number of valid points.

The next four chapters (70% of the content) contain a variety of stitches and several tutorial projects per chapter primarily using utilitarian stitches, outlining and filling stitches, decorative stitches and finally 3dimensional stitches.

There's an alphabetical index and resource page (slanted toward readers in North America). The book emphasizes the creative process and artistic inspiration much more than slavishly following a tutorial in order to create a copy of the projects in the book. There are templates included but they're very basic and intended more as an inspirational jumping off point.

Four stars. Some nice projects and a lot of good thoughtful discourse on the fibre arts process.

Hand sewing magic indeed!
This book is essential to any beginner or even intermediate sewer. I only know the very basics of hand sewing, enough to mend socks, pant reaps, or add buttons. In other words, I am the newest of newbies when it comes to hand sewing. And I immediately fell in love with this book just while browsing its contents.
Let me introduce you to what you can find inside:

Hand Sewing Magic Sections:
The Handstitched Tool Kit
Utilitarian Stitches (3 projects)
Outline and Filler Stitches (2 projects)
Decorative Stitches (3 projects)
Dimensional Stitches (2 projects)
Templates and resources.

I just adore the step by step instructions and the photos that accompany each one of them. As a newbie, I’m always thinking that I’m doing something wrong, but with the photos, I can be sure that I’m actually going in the right direction. I’d also like to mention how nice is to have examples of variations you can create with the basic stitches from the book.
In Hand Sewing Magic, you will find a variety of stitches, utilitarian and decorative, that can be used in so many projects. You might want to experiment with one of the projects in this book, but you can also just create your own projects from your own ideas.
I was already familiar with the utilitarian stitches, but the whole section on filler stitches and decorative stitches are completely new to me. I practiced a few already, but I’m yet to make a full project.
The section on materials is brief and to the point. Just enough amount of info, without fluff.
Hand sewing is such a wonderful skill to have, and I’m so happy that I decided to check this book and expand my very limited knowledge in this area.
With so much detail presented in this book, I’m sure anyone will be able to learn from it.
The tiny hoops with embroidery are my favorite thing in the book. I am dying of excitement, planning a little wall gallery for my craft room. I think it will be the perfect art gallery for a craft room and will add so much color, not to mention how fun it will be to make them!

In conclusion, I think this is such an amazing book, a great resource, and potentially addictive. (Will be adding a rainbow of embroidery thread to my craft materials; not to mention the fabric and hoops).

I love hand sewing I honestly think it is more personable than sewing on a machine so when I got the chance to review ” Hand Sewing Magic” I had to review it. I like that there are only a hand full of projects because this book shows you step by step in color how to do each stitching by hand. Not many books like this give you good visual instructions , but this one was fantastic! I learned 5 new stitches last week from this book, and can’t wait to put them to good use. My daughters both love to sew, so our first project from this book will be the "Eskimo Laced Edging" and the different variations.

Quarry Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Hand Sewing Magic. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Hand Sewing Magic is a great reference book for all types of hand stitching. The author takes time to run through the tools stitchers need to be successful, providing very valuable advice by way of tips and hints. I especially liked the tips from the professionals that are scattered throughout, as they have the knowledge and know-how to help even the more experienced stitchers learn something new.

Each section is designed with a specific purpose. Utilitarian Stitches are the basics, with many of them serving as a jumping off point for more difficult stitches. Outline and Filler Stitches are used to help fill in a space, create detail and texture, and give the work overall definition. Decorative Stitches are used to embellish the work, adding detail to areas or acting as a foundation for other stitches. Dimensional Stitches create texture, adding a 3D element to an otherwise flat surface.

Each stitch in every section is demonstrated and well illustrated in multiple ways, allowing the reader to envision the finished work. The end of each section has projects that highlight the stitches, allowing readers to practice what they have learned. The back of the book includes templates and stitch guides for some of the finished projects that are outlined within the pages of Hand Sewing Magic.

Having done embroidery myself for a number of years, using kits or self-prepared projects, the one thing that I always found lacking was a good description of the stitches and how to make them. Hand Sewing Magic fills that gap and even taught me stitches for which I was unaware. This is a good reference guide for this reason and I would recommend it as such. The only downfall to the book are the finished projects themselves, as many of them are more whimsical or rudimentary in nature. Readers who are looking for more polished works, with the exception of the beautiful embroidered coat (p. 99-100), may want to look elsewhere for their inspiration.

Amazing into to Hand sewing

Lynn Krawczyk’s Hand Sewing Magic is a wonderfully thorough book. I found everything I could possibly need to know to start hand stitching identified clearly in the book. From the supplies you need to the different threads and stitches to possible projects. The language and instruction were easy to understand and the illustrations and pictures were lovely.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

Hand Sewing Magic is a hand stitch guide for all levels with ten easy projects included (the bunny one is adorable). The book is divided into the following sections: Hand Stitcher’s Toolkit, Utilitarian Stitches, Outline and Filler Stitches, Decorative Stitches, Dimensional Stitches, and Templates. The chapters discusses the types of threads, hoops, fabric, needles, and all the basics to get you started. As a new quilter, this book with its close up and detailed colored pictures and descriptions of the different stitches has been extremely helpful. A wonderful resource book.

I loved exploring the different stitches in Hand Sewing Magic! I am an enthusiastic sewer but I usually dread the parts of projects that require hand stitching. Admiring the work of other sewers is fabulous, and I now feel obligated to get to work on perfecting my hand sewing. The project ideas included in the book are comprehensive and adorable, too.

A gorgeous instructional book. Let's break it down to the different areas:

Supplies
The first 30 ages of this gorgeous book are all about what you can use, should use and will be using in order to do hand sewing (otherwise know as stitching or embroidery). In Hand Sewing Magic most of the designs and stitches are known to me as embroidery, pulled thread or specialty stitches. There is a lot of benefit that could come from this book to cross stitchers looking to get into more elaborate stitching pieces (ie: Just Nan, Jeanette Douglas Designs, Victoria Sampler etc.) and of course to those getting into embroidery or canvas work. I really liked that the sample threads were well known brands and materials that most crafters would be familiar with.

Projects
The initial projects are cute and super easy to do. I really like that many have a practical application and aren't just stitching for aesthetic or art intention. Additionally there are no 'patterns' to follow. Instead you can see the stitch and colours chosen in the model but certainly you don't have to follow them or even consider them in your final piece. The projects are more about creating something and you filling in your own designs based on the type of stitches you just learned or whatever you may prefer. There are some templates for the larger or more complex pieces but these are really just the outline to draw on your piece before you fill it in with stitches.

Stitching Diagrams
The photographs are beautiful in this book; they are bright, detailed and clear. I had a little trouble with some where you grab or loop the thread around the needle but the others were easy enough to understand. I think my new favourite stitch is the Burden stitching. I had not seen this one before and not only did I enjoy trying it out but also I love the way it looks! Needleweaving and the cast-on stitches were others I enjoyed learning for the first time. Most of the ones I didn't know were 'dimensional' stitches that create more of a 3-D look. This makes sense as I am a cross stitcher which is very traditional and so these were more modern stitches I've not seen before.

Pro Tips & Variations
Throughout the book are little pro tips that talk about taking the work, project or stitch to the next level. These are generally to try and expand your thoughts on what are possible. I really liked the one on up-cycling items (i.e.: adding stitches to change the look of an old pillow).
There are also variation pictures for each stitch learned at the end of the instructions. These given you an idea of how you can convert and change the stitch to your own taste. And really show the creativity that can be incorporated in unique pieces.

Overall
I'm still not ready to give up my linen and even weaves and their square format with clear holes to move to the embroidery freedom shown in Hand Sewing Magic. But there are definitely stitches I learned here and could see using in the future in variations or modifications I make to existing patterns; or in creation of my own pieces. Certainly if I ever do canvas work again these stitches will have been very valuable to learn. And who knows maybe one day I'll be willing to move away from my linen and even weave into a more free flowing environment for stitching.

This is a great reference for new stitchers or new to embroidery projects. Otherwise, as with many crafting instruction books, it's a perfect library pick-up for a couple of weeks to get inspired and perhaps even do a project or two from.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

I have mentioned in a previous post that I want to start doing more crafts this year as a form of stress relief and I am really drawn to needle crafts for some reason. I haven't done any just yet, but I did get an embroidery kit from my best friend for my birthday that i can't wait to use and that inspired me to read Hand Sewn Magic, to learn a little bit more about stitching. This is a detailed look at several different types of stitching and really explains how to do each one. I like that there are pictures of the steps of each type of stitch included since I am a visual learner. It is very helpful to me to see it in front of me and be able to use as a guide. There are a few projects in the book to try as well. I think this is a great book for beginners like me who want to learn the art of needle crafting.

I just started to do embroidery and this book is a really nice addition to my reference collection. The instructions are simple and the photographs help to illustrate the different stitches well. I also liked a lot of the projects and might try a few of them with my extra pieces of fabric.

I received this book as a free review copy in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.

This book is a great resource for people wanting to try their hand at embroidery. Detailed photos allow people to understand how each stitch is done and how it can look when finished and used in different ways. There are a few projects included in the book, but the strength of the book is really the detail in showing how each stitch is done. I was hoping this would be a good book for my middle grade students who like crafting, but I think it is more suited to an older audience. Recommended for middle/high school age and up.