I thought this would be just another coffee table book where I looked at the pretty pictures, admired the work but didn't do anything further. Unexpectedly it inspired me to actually pick up my needle and start to do some hand embroidery.

The designs are timeless and can be incorporated into many different projects I found the book inspirational and enjoyable. Certainly much more than a coffee table book but it does look good there as well.

Beautiful designs! I am nowhere near this skill level but it is beautiful eye candy to look at. The instructions look clear and concise.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Another beautiful edition of the Japanese Craft Style series. Gorgeous photography and almost whimsical writing. An art book as much as it is a tool for embroidery instruction.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

This book is just really absolutely stunning. The sort of book that makes you want to take up embroidery if you don’t already do it. The sort of book that has you threading a needle before you’ve finished the first couple of pages. The sort of book that makes you think that maybe you too could be an artist in thread. The motifs are presented by themselves. absolutely stunning in their gorgeous complexity, and then they are shown incorporated into a project that makes you fall in love with the embroidery all over again. The color variations are particularly illustrative of how much artistry there is in embroidery - minor changes can make all the difference. I would absolutely recommend this book for a library collection of any size - if you have one embroidery book to buy this year, make it this one.

These patterns are intricate and delicate. While I bounce back and forth between crafts, this is one that I find myself longing to go back to now that I've returned it.

A gorgeous book full of inspiration, perfect for any needleworker, though beginners might want a little more instruction than what is found here. Filled with beautiful patterns and luscious photographs, even if you don't embroider, you'll want to after looking through this book!

#EmbroideredBotanicals #NetGalley

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Wonderful! A clear, concise, and easy-to-follow guide to beautiful botanical motifs. Even if I weren't interested in the projects depicted, the beautiful photos and examples would draw me in.

This is a lovely collection of botanical pictures, patterns and stitch diagrams to embroider. I found the directions easy to follow and the possible uses to be endless! this would be a nice addition to anyone's craft shelf.

My thanks to Roost Books and Netgalley.

Embroidered Botanicals by Yumiko Higuchi is exactly what I was looking for when I got hooked on vintage crewel kits and I scoured the library and thrift shops for every embroidery and crewel book I could find. Surely there had to be something that would show me how to stitch all of those gorgeous flowers without a kit.







The first half of the book is gorgeous eye candy. It's full of the traditional flowers I was looking for, along with brooches that look like fragments of pottery and light colored stitches on black fabric that feel like heavy old lace.



The second half contains the patterns and stitch diagrams. I haven't tried working from the instructions yet, but there are clear step-by-step photographs of the techniques and the patterns themselves show which stitches to use and how many strands of threads.



This is one of those books that makes me feel like I can absolutely do something gorgeous!

This was a lovely book full of gorgeous, vintage-y looking projects, beautiful photos, and inspiration galore. There were also directions for both the projects and the stitches, and everything seemed quite clear, though I’ve not tried following them with a threaded needle in hand yet. I think this book will appeal to anybody with an appreciation for textile arts.

I received a free copy of Embroidered Botanicals, but that did not affect my review.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

Coming from a fashion/textile background I was excited to see such a book. Embroidery as a craft and as a part of fashion is having a resurgence, with major fashion brands going back to their hand worked roots. I love the trend and have never learned how to do any embroidery. I came into the book expecting more direct tutorials, like image of pattern then picture tutorial of how to make the same. The book does show how to do the patterns but they're all grouped at the last 20 pages of the book. Of course one can flip back and forth between beautiful example and tutorial pages but I wish the layout had been different. Also it felt quite short and maybe that is intentional in not overwhelming the reader but I was left wanting more.

I found this book to be of great inspiration to my crafty hands, and I'm itching to add botanical embroidery to everything I own now! My only regret is that I don't have a physical copy, as this would be a fantastic coffee table book!

Easy to read, gorgeous illustrations can guide the novice or challenge the experts. Inspires one to take up needlepoint!

What a well written book on embroidery. The book is well laid out for beginner stitchers and more experienced. The photography is wonderful; you are able to really see what is going on with each stitch and project. I know embroiderers will enjoy this book for years to come.

Good for intermediate-level embroiderers. Might be challenging for absolute beginners, as several of the instructional sections on basic stitches were too simplistic and/or difficult to see clearly. Designs were not really my "style," but I appreciate the authors clear expertise on the subject.

This book has very clear guidelines and beautiful photos of each design. I was intrigued by the format of presenting all the images first, which was like exploring a galley and then coming back to the stitches at the end. I think this guide would be best in hardcopy version, as it’s hard to flip between the images and diagram in an ebook, but I highly recommend this. Embroidered brooches have had a comeback, and the guidelines on the brooch projects were especially helpful to me.

A book very nicely done. The beginning sections have gorgeous photos of excellent work. It starts by going over the different types of embroidery thread you can use to create different effects. This was nice, as my knowledge comes from what my grandmother uses (only DMC the ubiquitous kind). The author does give a little table for how many threads to use etc.

After all the lovely project pictures there is a section dedicated to tools and basics, then steps going over stitches. I think there could have been a few more pictures/arrows of direction on the pictures because there were a few I could not follow. It is probably just me, but i couldn't tell the difference between outline stitch and backstitch. The rest of the instructions were pretty good.

Finally at the end there are templates to trace and detailed instructions on how to stitch the project.

I really enjoyed seeing the artists vision and finished projects. I think i would have preferred a little more modern take on botanicals like see covering my instagram suggestions page. If you like a classic look though, this book is for you.

The designs in this book are easy to follow and have clear step-by-step instructions. It would be easy to create your own color palettes and still follow along with what they suggest.

This book is beautiful, just beautiful. even if you are not into embroidery, you will want to pick up needle and thread and attempt a beautiful brooch or a bigger project. With patterns and stitch information, the book looks at tapestry wool thread, crewel wool thread, cotton. metallic thread and pearl cotton. These threads worked on their own or in combination with each other, some stunning effect can be seen in the fabulous full page examples. Examples that you will want to try and emulate into projects of your own.

'Embroidered Botanicals' is a wonderful embroidery resource for the avid embroiderer.

The embroidery designs in this book are absolutely gorgeous and very true to Higuchi's modern/traditional style. My personal favourite is 'Moroccan Blue' a wonderful repeated tile pattern that can easily be applied to a vast variety of projects. These designs are also quite different from her previous book 'A Year of Embroidery: A Month-to-Month Guide for Seasonal Stitching' so its worth the extra investment.

The stitch guide and instructions are clear and concise so this book is great for beginners or more advanced stitches looking for a refresher or to learn new techniques. I think that the layout and styling of this book are extremely 'aesthetic' while appealing to both traditional and modern embroiderers.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book #EmbroideredBotanicals from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.