I have been an embroidery artist for 3+ years and have read almost any e-book on embroidery I can get my hands out, and I have to say that Organza Hoop Art by Sarah Godfrey is excellently done. The images are beautiful and high-resolution. They show not just the patterns but the steps and a black and white pattern for the reader to do the designs themselves.

Organza fabric used for embroidery is genius
Posted on February 11, 2021 by michellelovatosbookreviews, world's first book color commentator, book reviews with a twist



Oh, sarah, you had me at the title page.

Fiber artist and author Sarah Godfrey teamed up with Landauer Publishing to offer fiber crafters a new twist on the ancient art of embroidery.

Why, oh why, did it take us so much time to discover such a stunning twist? I mean, really. We’ve been embroidering since the cro-magnon days 30,000 years before Christ.

Regardless, Sarah, you and your new book, Organza Hoop Art: Embroidery Techniques and Projects for Sheer Stitching, are a God-send.

In this traditionally organized embroidery craft book, Sarah Godfrey walks readers through the various steps required to embroider a variety of designs on organza fabric.

The result is nothing less than stunning.

Using organza fabric to create these pieces gives each finished product a feeling of suspension in the air.

Organza is a light-weight sheer fabric many may automatically pair with wedding dresses and veils.

I did.

The delicate, classy, and formal fabric once derived from silk can now be created using a variety of different fibers to get the organza effect.

Regardless of how it’s made, combining the feminine, delicate feel of organza with the layered, sometimes beaded, always gorgeous art of hoop embroidery is sheer genius. Literally.

Just to page through this beautiful craft book is a dive into the soft, relaxing world of embroidery and offers inspiration to create its projects, and so much more.

In Organza Hoop Art: Embroidery Techniques and Projects for Sheer Stitching, Godfrey shares her methods for creating the most adorable prickly pear cactus I’ve ever seen. She shares patterns and methods for a variety of flowers – including the very popular purple bearded iris, which is my late mother-in-law’s all-time favorite flower.

Godfrey shares her ladybug pattern, her goldfish pattern, and, for a change of subject matter, artists can learn to stitch their own cup of relaxing coffee while enjoying this book.

Bravo Sarah Godfrey. Bravo Landauer Publishing.

One problem: This title doesn’t publish until early April in the vicinity of my 57th birthday. This post may be a bit early. But I was so enchanted I couldn’t hold back. Perhaps I’ll have to repost it again.

ml@michellelovato.com BoutiqueBooks@hotmail.com

Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things. Psalm 128: 1-2

Organza Hoop Art by Sarah Godfrey has me even more excited to start learning embroidery!

The introduction was great. I followed everything very well. I really appreciated the tips for sewing on more delicate/sheer fabric. I want to make every single item in this. All of the patterns are fun, colourful, and beautiful. I don't know which one to try first!

I might start on more sturdy fabric and then try the organza once I get the hang of it. We shall see.

I thought the concept of this book was very unique. There is so much out there about embroidery, but I have never heard or seen anyone do it on organza. Everything is so beautiful and well explained. A great book for beginners and more experienced embroiderers alike.

I received an eARC from Fox Chapel Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

This is a fantastic book for all ages that give projects that seem like beginners to more advanced would be able to use or be inspired by. I can't wait for the library to get a copy of this book!! I need some organza now!

Thank you NetGalley, just reviewed Organza Hoop Art by Sarah Godfrey. #OrganzaHoopArt #NetGalley

This book was unexpectedly inspiring and inviting to me! Before this book, I had no idea what organza even was, let alone that it could be embroidered on. Considering this book has essentially all the information you would need to get started in embroidery, it really encourages the passive reader to pick up this craft. One thing I would say though, is that having a "trial" project where one is required to flex their developing embroidery skills in the book would help ease beginners even more. For instance, maybe having a project that is just a simple outline of a shape would allow for practice without having to be a "final project". In the same vein, I thought that the "Blue Flower Lady" project should have come first, at least because it has more empty space and seems the least intimidating to me. The fact that the patterns for the projects are provided to transfer to fabric is a great feature of this already inspiring book! I know many family members, friends, and co-workers would love to get a personalized piece of art made with the help of this book!

I'm a sucker for embroidery and all things botanical. Organza Hoop Art takes both to another level with gorgeous designs on sheer organza fabric. I've never worked on sheer fabrics for embroidery projects, so this book showed me projects completely new to me. It's easy to get hooked on this type of fabric since the embroidery designs just pop out from the fabric.

This book is fairly straight forward with three chapters - one that goes over materials, one that goes over the stitches, and the projects chapter that has details on how to create all the gorgeous projects. My favorite: the toadstool mushrooms! I'm actually excited to try this and have a creamy colored silk organza in mind on my next fabric store shopping trip.

For those that have never worked stitches on organza, there are several considerations to keep in mind and Godfrey shares her tips for success. My favorite tip: (quote from an advanced reader copy - actual text may change with the final version)

"Avoid knots. Especially when I am working on delicate details, I avoid starting and stopping with knots when embroidering on organza. Instead, I start by leaving a tail of thread and then stitching it down as I go to secure my work. When it is time to stop and rethread my needle, I simply weave through at the back of my work a few times and snip."

The pictures that accompany the stitch glossary are clear and bright and easy to follow. There are easy to trace patterns for each project so replication is a cinch. All in all, a really fun book on how to create pretty botanical art on sheer fabrics. Highly recommended for anyone new to this type of embroidery medium.

Hoop art and embroidery are so popular right now and I can't wait to try it! This book is filled with lots of easy to understand directions and pictures of every step, plus the project ideas are beautiful!

I loved this beautiful guide to embroidering on organza! Each page was so lovely, and all the projects were really pretty. This would be a wonderful addition to any craft-lover's bookshelf.

Simply put this book is beautiful. It provides not only a comprehensive guide to embroidering on organza but also gives beautiful projects and helpful tips for any embroiderer. The book has one of the most comprehensive stitching guides for a template book I have seen. While I am newer at embroidery I was able to accomplish a few of these projects and I look forward to trying more. While there are not many projects in the book the ones that are there are very beautiful and the instructions are detailed with great accompanying images. Please do yourself a favor a pick up this book.

Ok! I am obsessed with this book! Especially since I’m a beginner when it comes to embroidery this book is filled not only with inspiration in each page BUT also instructions that are easy to follow! I cannot wait to work on a few projects found within these pages!

4.5 Stars!! In this book, the author teaches the lost art of Embroidery... on sheer fabric! The cover of this book caught my attention and I wanted to be able to make beautiful artwork like that too! This book shows and tells how. It has a good amount of pictures to go along with the clear instructions. It gives a list of what you’ll need, along with explanations on why you need it. I followed along, trying to make a flower but I’m afraid I don’t have the patience for embroidery. After 10 minutes, I was bored and it wasn’t coming out like the authors picture, so I quit. I know, I know, she’s been practicing this art form for longer than me, of course my first try won’t be great and I should finish it, but, in all honesty, I probably won’t. Still, hats off to the author on her patience, her skills in embroidery and in her ability to actually finish writing a book! (I’ve been “writing” my book for 10 plus years!)
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an ARC that was provided to me by the publisher!*

I just love this book, I love organza, and embroidery onto organza makes the work look like it is suspended on air and the stitches truly appreciated. The cacti is my favorite in this book although the sunflower comes a close second. This is not a big book, but its smallness is well made up by it content. The book starts with a get started page and moves on to stitch glossary which are very beautifully photographed. The next part has 12 beautiful projects to copy or use and colour as one would like.
Such lovely fine work

The needlework in this book was amazing! I have done some embroidery and cross stitch over the years, but this book was just so inspirational, I can't wait to try my hand at it. The translucency of the organza is just so lovely! The floss stitches just pop against it. Just lovely! I think the book would make a fine addition to a embroiderer's repertoire of needlework. The photos were a very nice addition to the book and pretty helpful.

Such beautiful work and really inspiring. Even though embroidery is a fairly recent hobby of mine, I felt like the instructions were very clear and easy enough to understand. The book also gave me the courage to try and work with sheer fabrics like organza.

Definitely better than looking up guides online, which can often be in other languages, wrongly translated etc.

This is a lovely book. Suitable for both the beginner and the more experienced embroiderer. For beginners, the information is clear and well set out. Good explanations of the materials and how to use them - particularly the part about buying and using organza. The stitches and the projects are all photographed step by step all the way through. For the more experienced embroiderer, the designs are fresh, bright and very effective. I particularly like that the majority of the designs are full size so easy to trace off and use. Only one design needs to be scaled up. 5 stars from me. This is my voluntary review after receiving a free copy of the book.

This embroidery book focuses on using sheer organza fabric, which I've never thought of before but has an amazing look! I liked how it started with basics about tools/materials and stitches, and then gave some ideas of projects. I really want to try some of these out in the future!

Organza Hoop Art
Embroidery Techniques and Projects for Sheer Stitching
by Sarah Godfrey
This is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This is a beautiful book showing how to take embroidery to the clear and delicate organza material. Beautiful pictures, patterns, and clear steps. I am definitely trying this! Recommend to anyone wanting to expand your embroidery or for newbies.

Besides reading books, embroidery is also my favorite way of spending a quality time.
This book has free patterns and projects of embroidery which may be helpful if you know the basics in embroidery; but if you are a beginner, this book lacks explanations and exemplifications of the steps you need in order to create a certain pattern.

I had never thought about embroidering on sheer fabric, but the effect is beautiful. The flower patterns are beautiful, but of course patterns from elsewhere could be used, too.

This is a well done embroidery book that focuses on embroidering on sheer organza fabric, which makes it a bit more difficult since you have to make sure the back is also tidy. There are really lovely stitches shown and there are lots of color photos for every step. There aren't very many patterns (12) but some of them are very pretty and I love the effects. They are generally botanical. One of my grown daughters makes embroidery patches for sale on denim, and while her materials and aesthetic are completely different I think she'd really enjoy a few of these patterns and ideas too.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.