I was not expecting this book. I was expecting the usual embroidery book. But this book was both a knitting and an embroidery book. It talked about styles and materials. It talked about how to use embroidery to upcycle old or used clothes. And then it went into full knitting patterns and embroidery. Being that the author talked about how she came to embroidery by way of knitting, I should have expected it, and I didn’t. It makes this a truly unique book that will check out lots in libraries.

I enjoyed the whimsical ideas in this book. Adding some embroidery can really refresh an old sweater, jeans, etc. Thank you for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review

--Pure Inspiration--

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, and here are my thoughts:

This is exactly the kind of book I've been looking for. I wanted ideas about how to embroider every day clothing items (t-shirt, jeans), and this book delivers. In addition, if you are a knitter, there are also several knit patterns in the book, so you can make your own embroidered sweater or two or three.

The book has projects for sewn clothing as well as the knitted projects I mentioned. If there were any area I would like to see expanded, is that it would have been useful if the author could discuss and give tips about embroidering on different surfaces. As knitted fabric and woven fabric have different ways of behaving, a few more tips would be appreciated. The main tip throughout was to "hold the fabric taut", and I would have like a few more tips, especially for embroidering on knitted fabric.

I would suggest that anyone considering buying this book to look at the preview and see if you like the projects. As it shows embroidery on on both sewn clothing and knitted clothing, I feel it is like getting two books in one.

This is a beautiful book and hope to see more like it.

Wardrobe Embroidery is a tutorial and project guide to surface embroidery on clothing along with some knit patterns by Warunee Bolstad. Due out 15th Nov 2021 from Zakka Workshop, it's 144 pages and will be available in paperback format.

The author is a Norwegian based knitwear designer who also uses surface embroidery and crewel on knits and woven wardrobe pieces. The general look is full of whimsy and fresh, pastel colors. This book includes both surface designs for use on wovens as well as full project instructions for nine knit projects including some tops, sweaters, cardigans, a jacket, and a couple accessories (a cute headband and a neckwarmer with a turtle neck collar).

The book includes a number of step by step tutorials for surface embroidery embellished clothing and knitwear. All of the projects can be adapted for other uses. Stitch diagram recommendations are specific enough to follow and general enough to be easily changed to suit the reader's needs. Materials listed in the tutorials are easy to source and inexpensive. In fact many of the clothing tutorials will be a super opportunity to re-purpose and upcycle found / thrifted clothing.

Each project tutorial includes a color picture showing embroidery placements and details. The tools and supplies are provided in a bullet list in a sidebar, followed by step by step instructions. Templates for all projects are provided in the back of the book. The author has included a picture gallery for inspiration as well as links and resources lists in the appendices.

I really fell in love with several of these pretty pieces. They are all very feminine and most are floral. Though the knit projects are simple, the author has not included a beginning knitting tutorial in the book. Readers who are beginners to knitting will probably need some outside help (or online how-to).

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is a slightly odd book. It starts with lovely clear descriptions (with photographs) on how to embroider but then half way through the project suddenly includes knitting patterns to embroider over once completed. Nowhere in the introductory pages is there any introduction to knitting. I was expecting there to be projects with embroidery on knitwear, but didn't expect to see knitting patterns. I do think this book would be better with just the embroidery instructions and some extra hints on how you might need to change your embroidery work when working with knit wear. The knitting patterns are an odd inclusion, and a whole other book.

The projects gave me lots of ideas. There's the usual jeans, bags and pocket details, but als0 all delicate all over designs on blouses and knit wear, plus embroidered hats.

This book has potential, I'm just not sure of the target market.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zakka Workshop for the ARC in return for an honest review

Disclosure: I was provided with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher.

While there were some nice designs shown in this publication, I found myself thinking, "there is nothing new." The patterns were fairly typical for any embroidery book and quite frankly I would only do them on a pair of blue jeans or a jacket. Who puts simple embroidery on a Little Black Dress?

The instructions were concise and the explanation of supplies needed was also adequate. I simply would not spend the money to buy a book that is a duplicate of so many other more detailed volumes.

Absolutely love the embroidery section with the simple instructions snd lovely designs but full knitting patterns is really odd in an embroidery book. I knit so could use them, but I’d much rather have more embroidery stuff, and this actually felt like a space filler.

Also, I’ve got the ebook, but would recommend paperback so you can use the templates.

I’ve really enjoyed reading books about creativity and embroidery. I think it is so beautiful and I am always looking to learn a new creative skill. This book was very informative and put together nicely.

I was just expecting this book to cover embroidery so I was surprised to see a fair amount of knitting included.
This was an interesting book with all templates and patterns included, but I feel it was definitely aimed at beginners as far as the embroidery was concerned, and for this it was excellent with easy to follow instructions and useful tips.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read.

Wardrobe Embroidery is aimed at beginner needleworkers who want to add some flair to their clothing. The book has reviews of basic stiches, as well as patterns that look impressive but require little expertise. Highly recommend for embroiderers, sewers, and thrift shop lovers.

Content:
The book Wardrobe Embroidery by Warunee Bolstad shows how to upcycle vintage garments with beautiful embroidery. This is complemented with knitting patterns for pretty sweaters that are also embellished with embroidery.

Opinion:
A great book with lots of simple patterns that make a lot of difference. So garment can appear again in a whole new light. I had a lot of fun with the book and I especially liked the knitting pattern for the sweater. I will certainly make this one soon.

Conclusion:
A really great book with pretty ideas to let old Kleiung shine in new splendor. Therefore 5 of 5 stars.

A very helpful and well-illustrated and explained book. Perfect for updating my wardrobe, it has given me lots of ideas and the confidence to go for it!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Our crafty customers (and staff) will adore the ideas in this book - and presented in clear and contemporary layout,

A great book with lots of ideas on how to upcycle your existing clothes with embroidery. The instructions are easy to follow and I would recommend this to any embroidery beginners.

As more and more of us turn to craft, whether for therapeutic reasons, as part of the crewing trend, or a planet conscious need to make do and mend, sometimes we are on the hunt for new inspiration.
This book is a great start for those wanting to embroider on garments, whether you are a novice or experienced thread artist!

There are tips for working on various fabrics, how to deal with stretch, denim, etc, as well as endless ideas for designs.
The visible mending/upcycling/customisation movement is here to stay!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

I'm very interested in customizing my clothes with embroidery and this book has many useful and practical tips for this (I loved the shirt with hearts and I want to make it!)

Fantastic Way to Customize Your Clothes in your Closet!

I saw this book and wanted it especially for the embroidered jeans. I bought 2 pairs of white jeans be accident, but really wanted to embroidery one of the pairs, so I kept them. I know some basic embroidery skills, so this really is not that hard to do! 2) I have a lovely wool long cardigan that got a spot that can’t be removed. I love the idea of using the subtle technique the author suggests of using the same color with DMC Floss and Embroidering Some Flowers directly onto the Wool Cardigan. I think it will easily work and make the Sweater Extra Special. 3) I know how to knit and also have a few Sweaters that would look a lot nicer with a Knit Embroidered Pattern on Them. I like that there are actual Pretty Pattern examples for doing this.

I love the book and I like that it is fairly easy to start a project and make something pretty. Many books require so many purchases and prior knowledge to get started, it is too much. This is perfect.

Thank you NetGalley, Warunee Bolstad, and Zakka Workshop for providing an ARC of this book. I am really excited to receive it.

I really liked this book about embroidery and upcycling your clothes. The patterns are lovely and I actually see myself making most of the patterns, they are not over the top or too fashionable for the average woman. The ideas are beautiful, and the main instructions are very clear and extensive. I have to say I didn’t like the editing of the pictures much, there was so much contrast the shadow side of a white blouse turns our pitch black. For me this made it harder to see how it looks like for real, though the pictures do look pretty and made me want to wear all of the pieces lol! Though the focus lies with embroidery on knit wear, other items like blouses and jeans and even a hat are also featured.

What I didn’t expect, though it is mentioned on the cover, is how much knitting is involved. I get that you can see what is embroidered on the knitting and copy that anyway, but the inclusion of knitting patterns felt a little bit weird for me, like the book couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a knitting or embroidery book, and I think the combination wasn’t entirely successful. Also the knitting patterns weren’t very size inclusive, my size was actually the biggest available.

All in all, the knitting patterns added very little, but the embroidery is beautiful and the projects are easy, for the embroidery alone I would definitely buy the book.

A short how-to book with inspiring projects for embellishing clothing to add a more personalized touch. A brief guide to basic tools and sticthes is included. There are also projects that involve knitting, I would have preferred to see an upcycled alternative to those projects, for those of us who don't knit.

This is a sweet little book that walks you through embroidering clothes that you make or that you upcycle. They are a little one-note for me and I was not expecting so much of the book to be of knitting patterns, but this would be great inspiration for someone looking to personalize children's sweaters or who really likes this aesthetic. Like another reviewer, I was hoping for more along the lines of adapting clothes to cover imperfections and a variety of looks, but it's still a lovely resource.

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