The Embroidered Village Bag

By Carolyn Pearce

     Curl up in your favorite chair and get embroidering with this fun book. There is only one project in it, but it will take you some time to complete and when you are done you will have something that is not only beautiful but top fashion as well. Fancy bags - the more ornate the better - are the accessory to have right now and making your own is a grand idea.

     This is another Australian craft book released for the UK (and other countries) by Search Press, and just like all other Aussie craft books, it is beautiful to behold. It is bound to spend some time on the coffee table, being looked at lovingly and this is all to the good, but can you learn to make the object by reading it? If you are a novice embroider, then have a good look as this is where you are going with your new hobby. A word of caution though: this is not the book for you. More advanced embroiderers can rub their hands with glee though as this is one of those large, impressive ongoing projects that are just the thing. The most daunting part is the list of items needed - but thankfully this is split into sections to make it more manageable and I applaud the author's sense in doing this. I also love the fact that the bag pattern is in here too, and making it is a vital part of the project and thus you are not merely decorating the surface of an existing article. There are lots of helpful stitch diagrams in here, some wonderfully detailed photographs and a lot of instructions. My advice is to read the introduction and basics, then select the part you want to start with and read it all through first; possibly more than once before you begin.

     Overall, I was impressed with the book, not merely by its detail and handsome appearance but by the fact that yes, you can make up the project and also be inspired to do your own thing. My advice to any reasonably confident embroiderer is to get this one for the keeper shelf.