| This
is a compendium of all eight Royal School of Needlework primers
and an ideal book to own for anybody who wants to learn several
core techniques. These comprise blackwork, whitework, goldwork,
stumpwork, crewelwork, canvaswork, silk shading and bead embroidery.
If you already own any or all of the earlier books, this is
basically the same material but organized in a different way:
all the information common to all the books, such as using
a hoop or slate frame, transferring designs, and basic lists
of materials are in a section at the front. This includes
an introduction to the work of the RSN and a useful list with
page numbers so you can easily find diagrams of the basic
stitches.
The rest
of the book is organized into chapters, one per book. These
are not books of projects, but instead show you how to do
the stitches and techniques that are unique to each style
and thus make up your own designs. There are examples from
the RSN’s huge collection of historical embroidery,
also plenty of modern pieces showing how embroiderers can
use the styles to tackle contemporary subjects.
This
book will appeal most to anybody who has done some basic embroidery
and wants to explore some of its many variations. The many
staged photographs make tackling even the more advanced work
relatively easy. And because this book has much larger pages
than the original books, some photographs are a lot larger,
although some are also smaller I recommend this very user
friendly primer to anybody interested in learning a range
of embroidery styles.
If you cannot find a good range of embroidery materials locally
try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
Reviews
of other titles in the Royal School of Needlework Series
Blackwork
Silk
Shading
Crewelwork
Stumpwork
Bead
Embroidery
Appliqué
Raised
Embroidery
The
RSN Book of Embroidery |