Customer Reviews

Beginner's Guide to Machine Embroidered Landscapes

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been into freehand machine embroidery and thread painting for 20 years, using ordinary sewing machines. I still don't see the attraction for the new embroidery machines, simply copying stuff off of a computer, but obviously everyone doesn't agree!

It is regrettable, though, that many younger or less-experienced sewers don't realize that there is a long and rich history of machine embroidery dating back into the 19th century, long before even zigzag stitching was available. Expensive and complicated embroidery machines are NOT required to make beautiful and original artworks.

This fact is ably demonstrated in Ms. Holt's book. She has a technique that is apparently more popular in Britain than here. It involves coloring the background fabric-in this case dying silk-with a preliminary rough sketching of the scene. This is followed by the appropriate stitching to make the scene. I am new to this technique and have yet to try it. However, it looks like it should be simple enough even for a non-painter like me to obtain good results.

One of the great attractions of this book, and one of the reasons it's worth its price, are the profuse color illustrations of her work, along with dozens of color photos of the techniques involved in its production.

I am looking forward to trying Ms. Holt's method for producing machine embroidered art. This book should serve as a great illustration and instructional tool for those interested.

While Ms. Holt emphasizes using silk fabric, this is not necessary, so don't let that scare you away from this wonderful book. Her illustrations are many, and the directions are written very clearly. If you have a machine that sews zig zag stitches, you can do this, even if you are a beginner! For those of us who are a bit more seasoned, this will take us to new levels and inspriations.
The day I got my book, I went to my stash and pulled out some cotton fabric with a garden theme. I drew what I wanted to put in the foreground on paper, using Alison Holt's instructions. By using the cotton theme fabric, I avoided the need to use silk, resist and dyes. Her instructions for determining where you want to put more stitching are so very clear, that I could sit right down and create my own masterpiece. I loved using all the different thread colors that I just couldn't resist buying, but never used, too. I made mine pretty big (36x36), and it is lovely.

Ms. Holt has delivered a book that will no doubt be a predicessor to a whole new way of using our machines. Who needs to buy an embroidery machine when you have this book with its clear and easily understood directions??

Get it now.........you won't be disappointed!

This Reference Book is a Classic! The illustrations & instructions are so well presented whether you are a beginner like me or well versed in this little known pastime there really is something for everyone. Get it now before it's too late then drag out your old sewing machine-it's playtime!
PS My husband has written this review-i'm too busy!

The book itself is full of helpful instructions on how to free motion embroider flowers. The instructions are clear and concise with many illustrations; the photographs thruout the book are numerous.

What the book's description does NOT say is how much painting is involved. If you are a paintbrush and paint artist, plus a free motion stitcher who is looking for ways to create gorgeous finished floral pictures, this book is for you.

If, like me, you are not this kind of artist, and have trouble drawing stick figures, you should be prepared to go out & buy yardage with floral motifs on them, to fussy cut & fuse to a background fabric and then proceed with the stitching.

Or be prepared to do a lot of tracing from a color photograph which has been enlarged.

I am disappointed in the fact that this book relies heavily on one's ability to draw. I wouldn't begrudge the money spent on silk fabrics or paints/brushes if I knew how to draw to begin with. I will try the fussy cutting of floral motifs fused to a background, tho, using the author's photographs as references.

I give this book 4 stars only for the detailed instructions and outstanding photographs, of which there are many. If I had to give a rating for overall useability including the painting, I would have to rate it even lower.

I think the techniques and descriptions are good. The author is truly knowledgeable about the subject. Beautiful work. I found the flat color of the pictures somewhat distracting. If you are getting the book to read about the techniques, then it is good. I would love to see the same book updated and bolder color. I don't think the pictures do the work justice.

This is the best book I've read on thread painting technique - truly inspirational! This book is about free motion embroidery and artistic expression of the beauty of nature around us. Alison Holt creates incredible works of landscape art from garden photographs, many of which she takes herself.

The title might be a tad misleading, however; especially to those who might be looking for a book on modern machine embroidery and enjoys using someone else's design concepts downloaded into a computerized embroidery / sewing machine in a format compatible with their machine. This is definitely NOT that kind of book!

The author shares many of her free motion techniques for achieving the various results in the multitude of examples in this book. Her work is so realistic that I had to look twice to determine which was the photograph and which was her embroidered work in several cases.

This is such an awesome book that it motivated me to write this review so that others will be inspired to express themselves using this artistic medium of manual thread painting by machine using the straight and zig zag stitches of even the most basic of any sewing machine available today.

Order this book and be prepared to be amazed and inspired!

Have just received this beautiful book and it appears to be a winner. My husband even picked it up and looked through with great admiration for the artistry. Topics cover beginning to end of a project, some sections being: materials & equipment, design, colour, distance and detail, starting to stitch, grouping by technique, how to present your finished embroidery. Definitely encouraging and inspirational. I think this is one that will be sold out!

This is the firt of Alison Holt books on machine embroidery that I bought, I was so pleased with
what I learned in the book that I bought two others. This is a wonderful reference to a freehand
machine embroidery enthusiast. The results you get with free hand are more beautiful than anything
you can get with an embroidery machine because of the irregularities that doing free hand embroidery brings,
thus making scenary look more realistic.

The book teaches you techniques in sewwing as well as how to create images not only by drawing freehand
but from tracing photographs. You don't need to be an artist to be able to look like one!

In my artwork based on this book, I did not use silk, resist or dyes. I simplified the approach by
using hand-dyed fabric bought in the store, silk rayon and sulky poly cotton threads for their shiny
beauty. So the book is great by giving you ideas on which you can build and create your own thing, with
your own tools. What is fantastic is the techniques itself, the whole approach in how to build the scene,
what intensity of colors to use, what stiches work best, and so forth. This is one of my favorite
books as it opened a whole new way to be creative, and I have done hand free landscape embroidery
before I read the first book.

The book is organized in the following way:
1. Design. This chapter talks about composition, using phographs, and combining photographs to build your scene.
2. Colour. This chapter talks abou mixing color, using color grid, preparing and using resist, painting backgrounds, and choosing thread. (As I mentioned earlir in my review, I used purchased hand-dyed fabric to simplify the process here)
3. Starting to embroider. Setting up your machine, shading and blending, sitch tecniques, experimetning with different stitches. This is one of my favorite chapters, I picked up a lot of ideas here.
4 Projects. Detailed instructions for 3 projects. Beautiful projects, clear instructions.

THIS IS AN EASY TO FOLLOW, BEAUTIFUL BOOK. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE FLOWER EMBROIDERY IS BEAUTIFUL & MAKES ME WANT TO HAVE MORE TIME AT MY SEWING MACHINE. IT HAS BROADENED MY IDEAS OF WHAT I CAN DO - I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO CREATIVELY PAINT WITH THREAD IN A REWARDING WAY.

No doubt the work showcased in this book is gorgeous; the techniques beautiful. I just don't know if "beginners guide" is an appropriate term for this book. If you are a talented artist (especially a painter) AND a talented seamstress, I think the ideas in this book will help you improve. However, if you are not an artist (i.e., have or are pursuing an art degree,) then this volume will probably be of little use to you.