Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs [Paperback]

Donna Kooler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2000

“More than 500 crisp and colorful cross-stitch designs [are] grouped around five major themes. Each design includes a full-color chart with stitch count and DMC floss code chart....Will be a welcome addition to Christmas crafts collections.”—Library Journal. “Delectable cross stitch motifs.”—The NeedleWorker.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Donna Kooler enthusiasts have more reason to rejoice at Christmas with this extensive selection of holiday cross-stitch designs. Her Santas are especially charming; she manages to cram into a miniscule amount of space a sprightly collection of varied St. Nicks. The "Nature Christmas" chapter is also quite agreeable, with well-rendered animals and even some touches of humor (a turtle with a Christmas tree atop its shell; a tiny ant struggling to carry a mighty candy cane). It's too bad so few of these many designs are photographed in finished form; the only completed stitchery shown are the samplers at the beginning of each of the five chapters. Though all the motifs are carefully charted in color, busy holiday crafters generally appreciate being able to see at a glance exactly how they stitch up before making a choice about what to spend time on. But any cross-stitcher who enjoys Donna's work probably can't go too far wrong with any of them. --Amy Handy

From Library Journal

This collection of more than 500 crisp and colorful cross-stitch designs is grouped around five major themes: "Folk Art," "Santa Claus," "Inspirational Christmas" (angels, manger, wise men, etc.), "General Christmas" (stockings, elves, snowmen, etc.), and "Nature Christmas" (animals, flowers, trees). Each design includes a full-color chart with stitch count and DMC floss code chart. DMC embroidery floss is specified in the charts, but an Anchor conversion table is provided for stitchers who prefer Anchor threads. Readers can choose to incorporate the motifs into their own projects or to stitch one or more of the full-size sampler designs included. Although designed for cross-stitch, the charts could also be adapted to intarsia knitting, crochet, or other forms of embroidery. This title will be a welcome addition to all but the smallest public library Christmas crafts collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Sterling/Chapelle (December 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080692263X
• ISBN-13: 978-0806922638
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Treasure From Donna, October 20, 2000

By 

"tinytrim" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs (Hardcover)

Fans of Donna Kooler will be pleased to see the excellence continued in this 555 series. New stitchers will appreciate the small, quality designs; I'm continually surprised at her artistic talents--with less than an inch design space she can create a truly detailed work of art.

I am slightly disappointed with the continued layout of the 555 series. Not all patterns have been stitched and photographed. Despite the full colour graphs, it is not the same thing as viewing the finished product. I would like to see future publications include photos of all stitched designs.

As a majority of the designs are photographed, this is a minor flaw and should not disuade others from Donna's excellent work.

I imagine that this book will quickly become one of my favourite quick stitch books for holiday gifts.

Thanks Donna, keep up the good work!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars donna kooler's 555 christmas cross-stitch designs, July 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs (Hardcover)

I thought it was a very good book, but I wish it would have included more ideas of what to use the designs on. Sometimes the diagrams were hard to use. The color hues were so similiar and the colors were difficult to tell apart. Other than this, the designs were great and the variety of Christmas themed selections was very good.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Christmas cross stitch designs, December 4, 2005

By 

Kendra Gehring "nursing student/mama of 2" (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs (Paperback)

I'm an avid cross stitcher and a huge fan of Kooler's designs, and recently stumbled across this book at my local library. I checked it out and after merely skimming through it, I knew I had to have my own copy.
The book consists of 5 main themes in which there is a full-size project along with several smaller related projects. "Folk Art Christmas" shows "typical" Christmas items, from gingerbread cookies to snowmen, to reindeer to angels. "Santa Christmas" is full of Santas and is absolutely gorgeous (this is the main reason I bought this book!). "Inspirational Christmas" contains designs of the Nativity, the town of Bethelehem, angels, and other items with more of a religious-based theme. "Merry Christmas" also contains the "typical" Christmas items but without the crafty/folksy look shown in the "Folk Art Christmas" section. "Nature Christmas" is as it sounds - scenes of Mother Nature, including animals, trees, foliage, and other outdoor items. There are several Christmas-themed alphabets throughout the main design themes as well.
The great thing about the different designs is that you can either stitch them as charted, or mix and match the different little elements to create your own design. The smaller designs are perfect for ornaments or other small projects.
The book also contains basic stitching instructions, as well as a thread conversion chart (DMC to Anchor) and a metric conversion chart.
A few people have mentioned that the color patterns can be difficult to read since the color blocks have limited pattern symbols. To help with this, I suggest going over the chart and adding small symbols to the different color areas before you start stitching. This helps distinguish the different shades of one color, making it easier to stitch.
If you're looking for a variety of Christmas designs, start with this book. You won't be disappointed!