Customer Reviews

Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching (Sublime Stitching)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

9/1/2009

Well, first let me start by saying I am a huge Sublime Stitching fan ... I own every book/kit, and almost all of the patterns from the website. So, with my being such a huge Sublime Stitching fan coupled with the exciting product description here on Amazon and elsewhere; I had pretty high expectations. I do feel let down by this book, but perhaps my expectations were set too high.

Let me discuss the pros of this book first:

* Excellent Photography & Layout
* Pocket for holding transfers
* Expanded How-To Section (when compared with the Sublime Stitching book and Stitch-It-Kit)
* Expanded Resources Section
* Apx. 9 new patterns that you cannot find in other Sublime Stitching products: mixed drinks, feather dancer, goofy birds/cage, mahjong tiles/ "Mahjong" phrase, peacocks, stitch sampler, cameo, the phrase "Let Me Sleep" with some Z's, and some swirling lazy daisies/fern stitches.
* 8 decorative stitch combinations

Okay here are the cons:

* I was expecting there to be all new iron-on transfers in this book -- there are some, but many are in other Sublime Stitching products, such as: "Born To Stitch" (tattoo alphabet pattern pack from website), Robot Parts (from Craft Pad), Chandelier (from Craft Pad), Birds (from Sublime Stitching Book), and a Design from the Stitchable Stationary .
* A couple of the iron on transfers are technically "new", but are extremely similar to other Sublime Stitching Designs such as: Heart with knife, Mexican Sugar Skulls.
* Most of the stitches in this book are straight out of the Stitch-It-Kit and Sublime Stitching book. The "new" stitches in this book not in other SS books are: brick, fern, blanket, fan blanket, cretan, lazy lotus (which you can find free on the SS blog), herringbone, sheaf,and leaf.
* YOu have to go to other websites to find directions on how to make some of the projects such as the laptop holder and pillowcase dress -- there are NOT actual instructions in the book on how to sew these.
* The "Extra Effects" section on embellishing your work with beads/sequins/glow thread is REALLY skimpy ... only a page and a half long. Very disappointed with this portion -- there are not even any diagrams. The book says you can sew on a sequin or attach with a bead, but does not even explain how to attach a sequin with a bead.
* One of the "projects" in this book is the "Stitched Senorita Card" -- this is a card with a lovely Mexican dancer that is embroidered. While there are some minimal instructions on how to embroider onto stationary/glue on a found image onto heavier hardstock, you cannot actually make the example from the book, because they did not include the actual card or any templates. For the price of this book you would think they could have included the actual card that was used in the example -- afterall the example image is from another Chronicle Books publication!!
* Another disappointing project is the felt bouqet of flowers -- once again, stitched up very nicely, but the instructions basically say (I am paraphrasing here) ... 'cut up some flowers out of felt in whatever shape you want and embroider' ... well, duh!! You would expect there to be templates for the felt flower shapes so you could cut out the felt pieces to match the ones in the book... but there are not.
* The shower curtain project with the feather dancer on it is disappointing to me as well, because the directions are so minimal. Basically the instructions say (paraphrasing once again) .. 'iron on the transfer whereever you want along the bottom 1/3 and embroider'. That is it ... and the photo is just an up close shot of ONE of the dancers and a few decorative stitches (sheaf, blanket fan) ..... It would have been nice to have a photo or a diagram of the entire shower curtain to give some idea of placement of the transfers. You basically have to just decide the placement for yourself...which for me I do not like, because that is what I am buying a book for .. to tell me how to complete a project.

So.... all in all I have been disappointed with this book, but like I said, perhaps my expectations were set far too high. I will keep it though because I really do love Sublime Stitching, and there is some good stuff in here.

UPDATE:

12/9/2009

Okay, so I have had this book for about 3 months now, and I decided to edit my review and change my rating from 4 to 5 stars because this book has really grown on me. After having this book for a few months I can honestly say that this book has provided immense inspiration for me. I have been using sequins, and some of the stitch combinations, and am planning on using my printer to print on fabric a photo of my kids which I will embroider (a project idea from the book). When I thought about the title of this book, and began to regard it as something that is supposed to inspire you in your stitching, I decided that it does just that. Sure I wish some of the directions were a bit more complete, and there were more patterns, but the new patterns that are included are well worth the money --- they are gorgeous! I love flipping through this book just to look at the photos.

So, take my earlier critique for what you will, and just know that after spending more time with this book I no longer feel disappointed....but rather inspired. Another amazing Sublime Stitching product! :)

First of all, I have to say that this book is much larger than it appears online -- it's a big, heavy, gorgeous Chronicle presentation that's about 8x10" and almost two inches thick. It's a well-made delicious feast!

The graphics and photography are more delicious and rich than usual, even for a Chronicle book. I really have to applaud the art director. The photographs are full-bleeds and the design makes it easy to read and well-paced.

This is important because there is SO much information in this whopper! I've done a couple of books myself, and mine are much shorter on text, so I am especially impressed with the amount of research and writing that clearly must have gone into this work. It's so apparent from start to finish that an incredible amount of thought went into it. I also really enjoyed the tone of this book compared to most craft books, because it's not overly done. It's obvious that the author took great care and a lot of time to craft each chapter carefully. The result is a very enjoyable read that conveys just the right amount of information without being overbearing or verbose.

Some of the projects really took my breath away: the photo transfer portrait, the glow-in-the-dark chandelier magnets, the cameo shirt... these are obviously some gems that Jenny's been saving for just the right moment, and here it is! And of course the book is designed so well that it includes pages of ready-to-go transfers in the back for all the patterns and a spacious (and cute) pouch inside the front cover to store them after use (so you can use them again and again).

I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed. I've followed Jenny's work since she started Sublime Stitching, and I feel like this book is the pinnacle of her career to date. I also felt, as I was reading it for the first time, that this is bound to be a classic because it's the most well-thought-out, well-put-together tome on embroidery I've ever seen.

Seriously. Don't overlook this one -- it's so much more impressive in person, wait 'til you open your Amazon box and see how gorgeous it is. You won't be disappointed.

Hooray! I own the Stitch-It Kit and the Sublime Stitching book (with the patterns) and I love them both. I really like "Embroidered Effects," but advanced stitchers are unlikely to get a great deal of information from it. However, even for someone like me (in the mediocre category) there is a lot to learn. There are several stitching techniques that haven't shown up in either of the other books I own. As always, Jenny Hart's instructions are well-written and well-illustrated and the included patterns are fantastic! They are drawn in her characteristic style and fun to stitch. Perhaps there are better embroidery books out there, but I have yet to find one that sparks my interest the way Ms. Hart's do! I immediately want to stitch everything I see.

I started embroidering last year, and I learned from Jenny's stitch it kit. I made a tea towel for my boss, who loved it. A year later, I own the craft pad, the sublime stitching book, multiple patterns from her website, and I just received this book for Christmas.
There are some recycled patterns, which I knew about before I asked for the book, so I wasn't disappointed. I wanted it more for ideas. Which for me, it delivered. Learning on my own, and only embriodering for a short time, I wanted to look at the projects, and get my own ideas.
Thus far, I have done the embroidered cameo project, exactly as is, and I have done versions of the tattooed sleeve, the bluebird jeans, and the custom western shirt. All have turned out beautifully, and I've picked up some new stitches, and skills from the book.
The pictures are nice, I wish they would have included close ups of some of them, but I didn't need them to finish the projects.
I liked that the book just wasn't, oh take a shirt, and embrioder it. There's some ideas I wouldn't have thought about on my own, such as tracing an existing pattern on fabric, that's super simple, and yet, makes such a difference.
If you like Jenny Hart, I think you'll enjoy this book. Just beware if you have most of her books, there's a lot of repeats. I myself, didn't care, the book was worth it to me for the ideas it gave me.

It was so refreshing and sweet to pick up a book on embroidery that didn't have ducks in bonnets or teddy bears holding "i love you" balloons. Not that there's anything wrong with those, but man they are really REALLY not my style! This book helped me to loosen up my preconceived notions of stuffy, cheesy embroidered tissue box covers. Embroider a sugar skull (to celebrate Day of the Dead) on a sweet wrap skirt? FUN! Add a stately barbie look alike cameo to a crisp white shirt? Tres elegant! My favorite project so far has been the "stitches i know" pattern; a super easy yet interesting mixed sampler that helps to build confidence with different stitches and opened my eyes to the possibilities of future projects. Very creative and unique patterns were easy to transfer to plain muslin cotton cloth with a hot dry iron.

It is an in-expensive craft to get started so that, too, was a plus for me. I spent about $5 on plastic hoops and another $10 on some nice quality floss and needles. The direction in the book are easy to read and have a sweet humor to them. The spiral bound book lays flat and has a great "getting started" section with everything you need to know about embroidery. I would recommend this book to anyone with kitchy/indie style who wants to add personal embelishments to their gifts, home decor, and clothing.

Totally love Jenny Hart - very clear instructions and patterns are so up to date and refreshing! So glad I have this book.

I am an avid cross stitcher but really wanted to expand my embroidery techniques - this book is perfect. Basic embroidery techniques are explored, both stitches and how to transfer, types of fabric/needles/floss. And there are plenty of projects. I am looking forward to completing one of the samplers to improve my skills and create a project that I would love to display. I am giving it 4/5 stars only because the Doodles embroidery book is similar with patterns that I love even more, but I am glad to have both.

I got this after seeing embroidery all over the blogs I read. Within 30 minutes of opening it, I was stitching away. The transfers are lovely and the projects are easily adaptable. I recommend this and the other Sublime Stitching book. You will have enough projects and motifs to stitch for a year!

Was looking for embrodiery patterns and found this book and ordered it. It is a great book and is truly inspirational. I love it so much I bought 2 more, one for my sister and one for a friend. It makes you want to pick up that needle and create.

I am a pretty big Sublime Stitching fan so this is probably biased but if you enjoy embroidery you NEED this book!Your kitchen can only stand so many tea towels :/ I love this book because it gave me options. I dont play Mahjong so I probably wont make the table cloth pictured in the book BUT I love the idea! Her ideas give me ideas and it fuels my addiction to embroidery. As everyone else has said the pictures are terrific. One thing that suprised me was how much I used her instructions/diagrams. They are so well drawn and easy to understand that its my number one resource. There are so many tips that I feel much more confident than when I was stitching before reading this book. Its perfect for begginners and if you are a Sublime fan just buy it! You know you want all Jenny's patterns anyway!