Magical Needlework: 35 Original Projects & Patterns [Paperback]

Dorothy Morrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2002

With the patterns in this book, you will soon be creating magically charged items that bring helpful, positive energy to your home and your life. Sew a fairie dress for Midsummer Night's Eve and dance in the moonlight ... safeguard your home with an herbal protection charm ... crochet a pentacle wallhanging ... knit a meditation mat for balance in your life ... and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this lighthearted look at the magical potential of a craft that many might overlook, Morrison's fascination with puns ("what's sew magical") and rhymes ("counted cross-stitches in a row make the magic really grow") not only add a touch of her good humor, but help with understanding the importance of rhyme when it comes to holding power. The 35 projects Morrison presents cover all kinds of needlecraft including: sewing, quilting, embroidery, crochet, knitting, and even the ancient arts of dyeing, spinning, and weaving. If you've never threaded a needle, this book is the perfect primer covering all the basics, both mundane and magical. If you're a pro with the thread, this book will give you a new appreciation of the magic in your own hands. --Brian Patterson

About the Author

Originally from Texas, Dorothy Morrison now lives the magical life in Maine with her family. Dorothy is a member of the Pagan Poet’s Society and a charter member of M.A.G.I.C., a magical writer’s and artist’s organization. Dorothy is a Wiccan High Priestess of the Georgian Tradition, and has been an avid practitioner of the ancient arts for more than twenty years. She founded the Coven of the Crystal Garden in 1986, and spent many years teaching the Craft of Wicca to students both in the United States and in Australia.

A former state championship archer and bow hunter, Dorothy’s current interests include Tarot work, magical herbalism, stonework, and computer networking.

Dorothy’s work has been published in many journals and magazines, including Circle Network News, SageWoman, and Crone Chronicles. She is the author of the acclaimed Everyday Magic, Magical Needlework, In Praise of the Crone, Yule, Bud, Blossom & Leaf: The Magical Herb Gardener’s Handbook, The Craft, and The Craft Companion, among other works..

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (September 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567184707
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184709
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Needlework with that special magic, December 15, 2001

By 

Boudica (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Needlework: 35 Original Projects & Patterns (Paperback)

I consider myself an experienced needle person, being well versed in embroidery and quilting.

Working with the needle, sewing patterns, making quilt patterns, and working magic has always been in my own work. Watching weavers at their looms has convinced me that a true craftsperson could combine magic with any kind of needle craft and create some wondrous magical weavings.

In her book "Magical Needlework", Dorothy Morrison gives us a starting place for this kind of magical interweaving.

Her projects are simple, from a cover for a Book of Shadows, to poppets. The designs are very pagan or celtic in flavor, but an experienced needle person could take these projects and patterns to new heights.

She covers all kinds of needlework, from embroidery to needlepoint, to knitting, crocheting and quilting, so no one should feel the subject matter limited. She takes you step by step, with well laid out and clear directions. Most are well illustrated.

She also explains the magic. How to work the spells, herbs to use, energy flow from fabric and texture, making it easy to understand.

I found this book interesting, and I have considered a couple of projects, elaborated upon and molded just a bit to make the finished project uniquely my own. Just have to find the time to put it all together.

I recommend it for beginners and experienced alike, who wish to include magic in their projects. A good read, even for an experienced needle person like myself.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lazy, Shallow, May 23, 2008

By 

Ana Mardoll (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Magical Needlework: 35 Original Projects & Patterns (Paperback)

Magical Needlework / 1-56718-470-7

To date, I have found about three guides on Wiccan craft projects, and these guides are all fairly disappointing; this one is definitely the most disappointing of them all.

I was really excited about this book. I am an avid cross-stitcher and quilter and own several books on each. I'm not much of a seamstress, but I'm learning and I love what I've learned so far. I really couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and start making Wiccan bed spreads and Wiccan cross-stitch wall-hangings.

I really wish I'd saved my money. This is a very lazy effort, put together hastily and with no respect for the customer. The section on quilting absolutely infuriates me - the author shows nine (only nine!) quilt blocks and explains their "significance" to Wicca. The deep "significance" being that the Texas Star looks like a pentagram, the Eight-Pointed Star was the symbol of Ishtar, and the Pandora's Box is named after, well, Pandora's Box. After these three sentence "explanations", the author doesn't even bother teaching the reader how to piece these blocks together. There are no patterns, no sizes, no instructions, nothing more than "here's a picture - quilt it". I have many, many quilting books and none of them would *ever* consider describing a quilt block in this ridiculously lazy manner! Every single book would at least instruct the reader in what order to piece the pieces, what size they should be, where to cut along the bias, and so forth. I seriously doubt that the author of this book has ever quilted anything at all.

The section on cross-stitching is just as bad. The major cross-stitch picture included (a goddess clutching the earth to herself) is very rudimentary and includes no color chart whatsoever. (There aren't even color pictures in the book, by the way.) I guess you can just cross-stitch the entire North American continent as one uniform shade of green, but I was hoping for color depth and subtlety, not a kid's coloring book. This lack of effort in a pattern is absolutely insulting.

The rest of the "projects" here are forgettable or insulting. The Norse Amulet project is as follows: Get a piece of Aida cross-stitch material. Cut it into a circle. Stitch a rune in the center of the circle. Hang the cloth circle from some yarn. Wear yarn amulet proudly to work or play. I don't think I need to defend my irritation at being told that it's normal for a grown woman to wear yarn necklaces to work. This is the sort of stuff I made in Sunday School as a kid (substitute "cross" for "rune" and voila!) and it's insulting that this is being packaged as one of 35 adult Wiccan projects.

If you are a pagan parent and you're just desperate for a Wiccan "Sunday School Project", this book is a decent resource as long as you don't mind spending the money. If you are a pagan adult who really likes needlework and expects a level of respect and professionalism, try Polson's Witch Crafts. It's not a remarkably good craft book, but it is more detailed than this one.

~ Ana Mardoll

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book by a fine and wonderful friend!, January 10, 1999

By 

Randall A. Weiser "Lord Andrew Faunce of Shar... (Ypsilanti, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magical Needlework: 35 Original Projects & Patterns (Paperback)

Having known this wonderful lady for a number of years, and knowing her sense of humor, this book is a fine example of homespun writing at its best! Dorothys' projects are excellent, and her writing makes it a joy to learn! This is one book that is going to get a LOT of use in MY household!!!