RSN ESG: Crewelwork: Essential Stitch Guides (Royal School of Needlework Essential Stitch Guides)

What a nice stitch guide for crewel beginners or advanced stitchers. I like how the binding allows you to set the book in front of you, open to the selected page and lying flat, for guidance wherever you are working. This isn't a project planner, only a good guide to frequently used crewel stitches. The explanations and photos are clear and accurate. It is a good idea to use different sources when you are learning or teaching, because sometimes a refresher is needed or just words put together in a different style which makes more everything clearer to you or your students. Happy Stitching.

I just got this book today as one of 4 crewel instruction books I bought to guide me as I stitch my first Norwegian bunad. The book is gorgeous with meticulous attention to detail. The photography is perfection. Great close ups with hundreds of step by step photos that show stitch progression. The written instructions are very easy to follow and, unlike another book I got, very accurate. Great sections on getting started, different supply choices and choosing supplies best for your needs, designing and other basics with very helpful photographs showing the differences in supplies discussed. Great tips for designing custom pieces. The hard cover spiral design will make it very easy to use for reference as I'm stitching. Someone was really paying attention when this book was designed. I am very, very impressed with the professional quality of this book and can hardly wait to get stitching but I have to finish reading all the helpful hints first!

I don't really know if they have one, but it ought to be "With Precision Comes Technique" which is the ultimate lesson. The book is sturdy; it's been thrown, kicked, yah, kicked out of the way, and buried under a lot of other books.Why buy? Not just snob appeal. Royal School, doncha know, wot? This is how THEY teach crewel work with all the correctness derived from over 100 years of teaching. This is how THEY teach 21st Century crewel. I don't like the colors. I don't like the examples--they look simp. Incredibly difficult to achieve the look. Perhaps way too subtle for me. I'm skeptical of magnified photos when the diagonal weave of twill disappears.Everything, and every word of instruction in this book is informative: angle and placement of the needle going in, angle of the needle and thread coming out from the fabric, size of needle and when to change to larger or smaller or blunt tipped needle, how many threads to use in the needle. I like this book today because I like the triangular look of the Pearl Stitch and I learned how to do it following the directions, precisely.It's a book for gleaning information. Examples of early, mid, late and modern crewel work.Michelangelo used the prick and pounce method so what's good for the master is good for the dame, er...

The spiral bound format in the small size makes it easily carried around with your crewel work. The instructions are easy to read and even inspiring somehow--make me want to do the stitches as beautifully as the clear photos show. The only very minor criticism I have is that in doing the sampler I am doing now, I find some of the stitches the sampler calls for are not listed in the book. This is not a big deal because of course, the kit has the complete instructions. The book is easier to use than the unwieldy instructions, and I will use it for years to come. It has given me to the confidence to design and create my own sampler (finally!). Better and easier to use than any book I have tried yet.

This is a beautiful book and an excellent reference to have around. It gave me lots of good ideas and has significantly improved my crewelwork. The author includes lots of tips and fine points that elevate even the humblest of stitches, refine techniques, and make the designs sing.I would have liked a little bit more instruction on how to actually form some of the stitches, like the gradient lattice work, or how to select the right stitches for a project. That may be more of a testament to my lack of experience than to the book's lack of instruction...

This is an excellent little book. I recently took up Jacobean crewel embroidery and bought this book to reinforce the information needed to complete the kit I was making. The book acts as a wonderful reference to make sure I am executing the stitches properly. It is exceedingly well illustrated, with clear and easy to understand diagrams. Written by an expert in the field, I feel I am getting the best instruction. In addition to individual stitches, there are some beautiful little pictures that could be copied to use in framed wall art, furnishings or clothing. I would, and have, recommend/ed this volume to anyone who is interested in learning the correct way to form stitches in crewel embroidery.  Crewelwork (Essential Stitch Guide)

I was hoping for more of a design reference, but if you want to learn stitches this is a good book. The spiral spine allows the book to lie flat when open which is a huge plus.

Excellent crewel embroidery guide and Photos that are clear. Excellent filling stitches guide, step by step. Now I know what I have been wrong all these years. One little comment was i had to read directions a few times so I make sure I was getting the step by step down. Love that Miss McDonald attended the Royal School of Needlework. Her knowledge shows through in the book. Wish there was a branch of this academy in the states.

Love loved this book. Instructions very clear especially for a beginner in crewel work. Plenty of illustrations and pictures to work from.

Publicação maravilhosa! Adorei.Os trabalhos apresentados sãouma loucura.Espero bordar assim algum dia.Recomendo a quem realmentequeira aprender a bordar.

A friend at work has been trying to get me into cross-stitch and after a long search for cross-stitch kits that I like, didn't look too difficult and I could afford, I came across a kit for crewel embroidery. After researching more into the subject (including watching video's on YouTube) I came upon the theory that because it is a type of freestyle (you draw or iron on your own patterns and can stitch how you like in whatever colour you wish), it is easier to do than cross-stitch and the results are better (ie no jagged edges).The book covers everything from fabric, needles, threads, frames, hoops etc to designing your patterns and doing the stitches, giving examples of 39 different stitches you can use to outline and fill the patterns. It is spiral bound, so it will lay open on the sofa while you stitch. Short of having Jacqui Mcdonald sat across from you as you work, I don't think you could do better that buy this book.I would also recommend  The Embroidery Stitch Bible  which has an illustration and how to do guide for every stitch you will ever need (over 200), which you can use around the edge of your work and a  Easy Clip Tapestry Frame - 9" x 6"  because a hoop can crease the linen. The Embroidery Stitch BibleEasy Clip Tapestry Frame - 9" x 6"

I have a couple of other RSN books in the series, this one is equally informative. I like the fact that they start with the details of which materials to use, otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.Followed by 6 photos for each stitch showing each stage of the stitch along with some great photos of completed examples of what can be designed and stitched.It makes it very easy to teach oneself (having said that I am going on the 2-day intermediate Jacobean Crewelwork course this weekend at Hampton Court, always best to have someone telling you where you are going wrong and the little tricks to getting it right). Although I used the needlepoint book to create and complete a complex design (having tried out every single one of the 52 stitches lots of fun) without any course at all, so I'm sure you could with this one too.

A very nice book that gives a bit of everything: history, materials, instruction, etc. Some of the photographs, such as the ones for burden stitch, could have done with more contrasting threads to show the techniques, but there are very interesting and good photos of pre-1951 RSN samplers, etc. A good book if you want to learn the traditional way to do crewel (I don't use crewel wools for my work, for instance, nor linen twill, but prefer to work with cotton, silk and rayon), and the ring-bound format is very useful.