Another of my many needlework hobbies is the collection of vintage craft books. Found in dusty corners of second hand shops, in pride of place in used book stores, these old tomes often contain beautiful nuggets of crafting wisdom, and a heaping helping of vintage charm. Reviving the techniques, tips and retro projects is just one more way for us to bring back the wonders of the handmade.
International Needlework Designs- 1978
This book feels like it is halfway between being a showcase for beautiful existing embroideries and a project book on how to recreate them. In any case, it is an amazing trove of embroidery history and know how. There are many stunning photos, including color plates, of many different types and styles of embroidery, and each of those has a few designs traced out and clear instructions for how to execute them.
The first set of pages is dedicated to diagrams of needles, to help the embroiderer identify and choose the right needle for each and every project. I've not seen such a comprehensive section on needles even in a dedicated instructional book.
There are also extensive stitch diagrams and illustrations included making this book a good one to pick up even as a beginner to embroidery.
Designs are included from everywhere from Hungary to Guatemala, shown in glorious color and detail. Each section is separated by country or region and includes background and history of the embroidery tradition there.
For embroidered garments such as the kimono on the cover or these Bessarabian shirts, diagrams for how to cut and sew the garment are also included. One has to wonder though, are the hunks modeling the shirts also part of the "Author's Collection?"
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