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Beginner's Guide to Goldwork
This popular book by Ruth Chamberlin now returns as a Search Press Classic, with an updated design and preface on the author by the illustrious embroiderer Mary Corbet.
A needle art that dates back over a thousand years, goldwork embroidery involves sewing with lavish metal threads. It has been prized and often used by religious orders and royal households for its opulence and the way the light glimmers and plays on the beautiful metallic designs. Those in love with this brilliant style of embroidery can now create their own with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide. Through calm and deliberate instruction, Chamberlin's book aims to teach the reader how to create a personal sampler - a piece of embroidery containing a mixture of designs and stitches, which shall provide a basis for future projects and enable readers to continue on their goldwork journey.
With multiple stitch techniques - from simple laid stitch to the more complex basket stitch, several design motifs with corresponding templates that can be used, and a luminous gallery of finished work interspersed throughout, Chamberlin's work gently introduces beginners to the exquisite needle art of goldwork embroidery.
A needle art that dates back over a thousand years, goldwork embroidery involves sewing with lavish metal threads. It has been prized and often used by religious orders and royal households for its opulence and the way the light glimmers and plays on the beautiful metallic designs. Those in love with this brilliant style of embroidery can now create their own with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide. Through calm and deliberate instruction, Chamberlin's book aims to teach the reader how to create a personal sampler - a piece of embroidery containing a mixture of designs and stitches, which shall provide a basis for future projects and enable readers to continue on their goldwork journey.
With multiple stitch techniques - from simple laid stitch to the more complex basket stitch, several design motifs with corresponding templates that can be used, and a luminous gallery of finished work interspersed throughout, Chamberlin's work gently introduces beginners to the exquisite needle art of goldwork embroidery.
- GenresNonfictionCrafts
80 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 1, 2014
If you are, like me, unable to get to classes to teach you goldwork this book is the next best thing. Chamberlin takes the reader gently through introductory pages about her training at the School of Embroidery and a bit of the history of goldwork, before going on to introduce the materials and equipment you need.
There is a really clear Getting Started section which shows you how to prepare and frame your fabric in a slate frame, transfer a design and begin and end gold and coloured threads.
Chamberlain shows you how to create a sampler and double page spread is given over to each stitch: laid stich, couching, padding (floss, cotton, card and felt), satin stitch, long and short stitch, brick stitch, using kid and basket stitch.
Each spread begins with a section about the stitch and lots of great tips so that your effort will come out as well as possible. Then there are numbered steps clearly illustrated by really good photographs.
There is a really clear Getting Started section which shows you how to prepare and frame your fabric in a slate frame, transfer a design and begin and end gold and coloured threads.
Chamberlain shows you how to create a sampler and double page spread is given over to each stitch: laid stich, couching, padding (floss, cotton, card and felt), satin stitch, long and short stitch, brick stitch, using kid and basket stitch.
Each spread begins with a section about the stitch and lots of great tips so that your effort will come out as well as possible. Then there are numbered steps clearly illustrated by really good photographs.
March 17, 2018
Good book for a beginner, if you have always wanted to try Goldwork embroidery this book is a good start. From the choice of materials to the instructions of each stitch the directions were easy to follow.
May 9, 2019
Excellent/Beautiful
Beautiful book for the beginner like me, and I suppose for the person who is experienced in embroidery. The one thing I did not like was it is scanned in two pages on my phone. I found this very cumbersome and annoying as I constantly had to shift and increase/decrease to view. Otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars.
Beautiful book for the beginner like me, and I suppose for the person who is experienced in embroidery. The one thing I did not like was it is scanned in two pages on my phone. I found this very cumbersome and annoying as I constantly had to shift and increase/decrease to view. Otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews