A bible indeed! Packed with so much information! The instructional illustrations are easy to follow and this is a must read for anyone beginning in cross stitching. Even some experienced cross stitchers I showed this book to were impressed. I borrowed this from the library but I think I'm going to have to eventually pick up a copy for myself to keep.
A lovely little book full of information on cross stitch and counted embroidery. Suitable for beginners, it includes information on types of material that can be used and how to use embroidery threads and specialty threads and beading. Also suitable for more experienced stitchers, it includes other techniques such as Hardanger, blackwork and pulled thread embroidery. It also includes a number of charts that can be used, as well as ideas on how to create your own charts. Lots of information in here. It would make a nice gift for any cross stitcher!
This is a wonderful book, though it is concentrated on cross stitch it touches on other embroidery techniques as well. There are lots of designs included, and suggestions to adapt and use them as well as how to design.
This is a good introduction to cross stitching, with a bit of related counted-thread techniques (Hardanger, drawn and pulled thread work, blackwork embroidery) to boot. The pictures are great. There are about 50 pages of full-color charts in the second half of the book, with up-close pictures how each project looks when stitched. The edition I read (published 2000) was understandably behind the times on using computers to make cross stitch patterns, so if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere. But this book does offer a great little stitch dictionary, easy to understand tips for working with linen and evenweave, and some basic information about incorporating beads and other stitches in counted cross stitch designs.
It's a small book indeed and yet it contains so much informations. The book is well titled because it is assurely the most complete book on cross-stitch I've seen that shows every stitch and how to do them and it goes beyond cross-stitch to teach other stitches that you could use along with your cross-stitch. The author also mentions the different cloths you can use to stitch on, the different threads, and how to finish your pieces when they're over. This is the book to get for a beginner in cross-stitch or for anyone who feels they skipped some bits and want to really know the basics.