Flowers & plants in embroidery

by Valerie Campbell-Harding

For hundreds of years, embroiderers have been finding inspiration in flowers and plants; and pattern, colour and texture in plant material provide an immense range of possibities for modern embroidery. Valerie Campbell-Harding has written a sourcebook which will guide and inspire embroiderers who wish to make plants a main theme of their work. The book begins with a section on looking for patterns, with suggestions on collecting material. The following chapters move on to ways of designing to give results suitable for different types of embroidery and quilting. The author looks at design using patterns from nature, and shows how the repetition of motifs can give effective designs; silhouettes and negative shapes ar also investigated. A chapter is devoted to the study of tone and colour in plants and its interpretation in stitchery. A final chapter looks at successful completed examples, and considers the process of translating a design on paper into a finished embroidery. The author teaches Embroderers' Guild groups and City and Guild courses. She is a member of the Practical Study Group of the Emroiderers' Guild. She is also the author of "Textures in Embroidery", "Faces and Figures in Embroidery" and "Strip Patchwork".

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valerie Campbell-Harry's book talks you through the processes of photographing and drawing plants from life, abstracting these drawings and arranging in motif and block repeat. Some really excellent examples of experimentation and development of drawn work for embroidery.