Geometry of Hand-Sewing: A Romance in Stitches and Embroidery from Alabama Chanin and The School of Making (Alabama Studio)

This is an amazingly beautiful book, in and of itself. The text is easy to read. The photographs of the stitches are clear. Inspiring.

A clever book , beautifully presented. I love Natalie Chanin; if you get a chance to watch a video with her speaking, you will be charmed by her peaceful demeanour, skilfulness and Southern accent. This book, like all her work is carefully constructed to allow you to develop your skills. All the stitches are linear, inasmuch as they are not motif based. Grids made of tough plastic are included in the back of the book, these are very useful for transferring dots. However, I can pretty much accurately stitch without the dots, just by using my needle. You can also mark a needle so you can use it to measure... There are no projects in this book, it simply is about stitching. I am slightly worried I won't want to produce lines of stitching, I quite like handstitching motifs and embellishments in stitches like french knots and bullion knots which I pile to form daises or flowers...Oh and fly stitch, love that one. however, I would not send the book back as I just find the whole presentation beautiful, and almost mystical... gorgeous peaceful mindful stitching! I fancy trying the stitches on some hand dyed fabric or even on felt.Layers of stitch are built up for a stylish lush effect. Lovely artisan, unique book. I would like to try the stitches on doll dresses first, I make art dolls.I have added some photos of my work, so you know I am a serious stitcher!

I absolutely love this book. It is an inspiration for beginners and seasoned embroiderers alike. The inclusion of the grids is fantastic as it makes stitch design so much easier and quicker and I have been playing around with stitch combinations. If you are a bit OCD about accuracy, as I am, even when just sketching an idea, then you will find the grids so easy to use. Aside from the hand embroidery inspiration, I have a sewing machine that allows you to design your own stitches and this makes it so much easier to do! I love the binding of the book too - hidden inside a traditional-appearing cover is a neat spiral- bound affair that means the book stays flat when opened. The whole thing has been very carefully thought out and produced to exceptionally high quality.

This is a useful and practical book, especially if you want your embroidery to survive living in it or with it and the laundry process! *The spiral binding means it opens and lays flat, no annoying lifting when using both hands to sew *All the stitches show how they appear on BOTH sides of the fabric. Very useful if you want both sides to be decorative. *The stencils supplied have holes big enough to put a dressmaker’s chalk pencil through! *The stencils guarantee even sized, straight stitching lines - reminds me of learning cursive handwriting at school, back when handwriting needed to be legible! (If you are in the u.k. or Europe, the closest thread I have found to Button Craft is Coats Dual Duty)

A well presented and well structured book. I read the reviews that say it doesn’t cover this or that - and that’s ok. I wish those that said it didn’t cover hemming, joining or sewing in buttons had recommended other books! I sew for fun - mostly embellishment or repair so this book has given me some new ideas. The stencils are useful. 100% happy with this book. I wish I was as neat as the sewing in the photos.

instructions were easy to follow

I love this book and have found it so useful in refreshing my memory on the use of simple stitches and the combinations that can be achieved. I have recommended it several times during lockdown to people who are new to stitching and I hope they have found it useful. The plastic templates included in the book are brilliant for making sure you have straight lines, crosses and even circle shapes. It’s a fabulous book for beginners as well as experienced embroiderers.

I hadn't even thought you could apply maths to embroidery, some lovely designs that could look fabulous on clothes or pictures. Fabulous!!!

While I enjoyed this book of stitches, it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for but I think it is useful! I thought the featured projects were lovely and the book is well organized, easy to read and understand. I will most likely purchase a paper copy to add to my sewing library because there are many stitches that can be useful to add interest to hand sewn garments. I liked the grid approach for even and consistent looking stitches. Great for practicing! I also liked the small samplers of stitches, would make for some interesting throw pillows or other small projects. I would recommend this book if you are looking to make the featured projects or looking for new stitches for embroidery or adding interest to plain hand sewn garments.

Este livro é de uma delicadeza infinita. A explicação dos pontos é muito boa e traz ideias para novas aplicações de bordado de maneira despojada e leve.

Love everything about her books: full of advice, beautiful pictures and lots of inspo!

Ein Buch voller Musterideen. Ich finde das Buch toll. Jede Menge Stiche und wie man auch bereits bekannten Stichen z.B. Feather Stitch noch verschönern, wandeln kann... mein englisch ist nicht perfekt, aber die Bebilderung und Fotoanleitung ist wirklich gut. Blocks findet man hier nicht, hier geht es wirklich ausschließlich um die Stiche, hinten sind 2 Dina 4 Seiten mit Schablonen , dass zB. die Diamond Grid, Isolated Cicle grids..... auch perfekt im Abstand gemacht werden können. Ich habe die Stiche für einige Slow stitching Teile genutzt, aber im Buch sind auch einige schöne Bilder wie man die Stiche auch für Kleidung nutzen kann.

I capi di Alabama Chanin sono speciali vorrei averli tutti. Questo libro è solo sul ricamo e su come eseguirlo. Molto ben fatto, spiegazioni chiare non ci sono cartamodelli ma solo i punti e come farli.