Judith Baker Montano's Essential Stitch Guide

This book is everything I was looking for! I have not done embroidery in many years, and this renewed my memory and gave combinations of stitches to make...to totally make make needlework beautiful! Well written! Would make a lovely gift for a friend!

This book is everything I was looking for! I have not done embroidery in many years, and this renewed my memory and gave combinations of stitches to make...to totally make make needlework beautiful! Well written! Would make a lovely gift for a friend!

This book is everything I was looking for! I have not done embroidery in many years, and this renewed my memory and gave combinations of stitches to make...to totally make make needlework beautiful! Well written! Would make a lovely gift for a friend!

This book is everything I was looking for! I have not done embroidery in many years, and this renewed my memory and gave combinations of stitches to make...to totally make make needlework beautiful! Well written! Would make a lovely gift for a friend!

If you are a fan, or are new to Judith Baker Montano, you won’t want to miss her latest book “Judith Baker Montano’s Essential Stitch Guide”. This book is exactly what it says…an essential stitch guide. Montano has combined over 180 stitches and 70 stitch combinations found in her two previous books, “The Best of Elegant Stitches” and “Floral Stitches” into one easy to carry with you book. For those of you just starting your embroidery journey you will find a wealth of information on getting started with the basics. Subjects range from fabrics, needles, overlays, threads and embroidery techniques such as Silk-Ribbon embroidery, Punchneedle embroidery to working with beads and using other mixed media to create the mood for your piece. You will also learn about the proper way to insert your fabric in a hoop as well as how to transfer and enlarge designs. Finally there is also a section on washing your finished work and blocking and pressing. Judith urges you to “think like a painter” when designing your own work. How to use color to its best advantage and the best methods to compose your piece are also covered. With 180 stitches you will have an encyclopedia of stitches to choose from. Every stitch is illustrated and the instructions are easy to understand. I enjoyed reading the Crazy-Quilt Combinations chapter. In this she combines several different stitches to create and repetitive design to work along a seam line. They could also be used to decorate any number of projects. Of course I would be remiss if I failed to mention the Free-Form Embroidery chapter. Here is where all your stitching skills are put to the test creating needle art collages. You will combine everything you have just read in the book to create a beautiful piece of work such as a landscape or a seascape or just add dimension to a project you have already started. I am pleased to add this book to my collection of Judith Baker Montano’s books, I am sure you will be as well.

Internationally known needlework expert Judith Baker Montano is one of the icons of CQ. She shares 180 stitches and 70 combinations in her latest book, which includes the best from previous books Elegant Stitches and Floral Stitches. This new handbook also has an updated section of free-form inspiration for improvisational work. Bonus: there are full-color illustrations and advice for left-handed stitchers!

This book has excellent content and inspiration for any stitcher and my opinion is based on that. It’s particularly of interest if you do not have her other books. This book contains material from the earlier books. It has many embroidery stitches, silk ribbon stitches and much more. It enables the reader to choose the right stitch for a project and to be aware of the many options. There are 180 stitches in all and 70 combinations. It has everything you need to know about stitching – materials, design and of course the stitches. The book has a spiral binding that means it lies flat and is easy to use, however the cover is paper thin and liable to be damaged very easily. The first thing I would do is to stitch a cover for this book and it should then last a long time. It would have been worthwhile updating this book with new photos and line drawings and giving it the quality cover and treatment it deserves.