The Hand-Stitched Flower Garden: Over 45 Beautiful Floral Designs to Embroider, Plus 20 Great Project Ideas

Understated and gorgeous, The Hand-Stitched Flower Garden is a book of delicate decorative stitching motifs inspired by nature, coupled with a collection of twenty projects to create by mixing and matching the designs.

Organized by season, the book offers a gallery of embroidery patterns reflecting the beauty and variety of the garden - from tulips, sunflowers, asters, and violets, to little bumblebees, ladybugs, and dragonflies - all made using surface stitches, dimensional stitches, and bead embroidery.

Each season begins with two spreads showcasing stunning embroidery motifs in a visual catalog which lets the reader select a desired design. Spring includes classic symbols of the season, such as magnolia blossoms, daffodils, tulips, and lavender. Here, too, are garden creatures like butterflies and ladybugs. In Summer, come the sunflowers, cosmos, and other bright blooms, as well as summer fruits. Fall’s bounty features colorful leaves along with acorns, chestnuts, dragonflies, and asters. And when Winter arrives, the poinsettias, camellias, and evergreens are vibrant against the snowy backdrop, which sparkles with light thanks to the addition of beads and sequins.

Following the motif selector pages, the author guides the reader through season-specific projects. Whether it’s a hanger cover, a cell phone case, coasters, or jewelry, each project can be created exactly as shown, or can easily be customized by substituting different designs from the gallery. Again arranged by season, the projects include detailed directions, photographs of the steps, and actual-size templates where appropriate.

All the essential information about tools, techniques, and stitches, as well as the templates, can be found at the back of the book.

YUKI SUGASHIMA is a floral designer turned handcrafter. Creating under the name Y*Handmade, she designs and sells her work at her online shops and at handcraft events in Japan. At the age of seven, Yuki moved from Japan to the U.S., where she lived for twenty years. Upon returning to Japan, she pursued her love of crafts, including embroidery, beadwork, knitting, spinning, natural dyeing, and sewing. She is a contributor to The Needlecraft Style Directory, published by Barron’s Educational, and shares her creative life on her blog at http: //yhandmade.wordpress.com.