Needlepoint—A Modern Stitch Directory, by Emma Homent, is 144 colorful pages of reference material for any level stitcher, and especially for needlepoint newbies.
Here's why we love this book of needlepoint how-to's and decorative stitches...
First of all, it's beautifully edited. The pages are thick and full of colorful, enticing photographs; LOTS of photographs and stitch illustrations (there are over 100 stitches).
It's one of those books you want to put your nose up against to smell the pages. (Is that weird?)
If you're a needlepoint novice then this Needlepoint Stitch Directory will lead you by the hand and show you all the basics—needlepoint canvas types, frames, needle sizes, how to read a chart, the basic stitches, how to start and end a thread, etc.
And, interspersed with all this helpful info, are factual tidbits; like why a Tent stitch is called a Tent stitch (we had no idea!).
Another reason why this book is 100% a keeper is that once you've mastered all these basics, the author has dedicated about 50 colorful pages to decorative stitches. And, there are many in there we had never heard of and are dying to try; (like, the Ribbon Stitch, and the Soufflé Stitch).
The stitches are laid out in three sections: Simple Stitches; Structured Stitches; and Statement (or what we like to call Friday Night) Stitches.
Needlepoint: A Modern Stitch Directory finishes up with projects you can try, including finishing methods.
Honestly, when we ordered this book on Amazon, our expectations were low, because this is not an expensive book (and it should be).
So, if you're looking for a high quality, coffee-table worthy, really, really useful needlepoint book that will take you from beginner to expert, then this is the one for you.
Like we said, we picked ours up on Amazon and if you click this link it will take you there and we may earn a small commission.
Published September 2022: 144 pages.