The Michaels Book Of Needlecrafts: knitting, crochet & embroidery

by Dawn Cusick (Editor), Megan Kirby (Editor)

Michaels, the most trusted name in crafts and a leading retailer of needles, wools, yarns, and patterns, presents a needlecraft volume so big, so definitive that it couldn't come from anywhere else.

Start stitching! Whether you knit, crochet, or embroider--or want to learn how--these fresh, contemporary projects and gorgeous pictures will entice you to pick up the needles and yarn. On these large and colorful pages, crafters will find the guidance they need to plunge into every possible type of stitchery. Each technique has a thorough how-to section, with detailed instructions and line drawings to give even a beginner confidence. The materials include the most interesting cotton and wool fibers on the market, as well as silk ribbon, novelty yarns and loads of fantastic beading. And every stylish item--from the poncho to the pillows, from the sweet tank tops to the embroidered jeans for teens--is just made to appeal to the new, younger generation of needleworkers.

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction, Knitting

319 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Dawn Cusick is blessed with many talents. She combined her writing and artistic skills and spent nearly twenty years working an in-house author and editor for a craft book publisher, producing titles such as Tabletop Fountains, The Michaels' Book of Arts and Crafts, and multiple editions of Quilt National. Her fascination with science and nature has now led her to create children's science books.

In between books, Dawn teaches biology at a community college in western North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and not nearly enough cats.

Reviews

[Gale Penton]

Great resource.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides]

Most of the projects here don't jump out at you. The scarf with pockets and the wire knitted necklace are kind of neat. I wouldn't recommend this as a first knitting or crocheting book for anyone, but it's not really intended as such. The list of embroidery stitches at the beginning of that section is good, but it's also not an ideal first book.

[Priscilla King]

This is a store's collection, so designs were chosen to market the products the store was selling at the time. Beginners are usually warned to avoid highly textured novelty yarns for the same reason the store encourages beginners to use them--the textured yarn will hide "mistakes," at least unless dropped stitches form holes in the fabric! (Also, these yarns are profitable for the store!) Beginning knitters always want to make a sweater, so this collection includes patterns for knitted and even crocheted sweaters. Even if made faultlessly, these sweaters would be too heavy for most people in most of the U.S. to wear. Basic and whimsical hats, scarves, and blankets are what crafters should buy this book for. Like most of the designer knitting books with which it's designed to compete, the book is meant to sit on the coffee table, where you invite friends to page through it and tell you what they want you to make for them; while knitting or crocheting you copy the instructions for the project you carry around on a scrap of paper. This knitter owns (several) other pattern books she likes better, but this one should give people who like to knit or crochet many hours of fun.

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

The instructions are fairly good but not great.

I'm not fond of most of the knitting projects but some are cute. They're pretty basic but a wide variety of techniques and a good introduction to the craft. I liked the funky hat, the afghan, and the bead and wire jewelry.

I feel the same about the crochet projects. The few I like include the fruit and veggie hats, although I knitted the same things years ago, and amazingy the retro granny square sweater, which is so odd since I've never found anything with granny squares I've liked.

It's three for three for me for the embroidery projects. I love the ribbons and roses design on the sheets (I wouldn't put them on ruffles bed linens though.) I'm not sure why all the purses are held by a hand in two fingers like it stinks, but there's one in red and white on gray that I love, although it's a weird shape even for an evening bag. The applique for the flower jeans are store bought embroidered patches--the only embroidery is a thing fine and leaves connecting them. That's just silly.

[Jo]

A big book of Knitting, Crochet & Embroidery that covers techniques and an odd collection of projects. The knitting & crochet sections include general projects that aren't accessible to the novice but mostly aimed at Intermediate level. The embroidery section mentions several types of embroidery with a small stitch guide and includes a strange array of projects, all very easy, but mostly based on buying pre-made pieces or a garment (scarf set/sweater/bag) and adding felt, beads or ribbon and a tiny bit of embroidery. Overall, a weird compilation.

[Tanya]

The knitted projects in this book didn't appeal to me and even the models didn't really seem happy to be photographed with their various garments. Definitely not easily portable as this is a very heavy hard-bound book. The embroidered projects were more interesting to me, but that's not a direction I'm taking presently with my hobby and craft time.