How to Embroider Almost Everything: A Sourcebook of 500+ Modern Motifs + Easy Stitch Tutorials - Learn to Draw with Thread!

by Wendi Gratz

How to Embroider Almost Everything is an inspiring, fun, and sophisticated collection of 500+ stitch motifs from embroidery designer Wendi Gratz that offers a fresh new take on embroidery. How to Embroider Almost Everything helps you take your first steps to embroidering to your heart’s content and creating beautiful drawings with needle and thread!

Each book in the Almost Everything series offers readers a fun, comprehensive, and charmingly illustrated visual directory of ideas to inspire skill building in their creative endeavors.

Genres: Crafts, Reference, Nonfiction, Sewing, Art

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2019

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun little book! This simple primer really does tell you how to easily embroider just about anything, from cacti to space ships to sewing machines to Vikings. I do wish the people had arms in the girls, boys, ladies and gentlemen sections, but I was happy to see that people in the fantasy sections and others had arms so I can just steal theirs. :) Darling and accessible, anybody can embroider happy little pictures on everything from cloth shopping bags to clothing to dish towels with these easy instructions.

I love that each set of designs shows finished, embroidered pieces, and then the exact same objects are shown as line drawings with the simple drawn pattern to trace. Gratz also provides instructions to get you started with embroidery if you're new, plus some easy answers to issues you might have.

The patterns also work as simple drawing patterns, which would be great for kids who want to see easy ways to draw things like foxes, houses, you name it.

All in all, a wonderful resource. I don't even embroider at the moment but I would consider buying this for our family.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

[Tracy Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Occasionally there is a book which you really, really want to read and enjoy because you are a big fan of other things the author is renowned for. In this case I love Wendi Gratz as a quilter and blog writer because her art work is fun, her ideas original and her instructions very clear. Thankfully this book doesn't disappoint in any way.

The basics at the beginning are simply explained, everything you need to know as a novice or more experienced embroiderer are there and the materials and equipment required are easily sourced but not expensive. The beauty of these designs, all 500+ of them, is that they can be used on anything. You don't need special material instead put them on your jeans, bed linen, even curtains! Also the designs can be adapted to personalise in pretty much any way you can think of.

I was able to read a copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who is already a fan of this author, wants to try freehand embroidery or likes to add their own touch to their fabric projects. This will be a great addition to any crafter's library.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Wendi Gratz. This book is a great extension of what I already love about her blog - tutorials of some basic stitches that are easy to understand (I think I finally, FINALLY get the satin stitch now!). Her designs are super-cute and easy enough for even beginner's to handle. I usually consider an embroider book "pretty good" if I see a design or two I want to try. With this book, my biggest problem is picking out which one to try first!

[Leah Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love embroidery. I think the art of embroidery is fascinating and beautiful.

This book showed the basics for embroidering and how to get started. It also had a tonne of really cute ideas to start off with. The only thing I wish it had was more advanced stitches, or just more stitches to learn. However as it was an embroider almost anything the basic stitches are really all that are necessary.

If you haven’t taken a stab at embroidery I absolutely recommend it.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Embroider Almost Everything by Wendi Gratz

A Sourcebook of 500+ Modern Motifs + Easy Stitch Tutorials - Learn to Draw with Thread!

This book has hundreds of ideas for anyone interested in embroidering something unique. Perhaps you want to decorate a pair of jeans or a dishtowel or a handkerchief or baby outfit. Simple line drawings are turned into interesting stitched creations that can embellish any fabric from stretchy to fine to heavy.

This book took me back to times my mother would drive us to snow ski then sit in the lodge stitching fabric to pass the time and then later she and I embroidered a pair of bell bottom jeans and a work shirt with mushrooms, mice, flowers and more.

Stitchery and handcrafts are not as often seen as they once were and this book could easily be used to teach young girls to stitch as part of a badge for scouts or just for fun on a rainy day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

[library lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am fairly new to embroidering and I just loved this book! Not only does it give excellent and easy-to-understand practical information about getting started in embroidery and techniques, but it comes with adorable cute patterns. The patterns tend to be more on the young and whimsical side (the front cover is an excellent indication of the patterns inside. So, you won't find intricate flowers or other similar patterns. This is more simple and contemporary cute. For that reason this could be a great gift for a 8-10 year old who is just starting, although I can see a lot of fun projects I would do as an adult as well!

I was given an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was provided with a digital copy of this book by NetGallery, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this book with fun sketches to embroider. My absolute favorites were the flowers, paisleys, drinks, and the borders. Be warned: this is not glamorous embroidery. It is simple sketches....but oh so fun.

I will definitely be buying myself a copy of this gem. I have never seriously tackled embroidery, but this might propel me to do just that.

[Mechthild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get your needle and thread and start
Quilter and blogger Wendi Gratz has divided her book "How To Embroider Almost Everything. A sourcebook of 500+ Modern Motifs +Easy Stitch Tutorials - Learn to Draw with Thread!", published by Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry, into tow main parts: 1) Getting Started, and 2) Embroidery Stitch Patterns for Everything. The first part introduces everything the readers need to know in a simple way to get their embroidery projects started: fabric, thread, hoops, needles, patter transfer, starting and ending stitches, ... - no matter if they are beginners or more experienced embroidery artists. The embroidery patterns in the second part (plants, animals, people, toys, letters, ...) Can literally be used for all kinds of projects (clothes, curtains, decorations, ...). Gratz considers embroidery as drawing or coloring in slow motion - with a thread. She offers step-by-step tutorials for essential stitches, tips and a resource list to help the artists. The book presents itself with clear photos for the samples and a great design. It is inspirational and uses a great variety of really cute motifs which also can be combined. The book can be highly recommended as a guide for beginners and advanced embroidery artist and it also makes a great present.
It would have been helpful if the author would have included a conversation chart or at least the names for the embroidery floss (she uses DMC, but others might already have embroidery floss from JP Coats, Anchor, Madeira, or other sources). The patterns are not available as PDFs which would be desirable for an easier transfer. The pages need to be photocopied and in this case a spiral- or comb-binding or a binding that lays flat would be helpful since the only other option is to copy the patterns manually. It is also important to note that the book only covers "normal" embroidery and no cross-stitching, tapestry, or other type of needlework.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#HowToEmbroiderAlmostEverything #NetGalley

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such fun, with lots and lots of simple designs ready to be transferred to garments, gifts, or everything, and then stitched. The book illustrates 6 simple stitches - straight stitch, cross stitch, backstitch (with simple variations), lazy/chain stitch, French knot and satin stitch, that can be used to embroider the designs. They are categories including succulents, animals, space, cars, alphabet, trees, fish and so very much more. A lovely book for some very pretty, easy embroidery works. One can do lots or just one -whichever it will be guaranteed to be a winner.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely adorable reference for simple, doodley embroidery patterns. The style is cute and clear, and the patterns are well organized and easy to read.

I'm always looking for small motifs to put on random things, and this is going onto my reference shelf, for sure. Everything from plants to dinosaurs, people to monsters, and decorative elements to dogs.

Absolutely worth picking up if you like simple surface embroidery and want some fun doodles to play with.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

How to Embroider Almost Everything is a huge collection of surface embroidery designs with tutorials. Released 22nd Oct 2019 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

There is a good introduction which covers tools and materials, choosing and stabilizing fabrics, how to use the templates and color codes in the book, selection of floss, embroidery tutorials and stitch diagrams, etc. There probably isn't a lot which will be new to more advanced stitchers, but it's a good solid basis for newbies.

The templates and patterns themselves are arranged thematically with a full color gallery page followed by a template with floss colors (DMC numbers are used) and thread counts (usually 3 for outlining) given for each of the 500+ designs. The patterns are varied, whimsical (see book cover), and appealing. These would be great embellishments for gifts, soft furnishings, pictures, and a zillion other uses. The book includes some borders, frames, and lettering as well, so personalized gifts are a possibility. The thematic subject groupings included in the book cover: plants, animals, people, locations (beach, etc), household items, at play (toys, fantasy, imagination), celebrations (birthday, baby, love), weather and outdoors, and the aforementioned letters, borders, frames.

Well made and comprehensive. I -really- love that surface embroidery is making a big comeback. It's been mostly cross stitch and needlepoint for decades. Surface embroidery provides a real outlet for originality, expression, and creativity, utilizing simple tools and without a massive outlay of time.

Five stars; well done!

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Susan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I truly understands the basic embroidery and I can start on a project! I've been wanting to work on one but I didn't have spare time to go learn so this book is definitely a blessing for me! A great referral with easy to understand guide.

Thanks to Netgalley for this e-ARC in return for my honest review.
http://www.sholee.net/2019/12/mpov-ho...

[daintybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!
The instructions are so easy to follow and I love the easygoing, friendly way it was written! There was plenty of pictures with the steps so that you could see what was being talked about, which makes it a lot easier to follow!
There is a big section of embroidery patterns in the back which are just perfect for anyone want to give it a go immediately or even follow along with some of the instructions!
I will definitely be getting a hard copy of this book so I can have easy access to it during my sewing sessions, and so I can easier use the patterns!
I completely recommend this book for any beginner, or anyone who isn’t quite confident in their embroidery yet!
Thank you for sending me a e-copy to read and review!

[matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Embroider Almost Everything by Wendi Gratz contains over 500 modern motifs with the aim of the book being to allow you to ‘learn to draw with thread’.

In the introductory section, Gratz provides a succinct set of instructions to ensure that you’re ready to dive into your project. These 19 pages contain everything from selecting your fabric, thread and needles to finishing your piece.

I particularly liked the emphasis on the reader actively making choices; embroidery shouldn’t be difficult or expensive to try out. Gratz is enthusiastic and supporting, offering trouble shooting tips on trickier stitches which I’m sure will save a lot of users from becoming frustrated.

Following this, we’re then led into the motifs. They’re divided into nine different categories which you can explore based on your interests – my favourite spreads include the one on space and the one on dinosaurs.

I’m not sure a review of an embroidery book would be complete without trying out one of the patterns, so I opted to stitch a little dinosaur!

I’m very happy with how he came out. The pattern was very easy to follow and having a two pages spread with the pattern on one side and an example on the next makes it even simpler!

Whilst this book is primarily targeted at children who are new to embroidery, it’s a fun piece for those looking to try out a more whimsical style or branch out of other forms of stitching.

*I received a free copy of this via NetGalley for review*

[AcademicEditor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quarto books are just the best--gorgeous images + great instruction from experts. I'm never disappointed by this publisher.

This is an excellent embroidery book. It has many motifs on a variety of themes, not only with templates but also in finished images for us visual people who like to see everything in front of them. I am enchanted and hope to find time to try many of these designs. Thank you to the publishers, the author, and NetGalley for the chance to review this book!

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty comprehensive guide to embroidery, and includes sample designs as well as stitch instructions. The images are cute but feel a little generic, like clip art, but are a good, easy place to start. I don't know how well they would appeal to an experienced embroidery enthusiast, especially when the book mentions printing out designs and how easy embroidery can adapt to images you pick up yourself. The stock images aren't really the draw, although they are perfectly serviceable for projects. Instead, I was interested in the more modern approach to image transfers and techniques the book delves into. I use erasing markers that sometimes refuse to erase and sometimes I resort to miserable tracing at a window which is terrible for complicated pieces. There is the tactic of printing on fabric with a printer and some ironed freezer paper that I resort to too, which still is too much effort for too little result. I was really interested in the pattern transfer stabilizer the book mentions, as I haven't heard about it before and it sounds really uncomplicated. I was impressed that the older methods are mentioned, as well as something new that I had no idea about. The book really does give the impression that indeed almost everything can be embroidered and shows how to do it well, making the clip artish images seem unimportant to the overall enjoyment of the book.

[LauSo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given an ebook by Netgalley in exchange of a honest opinion.
I must admit I expected something else from this book. I thought it was going to be about embroidery in different kind of materials, like paper, for example. But it actually was about different shapes and objects. Which is not something bad, just not what I was looking forward to when I requested the book. I highly recommend this book for people who want to lear embroidery but are afraid by the different stitches. In this book you have the basic stitches well explained and there's A LOT of different templates so you can embroider different motifs on blankets, pillow cases, and so on. It's a really good book if you want to start trying your hand at embroidery and has very diverse patterns.

[Lanae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is super cute. When I was a kid my mom had this giant book of alphabets and cute little designs you could use on craft projects. This reminds me of that but much smaller. There’s a good variety of motifs to use here.. Animals, people, houses, etc. So there’s a little of everything. Have a chef you want to make a present for? There’s kitchen gadgets and foods. My mom loves sun faces, there’s a couple of those here that I may have to stitch onto something for her.

There’s one page of instructions for following the patterns. I felt that was the weakest part of the book, but also not a huge issue because honestly, you’d probably buy this book for the patterns themselves and not the instructions since you can stitch them however you want.

[Joanne Liddement · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Embroider Almost Everything is the perfect embroidery resource for the craft bookshelf.
Being a keen embroiderer, i especially liked 'the getting started' section, that includes working with all types of fabrics and the basic stitches, as well as starting and ending your stitching...perfect for a beginner.
The stitch patterns themselves are divided into nine themes which include among others, animals, plants, and celebrate. Letters & more have great patterns for stitching initials on bags, etc. The patterns range from simple & straightforward to more intricate, so a good all rounder for people just mastering their stitches, to the more experienced. Nice colour pictures of each design too.
Thanks to #HowtoEmbroiderAlmostEverything #NetGalley for my review

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book showed the basic stitches for embroidering and how to get started. It also had a loads of really cute ideas to begin with plenty of templates to follow.

Each double page has a colour photograph of the finished stitching alongside the design with the DMC colours used, but doesn't state which stitch should be used - that you need to decipher that from the picture.

There are the following motifs to create:
- Plants
- Animals
- People
- Out and About
- Around the House
- At Play
- Celebrate
- Weather and Skies
- Letters and More

I thought the motifs on the front cover look like a child has done them, whereas the designs inside are much more artistic.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seriously love this book. The designs are so adorable, and the how-to stuff at the beginning is very helpful, especially the bit about stitching on different types of fabric. This is a great resource for any stitcher, from beginners to experienced embroiderers, and will serve as inspiration to create one's own designs as well. I'm still pretty sure French knots were created by Satan, but I may try them again using the technique in this book, which is a little different from what I've seen before. The only problem I have with this book is trying to decide what to stitch first- those flowers! And the space stuff! The monsters! The paisleys! How will I choose?!?

#HowtoEmbroiderAlmostEverything #NetGalley

[Bobito · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried to embroider many times in the past, and most of my attempts ended up being an absolute mess.
Thanks to knitting and crocheting, I had kind of learned how to embroider some stuff, but I really wanted to ACTUALLY learn how to embroider things that weren't related to those crafts, because every single time I tried to embroider anything not related to making some details for a crochet or knitted project i would fail.
That's how one day out of pure casuality when going to a library, i ended up with the spanish translation of this book and oh my god, thanks to this book I FINALLY learned the basics on how to embroider without messing up!
I recommend this for any beginner, it makes a really good job on explaining things and shows some images on how to make certain stitches and stuff!

[Joanna Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start for the beginner or near-beginner embroiderer..
As well as taking you through the basic stitches, Gratz has some nice info on basic techniques such as what fabrics and needles to use, how to transfer patterns on to fabric and how to embroider on thin and stretchy fabrics.
The stitches are illustrated clearly and Gratz covers a nice range without making it daunting.
The motifs for you to copy are basic but fun. They would suit an older child well.
All in all, an easy to use and clear embroidery starter guide for beginners and those with a little experience who want drawing templates.

[Lydia Timpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 126 pages in this book, minus the credits and ISBN stuff. 25 of them are about materials and how to sew.

Thankfully the rest of the book is very cute and informative, there are some lovely things to embroider especially the space creatures and the dinosaurs. They do all use one kind of thread which the author tells us is DMC6 strand but I suppose you could use a different type if you didn’t have access to that.


Cute and fun, I think the designs look easy as well as would work for beginners as well as the more advanced and, despite my annoyance at the Materials section it did give some handy hints on transferring your designs.

[Witch-at-Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun little book. I have been dabbling in embroidery off and I am so excited about this book. It is quirky and ad inspirational. I enjoyed the simplicity of the designs and the information on transitioning to different fabric types. This is s a great beginners book and it had tons of fun patterns. It was perfect for my skill level. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Jeanniehay64 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this fun book. I’ve just started embroidery and I loved the easy quirky designs which would be useful in many creations.

I loved the illustrations which included a outline of each design along with a colour finished project with thread suggestions.

I definitely want to put this little book on my Christmas wish list , it will be a great reference book to hopefully progress my embroidery skills . Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this lovely book.

[Sally Birkitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, fun book to encourage anyone to try embroidery. While traditional embroidery seems very old fashioned and you are left with a picture you don't know what to do with, the designs in this book can be added to clothes, scarves, baby clothes etc. The book has lots of different designs on different topics and instructions on basic stitches. Anyone wanting to start a new craft can have a go and get fast results.

[K. Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book for beginners, and even as an intermediate/beginner embroiderer I also found it helpful. This book shows you a couple of easy starter stitches, and then all of the ways you can use those stitches to illustrate "almost anything" (seriously, a LOT is covered. Astrology signs, plants, cocktails, wizards...!). Some of the motifs were a bit simple for me, but they were still inspiring! I dog-eared several pages. I bought this book to help me get out of a creative funk - mission accomplished. Would HIGHLY recommend :)

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great stuff to embroider here. I took it to Office supply store, had them cut off the binding, put in a 3-ring binder. At home I blow up copies to 140% usually and trace as needed onto Fabric Solvy with my old lightbox.

Made loads of tea towels using variations of these and everyone likes them. Have now had requests for certain ones to be stitched. Nobody turns down a soft tea towel with hand stitched cute animals on it!

[Lizbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book is, in a word, wonderful! It takes the mystery out of embroidery and makes it simple, and more importantly, fun! A great book for crafters of all ages and experience levels.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.