Review: Whitework with Colour

OK, OK, I admit that whitework isn’t cross stitch. But I like to get inspired by different kinds of needlework (and I do different kinds of needlework) and this book just happened to cross my desk recently and I wanted to share it with you.

Whitework with Colour (yes, British spelling) by Trish Burr is a lovely book that explores everything you need to know about stitching particular kind of embroidery, traditionally worked on white linen or cotton using white thread. These designs add some color to enhance the patterns or highlight details.

A lengthy discussion of materials, preparation, use of color and stitching tutorials opens the book, so even if you don’t have experience with this kind of needlework you can give it a go with the information in this book.

Projects are arranged by skill level, from beginner projects to more intermediate and finally those for stitchers with more experience. That’s nice because you can start where you are and keep working through this book for years to come.

The patterns are very detailed, with a full-color picture of the finished design, a tracing outline to enlarge, print out and use on your fabric, a stitch diagram and step by step instructions on which stitches to use where, with close up pictures of some of the steps included.

This book really contains everything you need to know to get started doing whitework with color, and offers a great collections of mostly nature-inspired motifs to get you started.

About the book: 240 pages, hardcover, 17 patterns. Published March 7, 2017, by Sally Milner, an imprint of Carlton Books, retail price $34.95.

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Different Kinds of Cross Stitch Thread and What to…

I recently wrote a post on my blog about using a stitchable journal cover and I mentioned that you can make your own stitched cover for a journal by using perforated paper instead of buying a stitchable notebook.

I have to admit, though, that I’ve never used perforated paper for cross stitch myself. I definitely want to because I think it would be great to use for bookmarks that don’t fray and have a little more stability, for example.

Sirious Stitches has us covered, though, because they did a deep dive into all things perforated cross stitch pattern that is worth the time to read through.

The post mentions that a lot of people use perforated paper for cross stitch because they buy an ornament kit that uses it. I’ve never seen these (or at least never noticed that that is what they were) but it’s a great idea to make small projects like ornaments in this way. It also talks about the pros and cons of using cross stitch paper, where to buy it and how to make your own.

Making it yourself is an awesome idea because if you already have a pattern in mind you can just make holes in your paper where you need stitches to be and leave the rest solid. This would be ideal for making greeting cards, for example.

In addition to kits and sheets you can often find the paper pre-cut into different shapes you can use to make your own designs, no real pattern required.

The post also includes tips and advice for how to stitch on perforated paper that you’ll want to check out before you try your first project.

I’m super intrigued by the idea of using perforated paper for cross stitch and will probably be trying it out soon. Have you used it before? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Check out the post over at Sirious Stitches for more information.

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

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