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.

Artmishka Cross Stitch is an Etsy shop based in Italy with lots of whimsical and colorful designs and an emphasis on animals, flowers and landscapes. Let’s take a closer look!

The animal section is by far the largest, and it includes everything from realistic birds to cartoony cats, a set of little chick ornaments for Easter and a blackwork butterfly, to name a few. There are little animals in clothes and scarves, and this sweet folk art style owl in modern colors.

This one (and lots of them, really, I think) was designed as nursery decor, and it calls for 10 colors, which you can of course change up to suit your decor, nursery or otherwise. The design is 95 by 95 stitches, which comes out to about 7 inches or 18 cm square on 14 count fabric or 28 count evenweave stitched over two strands.

Another large category is flowers, which includes birth month flower designs, flowers that look hand drawn and colored, floral wreaths with teapots and wedding floral cross stitch designs.

The sampler section includes a variety of small patterns, images with words, colorful geometric and floral designs, and a few holiday patterns. Christmas designs include stamps, Christmas trees, stocking, snowmen and a cute box of snowflake shaped Christmas cookies in a box with a mug of hot chocolate, to name a few designs.

There are also a fair number of designs in both the landscape and cottage categories. These include iconic landmarks and colorful sunsets, and buildings from beach houses to a mushroom cottage, book shop and a cottage with flowers bursting out of the roof. There’s also a section called girl, which has designs of a little girl in different outfits and situations and some other characters.

Other categories on the site with smaller numbers of patterns include boy designs, princesses, plants, hobby themed designs (sewing, knitting, baking), art and bookmarks. There are also a handful of cross stitch kits, all of the little girl character.

Check out all of the fun designs at Artmishka Cross Stitch.

[Photo: Artmishka Cross Stitch]

Have you read?