Zakka Embroidery: Simple One- and Two-Color Embroidery Motifs and Small Crafts (Make Good: Japanese Craft Style)

This book marked the beginning of my embroidery obsession. All the designs are well made and balanced, and many of the elements are separate so you can use individual parts to make up your own design. To date I've made the tree throw pillow, and I've used the bird and tree pattern as well as the pineapple pattern. The author uses only a handful of stitches, with clear images and instructions on how to make them, which was helpful for me, especially at the beginning. If you're contemplating a step into embroidery, please don't hesitate and buy this book. It's great for beginners and experienced people alike!

The patterns in this book are simplicity at its best! Beautiful, simple, creative and classy designs on every single page. As I type, I'm embroidering six of the herbs from the herb garden onto colorful flour sack towels (purchased here on Amazon) and they are just gorgeous. One herb per towel. I did have to revise the number of floss strands because 6 was just too bulky on the back of the towels. I mostly used 2 strands, sometimes 3 strands. I also used a different color of floss...closer to a Thyme green. They turned out just lovely! After I finish these, I'm doing Flower Silhouette (page 24) on pillowcases and can't wait! They're so pretty! If you love to embroider and you want something new and different, this book is for you.

Glad I bought this book. The designs are small, simple and elegant - creatively displayed in the first half of the book, with full sized patterns at the back. The designs are simple enough for a beginner who has practiced the stitches. The simple embroidery stitches may be learned best through a tutorial online as it's often difficult to convey (and learn) sewing through still photos and text.

I love everything about this book! The look, the shape, and oh yeah the content! The designs are stunningly simplistic and actually doable for someone who had no embroidery experience!! I am having so much fun creating my Christmas presents this year and this is definitely a new look at embroidering! The designs are modern and eclectic! There are easy to follow guides complete with instructions for the stitches used in the book! I am an embroidering convert! Aaaand the things I am creating actually look like the ones in the book!

I bought this book after buying "Simply stiched" because I fell in love with Yumiko Higuchi's work. At the end of the book there's a set of pages with motifs, stitches, suggestions and all you need to create your work. I highly recommend this book to all embroidery lovers out there!

In spite of my huge disappointment (to follow) I still enthusiastically recommend this book for all who love to embroider. The designs are stunning and beautifully photographed and the clear instructions enable even a fairly inexperienced embroiderer to succeed. Simple projects accompany each design, also very appealing and quick to complete, again with excellent instructions. However, the patterns are printed so close to the binding they cannot be fully accessed even when forcing the book to open flat. In desperation I resorted to removing the pattern pages using a scalpel. Even then, portions of some designs were lost in the binding. If a spiral bound format is available that would be the perfect solution. The book otherwise deserves a 5 star rating for sure.

The aspect I love best is the Arts-and-Crafts-Movement inspired designs: tidy, abstracted florals with great impact. I admire the artist's style and the wide range of applications she has provided. I have plans for linen shirts, and this style of embroidery should hold up to gentle laundering very well.

I bought 3 embroidery books at the same time and I have used this one several times. Far more than the 2 other books. It has so many simple and patterns that can be done quickly. It also has basic embroidery instruction, and several projects from simple to moderate difficulty. I would recommend for all skill levels.