Weekend Review: Expressive Embroidery

Expressive Embroidery / Chloe Amy Avery
Ramsbury, UK: Crowood Press, c2025.
144 p.

 

This was a fresh, interesting read! It's not about patterns, it's about learning the basics and then using stitch as expression of your own artistic outlook. Written by an artist, it starts from the design side of things rather than the technical, and it really is what is says -- all about expression in stitch. 

The examples and projects in the book are all Avery's distinctive work, very painterly. The projects are near the end, and are all small projects intended to teach a technique or method, not really a "project" project. Anyone who has been embroidering for a while will have to relearn, as the specialty stitches and techniques of traditional embroidery aren't the point here. We see a lot of straight stitches, overlapping, using colour as the primary focus. The pieces can feel like sketches, with many of them showing different techniques for finishing, mounting etc. There is even a short bit on machine assisted embroidery (freehand, not computerized). 

But beginners will be interested too. The book contains some of the basics of fabrics, threads, tools and techniques -- there are a handful of standard stitches shown but there's also an emphasis on freestyling. Plus there are chapters on design and colour, from an artistic perspective, including how to notice light and take inspiration photos for your own creations. A reader who is wanting to create their own designs and/or their own distinctive style will find this book inspiring. 

Stitchers looking for a new perspective outside of traditional embroidery, especially those interested in stitching as an art form, will want to read this one. I found it really engaging.