Got Stitches? – Book Review

Updated April 20, 2021.
One of the many things that distinguish modern needlepoint is the use of many threads and stitches, maybe using several threads in the same stitch. While plenty of books will give you stitches that use multiple threads, few do it as well, or in as organized way as Got Stitches, the new book from the folks at Gone Stitching.

The book covers, in six chapters, stitches that use multiple threads or that have multiple layers. Four chapters cover multi-thread stitches and these are classified by the number of threads used: two, three, or four+, two additional chapters cover the two main types of traditional laid stitches: tramme stitches and stitches with a trellis, or grid, base.

While the stitches are very inventive, and many are new to me, it’s the production of the book that makes it shine. First, all the diagrams are in color. Each stitch is diagrammed in the proper number of colors with the colors being different enough to make each part of the stitch easy to see. Each diagram uses a different combination of colors, making each page bright and colorful.

Pages have up to four stitches on them, so the diagrams are large and clear. Each stitch is labeled with a name or description, also easy to see.

When the direction of stitching is important the symbols have small arrows showing stitch direction. Otherwise, the diagrams have no numbers. While many prefer numbered stitch diagrams, I like unnumbered ones because they allow me to figure out how to make the stitch so it makes sense to me. I love how easy these stitches are to see.

After the stitch diagrams is a chapter that has every stitch pictured as a stitched example. Once again these are done in bright colors with the different colors for each stitch easily distinguishable. I am unlikely to make a stitch in hot pink and dark violet, but seeing a stitched example in these colors makes it easy for me to see how the stitch should look. These examples are presented in alphabetic order.

You might think, as I did, how do I find the stitched example of a diagram or the diagram of an example I like? At the end of the book is an index that is so much more than just an index. It’s a tool and guide to these stitches. Listed in alphabetical order, each stitch has a line. On it, you will find the layer type (which tells you the chapter for it and how many threads you’ll need) and the pages where the diagram and the example can be found.

This simple index gives you another way to use the book because it makes it so easy to move back and forth between examples and diagrams.

I’m so excited by these possibilities and by the leap in ease of use this book represents. I”m sure you’ll find plenty to love in it.