Timmy Schultz and Jan Dederick, self-published, 2020
Pocket-sized and spiral-bound, the book has 60+ stitches with large diagrams, creating a great quick reference for needlepointers. If you read Needlepoint Now. you’re familiar with Timmy, who is a regular columnist there.
The book opens with a table of the stitches, which appear on the left-hand pages. In alphabetic order, the diagrams are clear and easy to read, with up to three different colors. Beads are indicated by circles. White symbols on the diagrams have arrows showing the direction in which each stitch is made. There are no numbers, but the arrows make it easy to see how to make the stitch. Under each stitch diagram are some stitching notes, often with suggestions on where to use the stitch or how to use more than one thread in the stitch. Facing pages have blank grids, so you can easily add your own stitches and variations.
While there are other, bigger stitch dictionaries, Pretty Stitches is a delightful book for your project bag. For beginners, it has a great selection of stitches that will take the stitches you know, for example, Scotch and Cashmere, to learn some new stitches. It will remind you of stitches you had forgotten and give you ideas for new ways to use the stitches you know for experienced stitchers.
In fact, I got the book on Tuesday and used it on Wednesday for the main stitch in a new project.
It’s a wonderful book for any stitcher.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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