Stitchapalooza Book Review

Stitchapalooza is the fourth and latest book of stitches from the folks at Gone Stitching in New Jersey. The book is spiral-bound and small enugh to fit in a project bag. In fact I had to fish my copy out to w5rite this review. This might be my favorite of their books so far. It’s a “just the facts ma’am book” with only diagrams and photos of each stitch. There are two stitches per page, making the diagrams big and easy to see. The stitches re not numbered, but arrows show you the direction to make the stitch.

I love that both the diagrams and the stitched samples are in different colors, often several in one stitch. A bright selection of colors of Planet Earth Silk makes it easy to see at a glance the different rows or elements in the stitch. The full look of this thread also makes the sample pictures look great. Although you may not make the stitch in multiple colors, it does make it easier to follow the stitch.

The book has five chapters. The first two chapters cover straight and diagonal stitches. While many of these stitches are familiar, you’ll also find both new stitches and new variations of old friends. The third chapter covers multi-layered stitches. These stitches are more complex and often include specialty stitches such as eyelets. The fourth chapter has a fun collection of lovely, often intricate borders and open backgrounds, often darning patterns. Since I think these make superb backgrounds, I’m glad to see them here.

The most unusual part of the book is the final chapter on Embroidery and Embellishment Stitches. There are some embroidery stitches but also clear diagrams for two styles of beading, several knots, and some embellishment techniques. It’s a good short reference for folks wanting to explore these popular techniques.

The book finishes with a short index.

A nice feature is that each stitch is marked for difficulty with from one to three party horns. These will help you chose stitches appropriate to your skills.

I got this book a couple of weeks ago and I love it. Some of my recent projects have used these stitches and I’m planning to start a series of canvases that will use several more.