This might sound absurd, but every so often, I find something in my collection that is entirely amazing, but which I forgot that I had. Today's Japanese craft book is one of those things.
I was looking for some new Japanese embroidery books online for some inspiration, and just not finding what I was hoping for. And then while pulling out books for this series of mini reviews, I found "Let's stitch onto fabric goods with ease! A Book of Point Embroidery". (Super huge thanks to Kimberly and her husband Naoto for the translation!)
This book is pure delight! But first, the details. Sadly, this is out of print, but you may still find it. The ISBN is 9784277311489, and here's the listing on Amazon Japan. And if you can't find it, fear not...just looking at a few photos from the pages will have you ready to start stitching up some cuteness!
I ADORE the stitching on these buttons. Seeing things like these gets me thinking in different ways about my own stitching. In fact, before I even re-found this book, these buttons had inspired me to try some new things!
The designs and projects in A Book of Point Embroidery vary a bit, but all have a really nice, simple, illustrative style.
Some pages even have illustrations, which are then stitched! This is kind of how I think when it comes to embroidery, so it works for me!
A kitchen towel apron? So good!
You can see here how the patterns and instructions look. Pretty easy to figure out if you're a visual person.
From the two pics above, you could probably even figure out how to make the pincushion shown. (Not to give too much away here...just sayin'...)
And a bit more illustration to be stitched...
I chose this book to show today, because more than any of the other Japanese craft books in my collection, I think this one has been the biggest inspiration for the tiny portion of my Resized class. And there's a good chance that I'll be showing some projects here on the blog which are also inspired by this book...it's just too wonderful!
There it is! Naoto was happy to help :)
ReplyDeleteThis might be my favorite, too. I love the drawings and I love how the embroidery crosses over the different fabrics (like on the tote bag). It makes me think of this quilt that I neeeeed to start making. Instead of embroidering individual squares, I might do something big over several squares...plus, I'll have a big hoop already for your class ;)
I love the Japanese pattern books! I need to save for a new one!
ReplyDeleteFor years now I've been wondering what "Point" or "One Point" means. The term is used in the titles of a number of Japanese embroidery books, but I don't understand what "Point" refers to. Do you have any idea? Does it have to do with the size of the stitches or patterns, or maybe the size of the thread (one strand of a 6 strand?)? If anyone knows the answer to this, I would really appreciate it! :)
ReplyDeleteGood question...one that I've pondered as well, because I've seen it on more than just Japanese books. To the best of my knowledge (which is not a lot when it comes to language...thank goodness for Google!), it means "stitch" in French.
DeleteIf others know, and have a more accurate answer, please reply!
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has wondered this! Yes, Google Translate does translate "stitch" as "point" in French. I went to your link to Amazon Japan and did a Google Translate of the whole page. The translation given for the title of the book was "book of embroidery point -! to easily stitch cloth sundries ". LOL! If I find out more I'll try to come back here and let you know. Thank you for responding so quickly! I love your site! :D
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