The Field Guide to Embroidery: 52 North American Animal and Plant Designs for Nature Lovers

Kemper debuts with a striking manual on how to embroider the flora and fauna of North America. She recommends embroidering on cotton, denim, or felt because they’re easier to penetrate with a needle than leather and other thicker fabrics. To accurately replicate designs, she suggests tracing each project onto translucent stabilizer fabric, placing it over a garment to guide one’s stitches, and then tearing the stabilizer away after completion. Kemper also illustrates how to make the backstitches, French knots, “fur stitches” (a mix of straight and seed stitches), lazy daisies, and straight stitches that comprise each design. The projects are organized according to ecosystem. A barred owl, black bear, and moose number among the forest inhabitants, while a saguaro cactus, Arizona bark scorpion, and greater roadrunner populate the desert section. Kemper also includes a healthy sampling of aquatic life, including beavers, gray whales, sockeye salmon, and tufted puffins. The designs are impressively realistic, and the introduction contains plenty of helpful tips. For instance, Kemper recommends tucking thread ends into the backs of other stitches instead of knotting them because the complexity of the designs would require enough knots to make the fabric bulky. This will make a wonderful addition to any seasoned embroiderer’s library. (Apr.)