Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches: The Classic Guide Revised by Jan Eaton

I'm an intermediate embroiderer. I was looking for some new, unique, different stitches. This book has that. There are stitches in here that I've never heard of and love. As the cover says, over 400 stitches.The first 120 pages are hand embroidery stitches, then it moves on to needlepoint/bargello/canvas stitches, and then a small amount of insertion, pulled fabric stitches.The book is in full color on nice paper. The stitches are shown in a photo and then there is an illustration/diagram on how to stitch it.My problem with the book is that there is only one diagram per stitch, despite how many steps may or may not be in that stitch. This makes following the more complicated stitches nearly impossible. For me, 50% of the stitches I've tried I have not been able to learn from just that one diagram and have had to resort to googling to learn. I'd find stitches that took seven steps/photo's online to teach you, would, in this book, have just that single diagram. There is also a few sentences that explain how you're suppose to work the stitch. Look at my photo and you'll see that the only written directions are the last paragraph and you get just that one illustration despite all the steps needed for that stitch.My next problem with the book is how it's organized. The embroidery stitches are organized by how (supposedly) someone would use them. For instance, one chapter is Outline Stitches while another is Border Stitches. For example, someone has decided that chain stitch is for outlines while broad chain stitch is for borders. So these two very similar stitches are found in two different chapters. If, for instance, I know a chain stitch would work on what I"m doing, but am unsure which chain stitch variation to use, I have to literally flip through almost every single page of this book to see all the chain stitch variations. Even the index is not organized in a way that I find helpful. You can't look up "chain stitch" and then see all the variations listed under it. The index is alphabetical by stitch name, so chain stitch is in C, while Broad Chain Stitch is under B.Because there's so many stitches in the book, it gives me lots of new stitches to try and for those that are too complicated for me to figure out in one diagram, I at least have a stitch name that I can google and learn.

If you are a "visual" person, you may have trouble with this book. I am not a beginner to embroidery/needlework and, after reading all the good reviews, bought this book to learn some of the more complicated stitches. When I actually sat down to study some of them I was very disappointed. Each stitch has drawings meant to show the steps to complete them; however, the drawings weren't really clear so I then read the written instructions, which also didn't help. This was written as a reference book and should have clearer instructions. It most likely will never be used by me.

Many of the embroidery stitch books provide a 'dictionary' of stitches that both include a photo of the stitch AND/OR a step-by-step chart on how to accomplish a stitch. This book does not. While there is a plethora of stitches here, if you aren't given instructions, what good is it? For instance, a basic stitch--the stem stitch--is photographed and described, but nowhere in the description are there instructions on how to accomplish the stitch! What good is a 'dictionary' without detailed instruction? I don't know why people like this book; it might be a reference for experienced embroiderers--not for people learning how to embroider. So, then, what's the point of this book?

I love this book. I've embroidered, but it's impossible to remember all of the stitches & this book does a wonderful job of showing the stitch & explaining clearly & easily how to do the stitch. There are over 400 stitches included & around 100 are new stitches! One chapter covers pulled fabric stitches, another art form of embroidery. She teaches you about what kind of fabric/canvas to use as well as what kind of thread/yarn to use. I found myself reading this book & will continue to do so. The Photography is gorgeous. While showing how to do the stitches, there's quite a few pictures of vintage pieces that are exquisitely shot by the photographer. I wasn't paid for this review & if I had been, I don't believe I would have said one thing different, cause if you love to do needlework, you're short changing yourself if you don't get this book. You will miss out on a treasure.

You've provided me a lifetime of new tricks. Of course, at age 88 that lifetime may not be as long as somebut that lifetime is richer for this book. excellent quality - timely delivery.. Thank you!

Love this book of embroidery stitches, though it's an older book the stitches hold the test of time and are still applicable with today's hand stitching. The instructions are clear and concise, pages are filled with color and easy to read print. I would recommend this book for the beginner and veteran hand embroiderer there is something for all.

This is a really useful guide for reference, although I don't find the instructional pictures to be super helpful. For a brand new beginner, I would recommend a book with clearer pictures, but for someone who has mastered basic stitches and wants to figure out fancier ones, this is a good fit.

I own this book and I have bought several copies to gift others. This is one of the best books for embroidery stitches. There are many stitches - specifically the laid work stitches - that are difficult to find in other books. These are beautiful stitches and well worth the price of the book to have.