I think this book would be great for beginners! It is very straightforward and helpful on how to get started.

The patterns and illustrations are very simple and do not require any difficult stitches. The book doesn't lie - she provides patterns for lots of items (almost everything!)

However, I think for the more experienced embroiderer, this book would not be for them.

What an awesome resource!! As someone who has been wanting to learn to embroider, this book was extremely helpful in this process. I love how the pictures and explanations make the new learner feel like they can accomplish learning how to embroider.

I must admit I expected something else from this book. I thought it was going to be about embroidery in different kind of materials, like paper, for example. But it actually was about different shapes and objects. Which is not something bad, just not what I was looking forward to when I requested the book. I highly recommend this book for people who want to lear embroidery but are afraid by the different stitches. In this book you have the basic stitches well explained and there's A LOT of different templates so you can embroider different motifs on blankets, pillow cases, and so on. It's a really good book if you want to start trying your hand at embroidery and has very diverse patterns.

This book is full of easy to follow instructions and many cute patterns to help you learn to embroider.

This was a fantastic book! Very easy to follow instructions with clear pictures to walk you through things step by step. There were also lots of very cute examples and patterns to help get you started. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking to get started embroidering and is looking for simple and easy instructions and inspiration.

Just got started in embroidery and am always looking around for cute doodles that I can turn into stitch art. This book looks perfect for that. Lots of variety (animals, plants, pirates, space) and easy shapes that still come out nicely. Some good tips for beginners at the front end of the book as well!


I received this book in exchange for a free review, but all opinions are my own.

This book has an abundance of cute whimsical doodles turned stitches. The layout is pretty simplistic.
There is a very short section with a few basic stitch examples ( a very small section, making this more of an inspiration book over instruction) This makes the book more appealing for seasoned crafters because most of the space is dedicated to ideas rather than a re-hashing of technical stuff. There is enough info on the basic stitches, and it may be all that is needed for the ideas in the book.

Each page of examples is followed by a black and white page with the designs. This allows you to copy exactly or use as inspiration and do your own thing! The book includes examples of techniques the author uses to transfer designs but many are simple enough to freehand with a water soluble pencil if you are a doodler. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC to review.

I received a free digital advanced review copy through NetGalley. A comprehensive, visually appealing, and easy to follow guide.

This is a perfect beginner book for anyone wanting to start embroidering their own designs. The projects consist of simple pictures based on a subject and there is a good variety of ideas mainly in a fun simple style. It is a very inviting book and will encourage lots of people to have a go. Different stitches and methods are introduced but all the designs and ideas can so easily be adapted or added to. I think this is an excellent resource that makes embroidery accessible.

Full of simple charming drawings for all sorts of things, this book is a great resource for the embroiderer. The first pages are an introduction. Besides the usual stuff about materials and tools, there are detailed instructions on how to embroider on different types of fabric and plenty of useful tips. A stitch dictionary with the basic stitches used in these pieces follows.

The bulk of the book are the designs. Each category has a two-page spread. On one page you'll find the drawings with thread color numbers listed on them. The facing pages have all the designs stitched. I like that the examples are on different colors of fabric, making for a cheery look. The drawings are simple and in a doodle-like modern folk art style. But they are not simple outlines, they have enough detail to make them quite charming as stand-aline designs.

This books an excellent resource for the beginning embroiderer.

This is such a fun little book. I have been dabbling in embroidery off and I am so excited about this book. It is quirky and ad inspirational. I enjoyed the simplicity of the designs and the information on transitioning to different fabric types. This is s a great beginners book and it had tons of fun patterns. It was perfect for my skill level. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

A cute little book with quirky designs. It is very much a beginners book. Only six embroidery stitches are explained but there is a wealth of design ideas based on doodle drawings using these stitches.
This would make a lovely gift for someone wishing to take the craft but too simplistic for anyone more advanced.

How to Embroider Almost Everything is a huge collection of surface embroidery designs with tutorials. Released 22nd Oct 2019 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

There is a good introduction which covers tools and materials, choosing and stabilizing fabrics, how to use the templates and color codes in the book, selection of floss, embroidery tutorials and stitch diagrams, etc. There probably isn't a lot which will be new to more advanced stitchers, but it's a good solid basis for newbies.

The templates and patterns themselves are arranged thematically with a full color gallery page followed by a template with floss colors (DMC numbers are used) and thread counts (usually 3 for outlining) given for each of the 500+ designs. The patterns are varied, whimsical (see book cover), and appealing. These would be great embellishments for gifts, soft furnishings, pictures, and a zillion other uses. The book includes some borders, frames, and lettering as well, so personalized gifts are a possibility. The thematic subject groupings included in the book cover: plants, animals, people, locations (beach, etc), household items, at play (toys, fantasy, imagination), celebrations (birthday, baby, love), weather and outdoors, and the aforementioned letters, borders, frames.

Well made and comprehensive. I -really- love that surface embroidery is making a big comeback. It's been mostly cross stitch and needlepoint for decades. Surface embroidery provides a real outlet for originality, expression, and creativity, utilizing simple tools and without a massive outlay of time.

Five stars; well done!

I love embroidery. I think the art of embroidery is fascinating and beautiful.

This book showed the basics for embroidering and how to get started. It also had a tonne of really cute ideas to start off with. The only thing I wish it had was more advanced stitches, or just more stitches to learn. However as it was an embroider almost anything the basic stitches are really all that are necessary.

If you haven’t taken a stab at embroidery I absolutely recommend it.

I'm a big fan of Wendi Gratz. This book is a great extension of what I already love about her blog - tutorials of some basic stitches that are easy to understand (I think I finally, FINALLY get the satin stitch now!). Her designs are super-cute and easy enough for even beginner's to handle. I usually consider an embroider book "pretty good" if I see a design or two I want to try. With this book, my biggest problem is picking out which one to try first!

I've been on a crafting book kick lately including embroidery books. I'm just super curious if there's anything new out there in the world of needles and thread. The answer is, not really. But this is a fresh take with pictures that are good and instructions that, while not thorough, are better than most. This book also gives ideas for patterns - not full out patterns, just ideas.

Four stars
This book came out October 22nd
ARC kindly provided by Quarry Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

What a fun little book! This simple primer really does tell you how to easily embroider just about anything, from cacti to space ships to sewing machines to Vikings. I do wish the people had arms in the girls, boys, ladies and gentlemen sections, but I was happy to see that people in the fantasy sections and others had arms so I can just steal theirs. :) Darling and accessible, anybody can embroider happy little pictures on everything from cloth shopping bags to clothing to dish towels with these easy instructions.

I love that each set of designs shows finished, embroidered pieces, and then the exact same objects are shown as line drawings with the simple drawn pattern to trace. Gratz also provides instructions to get you started with embroidery if you're new, plus some easy answers to issues you might have.

The patterns also work as simple drawing patterns, which would be great for kids who want to see easy ways to draw things like foxes, houses, you name it.

All in all, a wonderful resource. I don't even embroider at the moment but I would consider buying this for our family.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

Get your needle and thread and start
Quilter and blogger Wendi Gratz has divided her book "How To Embroider Almost Everything. A sourcebook of 500+ Modern Motifs +Easy Stitch Tutorials - Learn to Draw with Thread!", published by Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry, into tow main parts: 1) Getting Started, and 2) Embroidery Stitch Patterns for Everything. The first part introduces everything the readers need to know in a simple way to get their embroidery projects started: fabric, thread, hoops, needles, patter transfer, starting and ending stitches, ... - no matter if they are beginners or more experienced embroidery artists. The embroidery patterns in the second part (plants, animals, people, toys, letters, ...) Can literally be used for all kinds of projects (clothes, curtains, decorations, ...). Gratz considers embroidery as drawing or coloring in slow motion - with a thread. She offers step-by-step tutorials for essential stitches, tips and a resource list to help the artists. The book presents itself with clear photos for the samples and a great design. It is inspirational and uses a great variety of really cute motifs which also can be combined. The book can be highly recommended as a guide for beginners and advanced embroidery artist and it also makes a great present.
It would have been helpful if the author would have included a conversation chart or at least the names for the embroidery floss (she uses DMC, but others might already have embroidery floss from JP Coats, Anchor, Madeira, or other sources). The patterns are not available as PDFs which would be desirable for an easier transfer. The pages need to be photocopied and in this case a spiral- or comb-binding or a binding that lays flat would be helpful since the only other option is to copy the patterns manually. It is also important to note that the book only covers "normal" embroidery and no cross-stitching, tapestry, or other type of needlework.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#HowToEmbroiderAlmostEverything #NetGalley

Cute but rather simplistic designs. I wish there were more designs, design categories and that some were more elaborate. The whole feel of the book is rather kitschy but it comes across as cute while being informative.

I love this book!
The instructions are so easy to follow and I love the easygoing, friendly way it was written! There was plenty of pictures with the steps so that you could see what was being talked about, which makes it a lot easier to follow!
There is a big section of embroidery patterns in the back which are just perfect for anyone want to give it a go immediately or even follow along with some of the instructions!
I will definitely be getting a hard copy of this book so I can have easy access to it during my sewing sessions, and so I can easier use the patterns!
I completely recommend this book for any beginner, or anyone who isn’t quite confident in their embroidery yet!
Thank you for sending me a e-copy to read and review!