This is a unique embroidery book in that it marries spirituality with embroidery instruction. The book covers embroidery stitch basics, choosing colors, fabrics and threads as well as a list of various symbol motifs (broken down into categories such as geometric shapes, animals, botanica, etc.) that can be used to create talismans that can be stitched onto fabric. I own a lot of embroidery books and this one definitely covers all the bases, but I think this will especially appeal to those that enjoy a more avant-garde approach to embroidery, especially if they like things of the witchy persuasion. This is definitely worth picking up!

The cover is absolutely gorgeous, it's what grabbed my attention immediately about this book.

Mystical Stitches is a fantastic collection of embroidery ideas with good guidance and general 'best practice' tips for stitching. It's a little more complex than first looks, so it's not great for beginners but it's still reasonably easy to follow if you're confident and don't mind 'learning on the job' so to speak.

There are great illustrations of different types of stitches, alongside photographs showing what those stitches would look like in practice.

Thanks to NetGalley, Storey Publishing and Christi Johnson for an eArc copy of this beautiful embroidery book, in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, the contents in this book are absolutely stunning. Teaching of the stitches is easy to follow, and the layout and format of the book is easily understandable, colourful, and easy to read. I haven't done much embroidery myself, being an avid cross stitcher and not daring, but all the motifs in here make me desperate for another go.

Some of my favourites in the book include the fantasical creatures, horoscopes and the botanicals.

Perfect for beginners, embroiders into the mystique and for anyone interested in learning new techniques, forms and needing some inspiration.

Mystical Stitches Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment by Christi Johnson is an outside the box embroidery book. I think the beautiful cover drew me in. There are several chapters beginning with the reader’s intentions. Then there is a discussion regarding tools and not found in most embroidery books – the anatomy of a stitch which was very well illustrated. The subsequent three chapters discussed straight stitches, stitch for coverage, tuck stitches and stitches for coverage. The rest of the book is full of nice designs which were mostly ‘new age, spiritual’. The book relies heavily on the spiritual side of creating. There are discussions about mythology, astrology, meditation, yoga and even talismans.

Very disappointed that there were no patterns to trace and more explanation of how to achieve the end result. I believe this book is directed for a specific audience and not the regular embroider enthusiast. While the book was organized well I would have moved the color theory part to the beginning. Unfortunately I did not find it as useful as I had hoped.

I would like to thank Storey Publishing, Christi Johnson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is great for anyone who ever gave up on a hobby because their instructor was too by-the-book. The basic embroidery skills are covered like every good craft book, but the author also talks about short cuts she sometimes takes for ease. It reminds me of all the time I used to spend at in-person classes with talented, craft loving teachers.

I liked the images. It was a nice book with pretty stitches. I didn’t like it as much as I thought I might.

Errrr.....I expected a book about cool embroidery patterns. And it had some cool samples, but what I did not expect was a lot of information about meditation, the spiritual meanings of plants and even stretching exercises. Meanwhile, the samples had a key in the back giving the stitches and dmc colors, but not what they did where, instructions on how to do it or even, in many cases, an up close picture for you to see the stitches. The fact that I'd have to flip back and forth between the picture, key and accompanying text about the meaning of the symbol to reproduce even the smallest of motifs would really annoy me. Interestingly, there are 45 pages of instructions before that, which is nice and all but I honestly would go to youtube first before looking at a picture of a stitch.

I feel like this book was trying to do too much on too many things. I wish it had just done more with embroidery and ditched the rest of it. That said, there are some cool patterns in here, if you can figure out how to do them yourself.

This book has some lovely ideas for stitching mystical patterns. It explains how to do different stitches in details and gives plenty of ideas. There is also some detail in how embroidery can link to mindfulness if that’s your kind of thing!

I don't have any experience with embroidery but I really want to start. I found this book on NetGalley and requested it to found out does this book good for a starter. And after reading it, I have to say that yes, it is.
I found 3 books about embroidery on NetGalley and requested all of them because I wasn't sure that I will be approved. At the end, I got all of the books. This is the third book, and it is the best in my opinion.
The book is so beautiful. The pages looks so good. As a starter, I hoped that the book will contain some tutorials and techniques. I am satisfied with this content, I really loved the tutorials, they were very clear and understandable. Also there were a lot of different pattern with their symbols, it was very interesting to read. I have to admit that there were a few pattern which wasn't mine style (I love flowers and butterflies), but they looked so good, I want to try them.
I really liked this book. I will definatly buy a copy of this book.

This book was not quite what I expected. The information was well organized, the illustrations were helpful, but I did not find it to be as informative, or useful as hoped.

This book is magical! For those who are interest on embroidery, it has easy and clear steps and tutorials, lots of designs and meaning. Its a different way of looking this craft and I fell in love with.

I love a book about magical handicrafts! The connection between creativity and spirit is not often explored, but Mystical Stitches does it well. You will get what you expect from most books on embroidery, the basic stitches, materials and techniques. What's different is these designs are not your basic cutesy or traditional styles. This is a guide to spiritual, intentional creativity that goes beyond stitching. And oh yeah, there are plenty of mystical designs for you to copy straight from the book or be inspired to combine and develop into your own magical works.

This book is definitely unique! The directions are clear and precise but there's a ton of things packed into this book. It's not my taste really but it was interesting to see a fresh take on embroidery,

What a cool, fun, funky, interesting, and enlightening book... and it’s got a bunch of great info about embroidery too! I am excited to try some new techniques to break out of my rut of just filling in patterns. It’s like moving away from a color by numbers framework and encouraging us to use our intuition and embroider with “flow.” So very cool. Love the linkage between art, craft, spirituality, and mindfulness.

A stunning look at how the process of stitching can help our wellbeing as well as produce beautiful work. You don't need to be an expert to enjoy this book, it covers all the basics of stitches so that even someone new to the subject can learn along the way. The pieces in the book are beautiful and there are so many designs I'm going to try, the moon phases being one of my personal highlights.

Mixing craft with craft is a passion of mine, but although I've always admired embroidery it's always seemed a bit beyond my skill. This book goes into great detail, teaching the necessary stitches and providing inspiring patterns, all while blending the needlework with spiritual intention. Incredible. I will be recommending this book highly and putting it on my personal shelf for sure.

I love the layout of this book and think anyone interested in mystical imagery and embroidery would love it. This was a unique approach to an embroidery book and I loved the thoughtfulness that was put into each pattern. You get so much great information on the mystical elements included in the book. The build your own talisman project was also a fun way to create your own pattern and combine different elements in the book. The only reason I deducted a star was because I felt like the patterns themselves could have been more clear. Including stitch guides and larger patterns would have been more helpful. Because of this, I think this book would be better for people experienced with embroidery rather than beginners.

This book went into great detail about the stitches and designs. I enjoyed the variety of patterns that were included. The size variations are great too, as it is sometimes difficult to scale a pattern up. Some of the designs are big enough to go around the collar of a shirt!

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

I will start by saying that this is not the kind of stitching book I would usually pick up, since I am someone who enjoys the more precise, traditional forms of embroidery. But it came up as an early review option for me on Netgalley, so I thought I would have a look. I hope to give a review which will let you know if it′s the book for you, even if it isn′t for me!

This book is inspired by the exploration of new techniques and designs that happened in the 60s and 70s, and is geared towards people who don′t want to be constrained by fixed diagrams or materials. There is also an emphasis on the meditative quality of needlework, and the book explores some other meditative techniques which you might want to explore if inspired by the restfulness you find in stitching.

But there′s also a lot of practical information. The author describes materials and equipment in a straightforward manner, giving helpful hints. She explains how to transfer patterns, but I do wonder how easy it would be to transfer the motifs she uses in the book. (I had an online copy of the book, so not sure how it would look on paper.) The stitch glossary covers a wide range of stitches, and I found the diagrams and explanations quite clear, particularly how to start off each stitch, although I might do some of the stitches in a slightly different way.

The outstanding chapter of this book is the collection of symbols which covers a wide range of subjects – geometric forms, planets, zodiac signs, some unusual natural world images and other unexpected emblems. The author does give stitch suggestions for all the symbols, but also wants them to act as inspiration for your own designs. She gives examples of many of the symbols on clothing and other items. There are a lot of colourful images and photos, and the whole book has a flower child character which is pleasant to look at.

This is a 3 star book for me, but it could well be 4 or 5 star for anyone who likes this style of embroidery.

Mystical Stitches; Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment by Christi Johnson is about exactly what it says, adding embroidery to your fabric items to empower yourself.

There is lots of inspiration here, from the patterns to what they've been stitched on.  There are templates, lots of clear information, and beautiful photos.

 Mystical Stitches; Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment  by Christi Johnson was published on 25th May 2021 and is available from  Amazon  and  Waterstones .

You can follow Christi Johnson on  Instagram  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Storey Publishing .