Blackwork Made Easy: Techniques, Patterns and Samplers
Blackwork came to this country with Catherine of Aragon in the early 16th century, and is enjoying a revival today.  Originally mainly used to decorate clothing and samplers, it can now adorn anything you can think of and is surprisingly easy to do. If you can do running stitch, back stitch and cross stitch (and even if you cannot you can learn how in here) you can do blackwork.  This useful book also features a surprisingly large number of customizable patterns and all sorts of other handy tips.  These include a useful potted history as well as advice on mounting, choosing materials, reading charts and looking for design ideas.  The charts themselves can be quite small and detailed and would benefit vastly from being scanned in and blown up before working.  They depict all kinds of traditional subjects in more colors than just black and many have interesting captions regarding their history and significance.  Several alphabets are also featured, and for its size it is hard to imagine a more concise and useful book for both beginners and old hands on the subject.-Myshelf.com I was lucky enough to receive a set of beautiful blackwork pictures for Christmas so I was very interested to learn more about this stunning form of embroidery.   This book covers the history of blackwork as well as the materials needed.  It gives advice on choosing a design, setting up your workspace and using charts. The rest of the book features several designs, both photos and charts, split by theme: Flowers & Plants; Figures, Birds & Animals; Fill-In Patterns; Borders and Alphabets.  At the end of the book there is advice on how to mount your finished design. This book is ideal for someone wanting to learn Blackwork, as the title suggests it is a simple start to Blackwork ideal for beginners.-sewingdirectory.co.uk Blackwork was brought to England from Spain in the early 16th century by Catherine of Aragon, and this Arabic style of embroidery morphed into something more English than Spanish over the years. Wilkins (Beginner's Guide to Blackwork) introduces the basics of blackwork (e.g., selecting the appropriate thread and canvas and choosing stitches and motifs), then presents a variety of blackwork charts, including several inspired by a 1598 sampler owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum. Blackwork does not need to be sewn with black thread, and several of the patterns are quite colorful. VERDICT Crafters who cross-stitch or embroider may appreciate blackwork as well - especially if they enjoy Tudor-era motifs.-Library Journal USA