It’s the painterly feel of crewel embroidery that really appeals to me about this particular craft. I’ve been an admirer of crewel work designer, Tatiana Popova’s work for a good while now, so I was thrilled when her publishers asked if I’d like to review her new book Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners. I didn’t hestitate, as I couldn’t wait for a peek inside. It didn’t disappoint. The designs are utterly stunning as I knew they would be – and the guide to all the stitches you need to know to be able to achieve them couldn’t be more accessible. It’s an inspiring and highly creative book suitable for total beginners upwards and I am so excited to share a peek inside with you too.
I’m also excited that we have three signed copies of Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners to be won. It couldn’t be easier to enter – just scroll down the page to find out how. In the meantime, here’s that peek inside I promised you, along with all the info you need to treat yourself to a copy. If you’d like to try your hand at a little crewel work right now, Tatiana has kindly shared a simple step-by-step tutorial from the book: how to embroider a fly stitch leaf. It’s a decorative and highly useful stitch to add to your repertoire – check out the tutorial here.
A bit about Tatiana
I wasn’t at all surprised to discover that Tatiana trained as a floristry designer, because it’s her creative touch with flower embroidery that I particularly love and that makes this book so beautiful. Born in Ukraine and now UK-based, Tatiana’s dreams of setting up a floristry business didn’t come together, so she set out to find an alternative way of making a living whilst retaining a connection with her beloved flowers. Tatiana had learned to stitch at a young age, so she began to embroider flower bouquets using silk ribbon; her designs proving so popular that she was invited to participate in the Beads Create Japan craft show in Tokyo in 2012, She was asked to return the following year to teach classes in Yakohama and, since then, Tatiana has been exhibiting and teaching around the world including the UK, USA, Japan and Australia. Her crewel patterns, kits and books are definitely worth checking out here.
What is crewel embroidery?
Also known as crewel work, this is a traditional style of surface embroidery that traditionally uses fine wool thread to create rich, textured designs on fabric.
Crewel work was hugely popular in the late 17th and early 18th century and is often referred to as Jabobean embroidery. During the Arts & Crafts era of the late 19th century, crewel work enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. I love that there’s a trend on both Pinterest and Etsy for it right now too!
Modern crewel work incorporates a wide range of threads and the projects in Tatiana’s book use cotton threads because they can be easier to work with for beginners. If you’re more of a traditionalist at heart, Tatiana has supplied a handy conversion chart so you can work her designs in wool thread instead.
Take a peek inside Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners
There are 8 modern floral designs to try, all designed to be achievable by beginners, with full size templates and all the step by step info you need to learn each stitch as you go. Each project is carefully chosen to build up your confidence through practice; each will teach you new stitches, and will gradually develop your hand embroidery skills as you work through the book.
The projects included in Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners are: Gum Tree Leaves, Morning Glory, Crewel Poppy, Floral Butterfly, Snowdrop Swirl, Peony, Fuschia and Sunrise Singer. There are chapters taking you through all you need to know before getting started including what tools and materials you’ll need and some suggestions for handy extras. To really get your creative juices flowing, here’s a close-up glimpse of the projects. When you get to the Poppy design, check out the gorgeous central leaf – Tatiana has shared her simple step by step tutorial to embroider this with us: How to embroider a fly stitch leaf
8 flower design projects from Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners
Morning Glory
Snowdrop Swirl
Peony
Fuschia
Floral Butterfly
Poppy
If I absolutely HAD to choose a favourite design it would be the Poppy. Or maybe the Peony. No the Poppy… Then again the Snowdrops are exquisite too. Luckily having all of the designs together in one book means there’s no need to pick just one favourite. Why not work your way through all of them?
How to embroider a fly stitch leaf
I promised you a free tutorial from Tatiana and here it is: learn how to embroider the beautiful central leaf in the Poppy design above. It’s made using fly stitch and it’s really easy to get the hang of. Get the tutorial here: How to embroider a fly stitch leaf
How to win a signed copy Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners
We have three signed copies of Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners to be won and it couldn’t be easier to enter – so why not have a go now? All you have to do is share your own thoughts on floral embroidery or crewel work – and where you hope this book might take you. Be as creative as you like! Post your entry as a comment at the foot of this blog post.
You won’t see your entry appear immediately when you add it to a comment box. But it will come through to our admin area once you click the ‘post comment’ button. Once we’ve logged your entry we’ll publish it.
Please note that this competition is only open to residents of the UK.
Good luck and hope you enjoy! We’ll be choosing the winner at the end of October so why not enter now?
You might also like
To discover more about crewel work embroidery and to discover further ideas to inspire you, read my blog post: Crewel embroidery inspiring and beautiful DIY kits
I’d love to try some of the stitches in this book for felted wool embroidery.
Go for it! Hope you enjoy 😊
I love the originality and extra touch that embroidery gives to my clothes or hand made creations. The florals taught in this book would truly make those stand outs. I’ve been embroidering since my hippie days of the ‘70’s. I never tire of it. My daughter and now my granddaughters are learning from me. We are never told to learn new techniques and styles.
Such a lovely skill to pass on to your daughter and granddaughters – and love that you started in the 70s!
i love spending time sewing,and i have been exploring new embroidery stitches but yet to try crewel work. this book looks a great book for beginners with simple designs to build confidence and skills
I think it could be perfect for you 😊
Beautiful things. I’d like to enter the competition for the book
❤️
I would love to win a copy of this book. I would stitch the snowdrops first but all the designs are so fresh and modern.
❤️
Floral and crewelwork embroidery is inspiring, to both the crafter and the beholder. It is creative and immersive. I love it but haven’t done any for a long time, having taken to knitting instead. Now, I cannot knit as easily due to my arthritis, but I think crewel work will now, for me, come into its own again, and this beautiful, appealing book will bring me satisfaction and joy. Thank you
I totally agree. Crewel embroidery sounds the perfect creative craft for you again 😊
I get pleasure from making beautiful things and have been painting flowers on and off since childhood.I have also done simple embroidery and even made a piece of stump work.I have been instantly entranced by your pictures of crewel embroidery,so vibrant and colorful.I will make full use of the beautiful book should I be lucky to win.
So glad you enjoyed discovering the book. You’ve taught me something – I had to look up what stump work was – impressive!
embroidery work is so expressive, just look at the interest in the Bayeux tapestry
Couldn’t agree more
These look like great projects. I’ve recently taken up embroidery and have been looking for ways to develop my skills to create more modern pieces. I haven’t tried cotton or wool yet but this looks like the next step.
Totally agree – sounds like crewel work would be perfect for you X
beautiful book 🥰
❤️
I would love to win a copy
❤️
Many years ago, I completed a floral tea tray embroidery cloth to complete my Guides Queen’s Guide Award which I gave to my gran, a former cashmere knitter from Peebles. She kept it & it took pride of place in her home – to be looked at, not used!
I look back now and ask myself, would I be able to complete a tray cloth again? No in short & then I saw your new book review and thought, perhaps maybe I could as it starts with the basics for a beginner, not assuming any prior knowledge of set stitches, thread arrangements etc. like so many other ‘similar’ publications do.
Whilst tray cloths may not be ‘in fashion’ now, floral decorations are always fashionable and I’d like to see what I can produce for my young great niece, nephew and niece as keep sakes for the future. Fingers crossed.
What a lovely story. You definitely could! I have some old tray cloths that used to belong to my great aunt Nancy that I think her mother embroidered. I don’t use them but I love having them
This is such a wonderful thing to do, giving us the chance to win this glorious book. A complete novice to this type of embroidery but an avid crafter, I would love to learn how to embroider like this. Still learning, even now I’m seventy! The designs in the book are beautiful and to embroider them and see them come to life would be such a satisfying thing to do. Like you I would find it difficult to choose a favourite but the poppy is such an amazing flower, seeing how they grow regardless in rough ground and wasteland is so uplifting.
Thank you for this opportunity and good luck to everyone who enters.
Totally agree – the poppy design is stunning isn’t it? Also love when a poppy flower just decides to pop up in the garden X
Simply beautiful, I’m inspired to try those snowdrops first!
The snowdrops are so pretty aren’t they? Always love a snowdrop X
My grandmother used to do a lot of embroidery, with framed examples all around her house, which I always admired. I learned a few stitches when I was a child, but have never actually embroidered a whole piece, so a book like this might actually give me the impetus to try again, and create something my grandmother would have been proud of!
What a lovely connection this would be with your grandmother – and creative pleasure for you! x
I loved the image of the poppy, which is why I clicked through from the email but oh, the snowdrop swirl! I learnt to stitch a very long time ago when my Gran first showed me how to sew a daisy so have sewn in one form or another ever since. Nowadays, I am a quilter but I am once again experimenting with thread. And snowdrops are a firm favourite. I’d love to stitch this delightful pattern.
Go for it! I did the same – poppy drew me in and then I feasted my eyes on the other designs too. X
I am a huge advocate of wool and have always admired Crewel work but never attempted it because I thought it may be a little old fashioned (would anything I make actually complement the existing decor of my surroundings – a one bed 70’s appartment).
When I read about Modern Crewel Embroidery for beginners and saw the beautiful designs straight away I thought this is what I have been waiting for. Thank you Tatiana Popova for your book and Laura for bringing it to my attendtion and for this offer.
You are most welcome and I’m so glad you’ve found the creative project you were looking for! X
i used to do a lot of embroidery but now i am housebound i think this would be a lovely hobby for me. i am doing up my home and i this type of craft would work really well. it is a lovely book to give me lots of ideas to use.
It sounds like the perfect craft for you – enjoy! x
Hello, since i live in Switzerland, i know, that i am not entitled to enter this competition ;(
But it ticked some boxes of lovely memories back to my grandmother.
To occupie me she drew on a piece of white fabric fantasy flowers in lines and tought me my first stitches. Decades later i found in the house of my passed away mom a cushion cover, stitched by me as a child. There was always enough material to keep me busy enough. 😉
It’s lovely to hear from you in Switzerland and thank you for sharing your beautiful story. 🥰
This is absolutely lovely and fascinating – thank you so much for showing us this.
I am enthralled by all the possibilities and particularly like the snowdrops as a first ideal project. Many more ideas to follow too ! I will share this with my friends at our local handcrafting club 🙂 I’m sure there will be plenty of enthusiasm to give crewel embroidery a try.
Great idea!Let me know what your club thinks. I love the snowdrops too – who doesn’t love a snowdrop?
The poppy is amazing, I could not stop looking at it….the colors are spot on, I bet you had to demo colors for days to see how they would go together…thank you so much for everything you do for the Embroidery Community…..
I did exactly the same thing. It’s also how the different patterns combine to create something that actually captures the spirit of a real poppy don’t you think?
I love embroidery and would like to expand my repertoire of stitches, fabric and threads.
I love your floral designs.
Sounds like this book would be perfect for you! X
What a lovely book – this could really add some variety to my embroidery but first I’ll have to hide it from my grand daughter
It really is isn’t it? Love that your grand daughter would want it too!
There are so many beautiful examples of crewel work in National Trust and historic houses it would be great to learn a new technique and keep the skill alive.
The snowdrops really appeal to me, love the design.
Agreed. Love how this book adds a contemporary simplicity to such a historic craft
It’s so beautiful and I’d love to learn how. I’m hoping this book will prove helpful in doing that. Thank you!
I’m sure it will – enjoy! x
Tatiana’s work is exceptional and inspiring. I haven’t heard of crewel before but as soon as I saw her designs, I thought to add embroidery embellishments to the ravens, owls and frogs that I make from fabric. Her book is on my list, discovering her work really made my day.
That’s a wonderful idea – and so glad you enjoyed discovering the book! x
I’d love to make something for my new tiny niece!
What a lovely idea 🥰
book look amazing would love to have a go.
Go for it 😊
I like lots of different crafts and would love to learn this skill too
Hope you enjoy! x