Which of my books is best for beginners?

A common question that I get is, “Which of your books do you recommend for a beginner?”

That depends on so many things…

How much of a beginner are you? Are you a complete beginner to embroidery, or are you a beginner to the styles of embroidery that I do? Have you done any counted cross stitch, and liked it? Yes? Then you could go for a counted style of embroidery (most of the styles I’ve written on). No? Then choose a non-counted style (Mountmellick or one of my stitch dictionaries).

My advice is to choose the style of embroidery that appeals to you most and decide to learn it. If you like the look of it, you’ll be more likely to persevere with it. If it doesn’t really appeal to you, but you think it’s the one you “should” learn, when it gets hard, you may not be bothered persevering.

Of the counted books, the techniques in “Smøyg” are probably the easiest, because they’re really just running stitch. However, if that style doesn’t appeal to you, then don’t choose it simply because it is easy!

For some, they find the techniques in “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery” quite difficult, because the process is really quite unusual. However, if that’s the style of embroidery that appeals most to you, then you’re more likely to keep going until you master it.

My books all have step-by-step instructions, and they are written to cater for the beginner as much as the experienced stitcher.

You can see flip-throughs of most of my books on my YouTube channel, White Threads.

There’s more info on all my books on my website. https://www.vettycreations.com.au/books.html

Please note, not all of my books are currently in print. Some will be reprinted when I print my newest book, but some are awaiting revision before they are reprinted. However, you might be fortunate to find them in your guild library.