The Cross Stitch Motif Bible - Jan Eaton

The Cross-Stitch Motif Bible:

As some for you will know already, I am a huge cross stitch fan. When it comes to designs, (charts), I prefer books with a range of smaller charts that I can dip into whatever the occasion.

The cross stitch motif bible is one of the first cross stitch books I got and it is still one I turn to regularly. The book contains over 1000 full colour charts that are very easy to follow. I much prefer ...
...find it easier to count the stitches and it also makes it easier to use threads I have instead of using the ones on the chart. As far as I have noticed the book uses only whole stitches, backstitch and French knots. There are colour codes for DMC and Anchor threads included.

The book is spiral bound which is a real advantage as it means that no part of the design is lost down the spine which is a problem I have noticed with several other ... more

The Cross-Stitch Motif Bible:

As some for you will know already, I am a huge cross stitch fan. When it comes to designs, (charts), I prefer books with a range of smaller charts that I can dip into whatever the occasion.

The cross stitch motif bible is one of the first cross stitch books I got and it is still one I turn to regularly. The book contains over 1000 full colour charts that are very easy to follow. I much prefer colour charts to the kind that are black and white but rely on symbols, with coloured charts I find it easier to count the stitches and it also makes it easier to use threads I have instead of using the ones on the chart. As far as I have noticed the book uses only whole stitches, backstitch and French knots. There are colour codes for DMC and Anchor threads included.

The book is spiral bound which is a real advantage as it means that no part of the design is lost down the spine which is a problem I have noticed with several other craft books I have used. It is well made and the cover has regularly repelled coffee stains when I have carelessly spilled coffee over it during late night stitching sessions. The book is roughly A5 size so it is an easy book to travel with or to stuff into my stitching bag.

The designs are arranged by category and there are quite a few categories like flowers, home and garden, art deco and motifs for children. The designs range from very traditional to very modern but they are all really simple to stitch. There are several alphabets included in the book which is always useful for adding a personal touch to your stitching.

The designs could easily be used to make up a sampler or to decorate home wares like cushions and towels or even to make cards and gift tags. There are no ideas for how to use the designs included in the book which is unusual but not necessarily bad as most cross stitch books and magazines include loads of ideas that you an adapt.

At the start of the book there is a very useful section which covers most of the basics of cross stitch from how to use the book to framing and from tools you may need to adding beads to your work. The book covers enough techniques and gives enough advice that this would be a great book for both the beginner and the more experienced stitcher too. I doubt there are many stitchers that wouldn't appreciate this book as a gift.

The one let down of this book is that there are no pictures of the finished designs apart from a few that they have used to decorate the cover. Cross stitch designs look quite a lot different when they are stitched to how they do on paper so pictures would help but obviously it would also double the size of the book. Perhaps they could have chosen a couple from each category just to give us an idea.

Whenever I have stitched one of the designs from the book I have always been really pleased with the results and the ease of stitching. I really like this book and it always provides inspiration when I am trying to decide what to stitch next. I would thoroughly recommend this book to any stitchers out there.

Amazon have copies from £7.56 + postage.  

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