The ABC of Padded Stitch – Elisabetta’s New Book!

Did you know that Elisabetta Sforza has a beautiful new book out?!

I’m so excited, because this particular book focuses on Elisabetta’s approach to padded satin stitched monograms – which she does so, so beautifully.

ABC of Padded Stitch is both an instructional book and a project book, and it has some really nice aspects to it that will surely appeal to anyone who wants to try, practice, and master the padded satin stitch, especially when used in monogramming.

That said, the techniques in the book can also be applied to other uses of padded satin stitch, besides monogramming. If you are a lover of whitework embroidery, this is right up your alley!

As usual with Elisabetta’s book, The ABC of Padded Stitch is written in both Italian and English, included in the same publication.

The book is nicely printed and bound – it’s a good quality book!

At the beginning of the book, you’ll find an introduction to Elisabetta’s own stitching journey and her work with padded satin stitch monograms.

You’ll find gobs of inspiration – so many beautiful examples of embroidery!

Embroidery like this makes me yearn to stitch!

And golly, I love that green!

I always appreciate technique books that include plenty of photos of finished work, showing the embroidery in practice and what can be done with it.

I also just like looking at pretty pictures!

After the intro, we’re given information on fabrics, threads, and supplies used for this type of surface embroidery.

Then, we’re taken straight into the principles of padded satin stitch.

This is the preliminary instruction in techniques that apply to the work in the rest of the book, and it’s given with clear diagrams, text, and step-by-step instructions.

There’s a sampler provided in the book, too, to give the student a practice piece to work through the principles and master them.

Throughout the book, with the different alphabets and design samples that are presented, you’ll find excellent step-by-step photo instructions, too.

For each alphabet, you’ll find a chart that supplies all the information used on the samples: threads, fabric, padding techniques, stitch coverage, and so forth.

There are 11 complete alphabets provided in the book. Along with each alphabet, you’ll find photos of the letters worked in projects, so that you can see, practically, how they can turn out.

The alphabets range in style from modern handwritten lettering to classic styles of calligraphy and more.

You’ll see that the letters can be interpreted different ways, with their own embellishments. You can mix up embellishment approaches, too! What works on one particular style of letter often translates well onto other styles.

This gives you a wide array of variations to play with, to make your monograms uniquely yours.

The ABC of Padded Stitch is a fabulous resource for anyone aspiring to stitch classic or modern monograms, or to conquer high-relief satin stitching.

The instructional content is, as always, excellent. While the English translations are sometimes a little choppy, they are perfectly understandable in context. The photos of finished embroidery are splendid – the stunning, sumptuous examples throughout the book make the book such a pleasure to browse through!

Yep. I love this book! I’m so happy Elisabetta wrote it and made her expertise in this area available for the rest of the needlework world!

Where to Find It

The ABC of Padded Stitch is available here in my shop, for folks in North America. Right now, it is not listed for Canada, because accurate shipping costs are difficult to gauge. If you’re in Canada and you want to purchase the book, drop me an email, and I’ll research the cost of postage for you, and then we can go from there.

If the book sells out, I will restock it as soon as possible. You’re welcome to drop me a line to be put on the wait list. It may not sell out as quickly as usual – I did try to stock a good quantity…

Dovo Scissors!

I also have another batch of Dovo scissors in stock in the shop – this time, the Hardanger scissors (now referred to as “Aya”). These are 3.5″ brushed stainless steel embroidery scissors with extra-fine tips.

I’m awaiting the 4″ Dovo scissors, too, and the next batch of “Anne” that were previously stocked.

There are some fluctuations in pricing – this just goes along with the cost of producing the scissors, the exchange rate, international shipping costs, and import fees. Hopefully, they’ll stay relatively affordable for you!

Happy Weekend!