Mastering the Art of Embroidery is a newly released book by Sophie Long, a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework.

It’s a huge book in scope. When my book order arrived and I took the book out, my first thought was, “WOW. This is HUGE.” I thumbed through it, and was immediately gobsmacked by the number of photos in it.

And then I started reading it (from cover to cover), and I had to do that a few times before I felt I could put together a sensible review that I think is a fair evaluation of the book.

Here are my thoughts on this encyclopedic volume devoted to all kinds of embroidery techniques. First off, it’s a book that will make a decent reference book in your needlework library, but it’s more than just a reference book – we’ll see that below – and, while it does have its definite pros, there are a few cons as well. I think it’s worth noting both the pros and the cons and considering what you want out of the book before making a decision to purchase it.