Customer Reviews

The Art of William Morris in Cross Stitch

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my least favorite of the spate of design books honoring the centennial of Morris' death in 1896. I found most of the designs using pale, pastel or heavily toned--the hue or color mixed with a lot of grey--rather than the clear, natural, and more saturated colors that Morris favored. Ms. Hammett's designs usually wander very far from the original--often only one motif is used out of a large project. This gives the designs a 1920's Art Deco feel, far from the rich Medievalism so lovingly expressed in Morris' tapestries, cloth, and wallpapers. Anyone wanting a more faithful Morris look should look to Beth Russell's work, especially "Victorian Needlepoint." On the plus side, Hammett offers an extraordinary variety of finishing techniques. I'll probably use them for other designs...

wonderful book. Good solid projects with easy to read/follow charts. Easily adaptable to needlepoint(continental stitch) with tapestsry wool and 14 - 16 count canvas. Clear instructions on all projects. Great Kelmscott press border design, which in this book is used in a cross stitched picture frame, but can easily be adaped as a repeating pattern or border pattern. Great book to start with if you have a love for the work of William Morris.

I love the William Moorris style and this book presents his designs in beautiful needlepoint patterns that can be produced by even a novice. There is also a good variety of types of projects. CLear charts and instructions.

I completed 5 of the projects in the book. Patterns relatively easy to follow and projects vary from simple to very complicated. Works were gorgeous on completion. I found one or two minor typos in the thread coding.

I haven't tried any of the designs yet, but they look very nice. Much classier than your typical bunnies-and-kitties cross stitch book.