The Embroidered Art of Chloe Giordano Hardcover – 6 Sept. 2019

I have done a class with this tutor on Domestica online course, and I was so impressed by this super talented lady that I had to buy her book.Just to make this clear, this is not a book with any patterns in it for you to stitch along with. This is a book where the tutor takes you by the hand and teaches you step by step how to achieve these results of stunning animal embroidery. I have a City and Guilds level 3 in embroidery. One of the biggest things we are taught is not to copy other people’s work due to copyright. What this tutor wants you to do is to begin using a sketch book and start your drawing journey. Go and sketch animal anatomy, go and study how the muscles and tendons form over the skeleton. Look at how the fur lays or feathers. Study in detail all the minute changes of colour, tone and shade etc.This tutor wants you to be independent of using books using pre designed patterns but to create something that is completely unique to you! Go out in nature and see these animals, take photos of them. Once you have practice a few times drawing the outline of the animals do some basic markings of important positions like the eye, the back legs etc. Do a basic outline onto calico or linen fabric, do some tacking stitches to keep you into position. Select your threads with care because every stitch counts specially when you are working on a small scale. I personally double up my fabric as I find it supports the stitches better.REALLY READ, don’t skim read this book, because there is so much incredible knowledge here! You won’t learn if you skim read this book.The photography is amazing and you can see every single stitch.If you want to use a pattern designed by this tutor and stitch along with her then do her online class through Domestica, her class is listed under “needle painting”. You can print off a pattern and have information about what threads to use.This book isn’t designed for the complete beginner, it’s designed for people who have a basic understanding of embroidery and who are willing to explore and experiment creating animals themselves through the use of a sketchbook.This book also goes into detail how the author dyes her fabrics too.Yes it would have been nice if the author had put in designs, but if she wants to keep her design copyright protected I totally understand and respect her rights to do that.I appreciate that the author has put her heart and soul in creative this most comprehensive and easy to understand book and I am sincerely grateful to her for publishing her work for me to learn from.If you are intimidated by not being able to draw an animal, there is nothing to stop you tracing a photo that you have taken or use a copy right free photograph and transfer that onto fabric.This book is so rich with information, ideas and design tips.This tutor is trying to teach people that you don’t need to rely solely on patterns, once you start on your design journey. This process of finding how to create patterns and ideas yourself will open so many new doors of self improvement in your designs work that is uniquely yours, your own true style. It’s very much the ethos of City and Guilds embroidery in the UK, and this tutor is from the UK.I want to sincerely thank this author for the best embroidery book I have ever read and I appreciate how much hard work has gone into producing all this amazing work!Please don’t be cross with the author that there are no patterns. There is an amazing world outside which we have access to and to start to learn more from nature and sketching it in a sketchbook, this is how Beatrice Potter learned how to create her famous drawings and paintings of magnificent magical animals. I couldn’t draw to begin with. I did some online beginners drawing lessons and I slowly learned. The more you learn to look and to sketch the better you will become! It’s all just practice and being patient with yourself in your learning journey.

Inspiring designs

Oh, what a feast for the eyes this book is!I'm sure some will wish that the designs were just there for them to copy but that is not the idea behind the book. It is an inspiration to those who have drawing skills of their own (which I lack completely), but I knew this when I bought it.My desire is to see the work of needle artists such as the author, in order to remind myself of the sheer beauty of 'painting with thread' as I have lost the use of my dominant hand and am struggle back to needlework using the wrong hand.It is a feast for the eyes and I have found the visual impact of seeing how Chloe Giordano uses line of stitching to indicate direction of fur/hair on her wonderfuly drawn creatures especially interesting and potentially helpful - if I ever manage to rebuild lost skill in embroidery. Certainly, it has inspired me to keep trying to move on from my current reduction to 7 year-old level of embroidery! Chloe Giordano is first and foremost an artist, but one who happens to have taken the unusual step of using needle and thread to great effect. This is about her art. It is a beautiful book in itself and of value to experienced embroiderers who wish to see and read about the importance of direction of stich and use of varying shades of colour to represent life in animals. A book for those who love to see the potential of embroidery, rather than a 'how to' book, of which there are many. One of a kind, it is beautiful and well worth the investment for me.

For those claiming this book doesn't teach you how to make the pieces: it's not called 'How to Sew Like Chloe Giordano'. It's an art book, where the artist shows her work step by step - common in the art world, less so in sewing.However, if you read it thoroughly, it does explain how to imitate her pieces and do it well. Of course it's not a beginners manual and doesn't profess to be - there are plenty of those about! But beginners could still get so much inspiration from this book.It is just stunning!Her pieces are incredible &, for those of us who love to design from start to finish, this book is perfect. Like many creatives, I have so many ideas in my head that it can be overwhelming: this book helps me see how to focus and how to bring together by drawings with my sewing.I love the freshness of Chloe's work - the focus on botanicals, on realistic portrayals of the animals, whilst still always retaining their beauty.I also love her unique approach: intoroducing fabric dying as part of embroidery, using sewing thread instead of embroidery thread, etc.It's an art book, a coffee table book, an inspirational book, and a teaching book - all in one. All of that makes it worth the price!

I think this is the most beautiful book I have ever bought. I love it.

Fun gift to pass away wet cold days

This book is an absolute delight for an embroidery enthusiast. Full of close up pictures of the various stages of Chloe's work, this is not a book of patterns, but a glimpse inside an artist's method of working. It is inspiring, encouraging and full of advice and tips for anyone keen to start their own project. There are no rigid rules to follow; Chloe talks about experimenting, trial and error and how a piece can change slightly as she works on it.What I particularly liked is how clear the amount of thought and work that goes into each piece of work. These are pieces to be treasured for years to come, and so is this book.

A nice book with some lovely pictures. I didn't get much more from it though. I had hoped for more detailed information on how to create the embroidered animals, with hints and tips, maybe suggestions for creating ones own. This book shows step by step how the author has done her own creations. It became a little bit repetitive as each creation was not too dissimilar to the previous one.So a pleasant browse through but not terribly helpful for myself.

The media could not be loaded.  Amei,chegou rápido 😁,eu tô ansiosa para por em prática.

Llegó con un golpe en una de las esquinas, pero el libro es de muy buena calidad.

The book itself is a masterpiece. Those who are writing "unhappy" reviews for this book, it is taking so much time, hour and hours of hard work to create a book of such a quality with so wonderfully illustrated pages. Please respect artists who are sharing their experience and skills with others.

gutes Buch mit schönen Illustrationen! Ich kann es nur weiter empfehlen!

El libro es un viaje por el proceso de creación de Chloe Giordano. Es un libro precioso que merece la pena tener. Ojo, no es una guía para aprender a bordar. Te cuenta su proceso y los materiales que utiliza, pero como un libro de su arte, no un manual. Igualmente solo con mirar sus bordados ya puedes aprender.