The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection (Milner Craft Series)

If you have either a love for bugs or just fascinated by them, you will love Jane's book on beetles. Jane starts off with a "Natural History" of beetles. She explains about metamorphosis and each stage of development. No, her book is not a biology text but a short introduction of the beetle. On page 14, she has a very nice picture "of the external anatomy of the beetle." She encourages you to compare the photo with an illustration on the following page. For those of you who are not really interested in the anatomy of the small creature, this does give you a good understanding how to recreate your own beetles.After a short explanation of "The Beetle as Embellishment", Jane starts us off with Beaded Beetles.Beetle Wings as Adornment, in part 3, takes us back in history when beetle parts were used to embellish clothing. Jane includes an evening bag project which you can easily work with beetle wings.Finally, she takes us to creating beetles with goldwork, stumpwork, surface embroidery and applique`.Like most good books on embroidery, techniques and equipment is explained in detail.I, for one, have thoroughly enjoyed this book. In searching the internet for beetles, I was able to recreate pictures and create my own work. Jane's "The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection" is a must have for those who enjoy tiny creepy crawlies.

Even better than expected. I purchased this book on a whim. I'm a bead embroiderer, and I work with natural beetle wings, and even have a few 3-d beetle patterns that I work with, and I feel that the techniques represented in this book will round out my skills nicely. Really looking forward to trying a few.

This book is a must have. There are so many great ideas for stumpwork embroidery in it! Even if you don't like bugs you will be able to apply the concepts in this book to another design. I was also pleasantly surprised with how big the book is, too! It is over 400 pages of instruction and design. I assumed it would be 50 pages at the most. It's really beautifully laid out as well. The author provides many images of her inspiration for each embroidery design and it is really nice to see her design process.

The book is great! I love it! But I give only 3 stars because it is used and that was not mentioned when I purchased it! It is not in 'good as new' situation. It has yellowish pages and some are dirty, and it has Irvine Public Library System stamped... See photo. I am thinking or returning it! :(

This work is up to Jane's standards, which are very high. The only minor quibble is that she says that the examples are not life size, but doesn't give the dimensions of the actual insects for comparison. Otherwise, this is another of her books that offer so much detail that even an intermediate stitcher can learn a great deal.

I'm totally in love with this book. The photos of a completed piece plus instruction on how to do it are wonderful. Even if I didn't want to embroider anything, I would buy this book for an interesting and informative read. Real beetle photographs accompany the needlework illustrations are an additional plus. This book is a lifetime keeper.

I love this book. So well written and organized that a rank beginner can make these beetles.

If I never make even one of the bugs from this book I will still never regret buying it. the photos and instructions are so great. The different bugs are incredibly lifelike and beautiful. Can't wait to try some of them. Fast shipping, thanks.

This book is not what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a collection of embroidery projects (of pictures of beetles) with detailed instructions and step-by-step photos, and it sort of is but also isn't.There is a lot of information on natural history, history and beetles used as decoration in other crafts, which isn't uninteresting exactly, but it's not what I was looking for (see photos for table of contents). There are plenty of embroidery projects too, but you will need experience to complete them. The instructions say to do x, y, z, without explaining how to do x, y or z. There is some information at the back of the book on techniques and a small stitch guide, but there are no detailed instructions, no step-by-step photos and only 2 close-up photos of detail in the whole book. I would say I am intermediate or upper-intermediate and I was able to understand the instructions, but if you are a beginner I think you may struggle.There is a lot of white space in the book, and many of the photos are very small - I need to look at them under a magnifying glass to see them properly (see photo for an example). I think the book would be hugely improved by having much less white space, much bigger photos and close-up photos of details.As a vegan, I was dismayed by the amount of animal products recommended or used in the embroideries. Not just the usual beeswax, silk and leather (which I can find synthetic substitutes for), but a wide range of items including snakeskin, peacock feathers, emu leg skin (!) and a whole chapter on sewing real beetle wings onto embroideries. It left me feeling uneasy and wondering whether it was ethical for me to buy a book written by someone who profits from the exploitation of so many animals. I think I'm going to have to return it.

This is so wonderful I don't know where to begin. It is a BIG book full of fascinating information and ideas. I thought a book just about beetles would be a bit difficult to produce in the Nicholas format. I have her Stumpwork book and this is much more fun. It is also broader in approach: the title says it all. If you like embroidery and are keen to make beautiful things this book has so much in it you could take years to want to do anything else. Make heirlooms in goldwork, make stumpwork beetles for your lapels, embroider them anywhere. IT is worth every penny.

Love this book [like I love most of Jane's books!!] It has some beautiful projects in it, from simple ones to really complex ones. Good instructions, fun projects especially if you're into your beetles. Thanks to the internet, all the supplies are available within the UK now if you want to be rigid and stick to what Jane has used. A must for any stumpworker and/or goldwork embroiderer.

Not very good book , not very good instructions , good illustrations but for embroidery - very difficult to learn from this book

This book has to be one of the best in my whole extensive varied collection.Starting from its arrival in the post, it exceeds all expectations. It was so much larger than I assumed. It is crammed full of colourful, inspirational pictures and step by step instructions. It is an absolute delight just to leaf through the pages. Maybe the projects would be a little challenging for an absolute beginner but is fantastic for anyone who has used a needle before.I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, it is definitely worth it's cover price.