The field guide to embroidery

The field guide to embroidery 52 North American animal & plant designs for nature lovers

Jessica Kemper

Book - 2025

"Connect to the wildlife of seven North American ecosystems by stitching these 52 beautifully accurate designs, from bears to manatees to prairie dogs and more. With this fun collection of projects in field-guide format, stitch your favorite animal, bird, fish, and plant species based on the ecosystems you love or live in. Organized according to seven North American ecosystems--desert, mountain, forest, waterways, prairie, ocean, and urban--the 52 beautifully accurate designs by naturalist Jessica Kemper include popular species (think bears, manatees, and river otters) and some that are less well known or are potentially threatened. Beginner-level patterns coexist with intermediate and advanced patterns to appeal to all embroidery love...rs looking for stunning new designs. Learn the materials, stitches (including the one-of-a-kind 'fur stitch,' which renders mammal fur beautifully!), and techniques to complete an embroidery project from start to finish. The simpler designs require just a few hours. Measuring approximately 3 to 4 inches, the creatures are perfect to adorn any stitchable surface. A denim jacket with a snappy alligator? A cap featuring a herring gull and ocher sea stars? A tote sporting a Gila monster among desert plants? Or perhaps there's a shirt pocket calling for a badger with a red-winged blackbird. These designs bring nature anywhere and allow you to wear your favorite wildlife species sustainably"--Amazon.

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Subjects
Embroidery > Technique.
Embroidery > Patterns.
Animals in art.
Published
Atglen, PA : Schiffer Craft, an imprint of Schiffer Publishing Ltd [2025]
Language
English
Main Author
Jessica Kemper (author)
Physical Description
143 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color map ; 26 cm
ISBN
9780764369162
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • How to Use This Guide
  • Ecosystems Key
  • Section I. Desert
  • Gila Monster: Heloderma suspectum
  • Turkey Vulture: Cathartes aura
  • Desert Plant Trio: (saguaro cactus, Mojave prickly pear cactus, Mojave yucca) Carnegiea gigantea, Opuntia erinacea, Yucca schidigera
  • Black-Tailed Jackrabbit: Lepus californicus
  • Arizona Bark Scorpion: Centruroides sculpturatus
  • Desert Tortoise: Gopherus agassizii
  • Ringtail: Bassariscus astutus
  • Greater Roadrunner: Geococcyx californianus
  • Section 2. Mountain
  • Boreal Toad: Anaxyrus boreas boreas
  • Mountain Goat: Oreamnos americanus
  • American Pika: Ochotona princeps
  • Mountain Lion: Puma concolor
  • Elk: Cervus canadensis
  • Mountain Wildflower Mix: (western coneflower, common yarrow, paintbrush, silvery lupine, showy fleabane) Rudbeckia occidentalis, Achillea millefolium, Castilleja coccinea, Lupinus argenteus, Erigeron speciosus
  • Bighorn Sheep: Ovis canadensis
  • Grizzly Bear: Ursus arctos horribilis
  • Section 3. Waterways
  • Eastern Newt: Notophthalmus viridescens
  • Osprey: Pandion haliaetus
  • Common Loon: Gavia immer
  • American Beaver: Castor canadensis
  • North American River Otter: Lontra canadensis
  • Sockeye Salmon: Oncorhynchus nerka
  • American Alligator: Alligator mississippiensis
  • Section 4. Forest
  • Moose: Alces alces
  • Black Bear: Ursus americanus
  • Gray Wolf: Canis lupus
  • Barred Owl: Strix varia
  • Little Brown Bat: Myotis lucifugus
  • Downy Woodpecker: Picoides pubescens
  • Spruce Twigs: Picea glauca
  • Section 5. Ocean
  • Orca: Orcinus orca
  • Ochre Sea Star: Pisaster ochraceus
  • Florida Manatee: Trichechus manatus latirostris
  • Gray Whale: Eschrichtius robustus
  • Green Sea Turtle: Chelonia mydas
  • Great White Shark: Carcharodon carcharias
  • Tufted Puffin: Fratercula cirrhata
  • Section 6. Prairie
  • American Bison: Bison bison
  • Utah Prairie Dog: Cynomys parvidens
  • Black-Footed Ferret: Mustela nigripes
  • Pronghorn: Antilocapra americana
  • Red-Winged Blackbird: Agelaius phoeniceus
  • American Badger: Taxidea taxus
  • Greater Sage Grouse: Centrocercus urophasianus
  • Prairie Wildflower Mix: (swamp milkweed, prairie goldenrod) with monarch butterfly: Asclepias incarnata, Solidago nemoralis, Danaus plexippus
  • Section 7. Urban
  • Coyote: Canis latrans
  • Common Raccoon: Procyon lotor
  • Common Garter Snake: Thamnophis sirtalis
  • Red Fox: Vulpes vulpes
  • American Herring Gull: Larus smithsonianus
  • Striped Skunk: Mephitis mephitis
  • Red-Tailed Hawk: Buteo jamaicensis
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Kemper debuts with a striking manual on how to embroider the flora and fauna of North America. She recommends embroidering on cotton, denim, or felt because they're easier to penetrate with a needle than leather and other thicker fabrics. To accurately replicate designs, she suggests tracing each project onto translucent stabilizer fabric, placing it over a garment to guide one's stitches, and then tearing the stabilizer away after completion. Kemper also illustrates how to make the backstitches, French knots, "fur stitches" (a mix of straight and seed stitches), lazy daisies, and straight stitches that comprise each design. The projects are organized according to ecosystem. A barred owl, black bear, and moose number among the forest inhabitants, while a saguaro cactus, Arizona bark scorpion, and greater roadrunner populate the desert section. Kemper also includes a healthy sampling of aquatic life, including beavers, gray whales, sockeye salmon, and tufted puffins. The designs are impressively realistic, and the introduction contains plenty of helpful tips. For instance, Kemper recommends tucking thread ends into the backs of other stitches instead of knotting them because the complexity of the designs would require enough knots to make the fabric bulky. This will make a wonderful addition to any seasoned embroiderer's library. (Apr.)

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