Japanese Paper Embroidery

Embroidery on paper is a traditional and well-loved craft, here artfully translated into beautiful and understated Japanese designs by Atsumi, Minako Chiba and Mari Kamio. These three talented Japanese crafters have created a range of delightful paper projects that are modern, stylish and fun to make. Each project is accompanied by a full-size template and notes on how to embroider the design, and there are clear and detailed instructions on the materials and tools you require; the essential technique of embroidering on paper; and eleven basic embroidery stitches that can be used individually or in combination to create all of the exquisite designs in the book. Choose from a range of ideas that includes drawing, writing and more creative projects, including paper clocks, notebooks, envelopes, decorations, book marks and cards for all occasions. Suitable for those new to paper embroidery as well as more experienced crafters, this book will excite and inspire anyone with a love of Japanese style and clean, simple design.

This book is packed full of simple beautiful designs. It's amazing what can be done with thread and paper. The book is packed full of designs that can be used throughout the year. Not only are there are designs for cards there are also designs for gifts and wrapping. The book also provides you with what you need to know to design your own projects. The book makes it so simple to make the projects and create something magnificent. It truly is special what can be created. If you've never embroidered then I would highly recommend this book. If you do embroider then this is a different way you can use it to make new and interesting projects. The book is split into 5 sections; Drawing with Paper Embroidery, Writing with Paper Embroidery, Creating with Paper Embroidery, The Foundations of Paper Embroidery & Templates. The first section covers everything from Birthday and Christmas cards to Notebooks. The 2nd section has everything from a paper clock to a welcome sign. The 3rd section has everything from gift boxes to bookmarks. The 4th section shows and talks you through everything from what tools you will need to teaching you each of the stitches. The 5th section is packed full of all the templates you need to create the amazing projects. I would highly recommend this book! It's a perfect addition to any crafters collection., This is a beautiful book. The illustrations and clear and have a simplicity to them that takes a small stitched piece of paper to another level. The projects are mainly cards but that does not do the exquisite attention to detail justice. Many embroiderers are familiar with Japanese papers and combined with stitch produce a quality all of their own. The ideas in this book could be adapted for mix media Artists, sketchbooks etc. Each project is accompanied by detailed templates and there is a chapter on how to stitch your own designs. A delight to read., Surface embroidery is most commonly used as an embellishment for cloth, but there are numerous traditions, both European and Asian, for embroidering on paper. The interplay of textures is fascinating, and paper embroidery allows crafters to embellish everyday objects such as file folders and notebooks, as well as special-occasion items including cards and ornaments. Japan-based artists Atsumi, Minako Chiba, and Mari Kamio present a variety of small projects showcasing the use of embroidery on an array of paper goods. As is typical with Japanese crafting books, the focus is more on the gallery of finished items than on the educational aspect of the book, and aside from a brief overview of supplies for paper embroidery and basic embroidery stitches, there isn’t much direction provided. The traceable templates for the projects include stitch guides, allowing crafters to duplicate the authors’ work; however, novice embroiderers may find themselves wishing they had more information about how to prepare the paper and form the stitches. VERDICT Stitching on paper is an easy way to get started with embroidery, and stitched embellishments are increasingly common in many kinds of paper crafts, including scrapbooking. But unless crafters are specifically interested in one of the projects in this collection, they’d be better served with an embroidery stitch reference, such as Search Press’s A–Z of Embroidery Stitches., There's a long tradition of both paper craft and embroidery in Japan, and this delightful book cleverly brings these two together. There are interviews wirh each designer and photographs showcasing inspiring ideas for more than 20 projects - you won't be able to wait to get started! The back of the book features basic stitches for paper and also all the templates required. We think the concept of adding stitching as an embellishment to paper craft projects is a real winner., As a follow-on to the colouring-books-for-grown-ups trend, can sewing cards be far behind? They’re here – in the guise of this delightful new book, Japanese Paper Embroidery! The three authors are design professionals from Japan, where both papercraft and embroidery have long traditions. Endearingly, the book begins with a haiku about paper embroidery, to set the tone of creative enthusiasm and appreciation. The book contains 20 projects, appealing and imaginative designs that are not labour-intensive – the concept being to add a touch of handmade charm to everyday items. In addition to the expected cards, many of the projects are 3-D (beyond the dimesionality of the stitching itself). There are ideas for packaging food gifts, an entire paper embroidery party set (love the animal cup holders), and even a clock face. You will find stitched booklet spines – made of elegant, yet simple stitch patterns. There’s an entire embroidered alphabet for monogramming purposes – cue the typography trend. (In case you were wondering, although this book was first published in Japan, all of the embroidered text is in English). Another fantastic idea is to revive 1950s-style embroidered postcards (you know – kitsch holiday cards with Spanish dancers, etc.)... adding stitched highlights to photos or printed designs. The book contains Q & A interviews with the authors, finding out what drew them to embroidery on paper, and discussing fine points of the creative process. The instructional parts of the book are well done with photographic step-by-steps. You are taught how to transfer designs, then pierce the stitching holes. There is a section entitled “All About Embroidery Thread”, which shows how to choose, use, and store it. There is also a spread illustrating the “Basic Stitches for Paper Embroidery” and suggestions on how to combine stitches to build designs – such as the very fashionable mandala-style design on the book’s front cover. Back-of-book is a template section (not all full-size). The templates are helpfully annotated with how many strands of thread to use for the design lines, and with making-up tips. Although the actual process of transferring a design and then piercing stitching holes is fiddly, the paper embroidery is used sparingly so that the amount of work per design is reasonable. The concept of adding stitchery as a dimensional embellishment to papercraft projects is a winner. For papercrafters this book offers a pleasant introduction to a new way to add to your decorative skillset.

a t s u m iAfter graduating from Tama Art University, a t s u m i worked with apparel and at the university while establishing herself as an embroidery artist. In 2009, she launched her own brand ‘Itos’.http://www.itosigoto.com/ Minaka ChibaMinako is an embroidery artist whose work is prominent within the Japanese ‘zakka’ scene. She teaches on the subjects and collaborates with various corporations and advertisers in Japan.http://kuroyagishiroyagi.com/ Mari KamioMari is a costume designer and her textile creations feature in exhibitions and in print publications throughout Japan.http://kamiomari.com/