Product Description

A collection of over 40 cross stitch designs inspired by William Morris, the famous 19th century decorative artist, whose designs are as popular today as they were during his lifetime more than a century ago.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65444 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

Pallid Reflection of Morris
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...

A brilliant interpretation of William Morris's Work
Barbara Hammet has created a wonderful tribute to William Morris in this work. For those unfamiliar with William Morris, she provides a work biography of the master artist. Though short, she gives examples of his work, and explanation of his background. Once this is explained, she launches into the rest of the book, where she offers more than 40 charts that are Hammet's interpretations of Morris' style. Pillows, bell pulls, small motifs, wall hangings, broaches, bookmarks, and even a full alphabet are some of the items she offers. She even gives the design and instructions for a 3-D treasure box! There are small motifs in a few colors, or larger items in less than 4 colors which would be very well suited to the beginning stitcher and many things that are large and complex for the experienced stitcher.

Another reviewer said these are poor examples of William Morris's work. I must disagree. These items are beautiful, and they are Barbara Hammet's art she BASED on William Morris. Still, any of these finished works would be the perfect compliment to Morris's art.

Because of the wide variety of skill levels and project scales I would highly recommend this book to any level of cross stitcher. Even those needle artists not interested in Morris might find a few projects they find enjoyable in this diverse volume. Hammet does offer instructions for finishing the projects and a few basic cross stitch instructions, but I would recommend purchasing the Cross Stitcher's Bible in addition if you have NEVER cross stitched before, as you will probably need more instruction than is provided here.

Highest recommendations!

Excellent, patterns simple to follow.
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.