Exotic Textiles in Needlepoint: Designs from Around the World

As another reviewer has said, the patterns included in this book are only superficially related to the cultures they are purported to represent, and almost all the charts useless because very small. The projects themselves are almost all very small, too.

I haven't done any needlepoint for a couple of decades. Mostly because flowers and cute kittens were pretty much it were I lived and it was pre-internet days. This book has some gloriously different patterns and I want to make well over half of them. Highly recommended.

As much as I wanted to like this book, I found myself disappointed, for several reasons. First, the majority of the designs presented are for cushions (or pincushions), with no adaptations given for other projects. Second, the choices of design and color seemed uninspired. And third, and most importantly from a crafter's point of view, the charts in this book were not good. Although they are done in color, there are no symbols with the colors, and the charts are so small that any of the larger projects (in other words 90% of the projects in the book) would need to be photocopied and enlarged significantly to be usable.I feel that the major problem with this book, from an artistic standpoint, is that Ms. Knight attempted to cover far too many "exotic" textiles in one, rather short, book. She covers five major world regions - Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America - and has 4 to 5 designs for each of these regions. The problem here is that there is no continuity, no cohesion, and no theme with this book. For example, the patterns for Africa are: an African elephant cushion, 3 Ghanaian pincushions, a Swaziland round cushion, and "Two Birds Spectacles Case" which doesn't even attempt to make a connection to any particular African culture. How do you even attempt to condense the diversity of African artwork from so many countries into 5 designs?The disconnect is only amplified for other regions - North and South America contains patterns for: Native American Spectacle Case (a stylized bird, no tribal affiliation given), Inuit Needlecase (a black and white snowflake design), Mexican cushion, Aztec Cushion, Peruvian pincushion, and Guatemalan napkin rings - all of the previous are abstract designs that are done in colors "typical" to these cultures, but none are particularly representative of any culture. The European section is a couple of William Morris knock-off pillows, combined with one Yugoslavian folk design glasses case. Asia spans a Yin-Yang pincushion to an Indian paisley design for a cushion, and a Chinese dragon purse. In other words, there is no depth to this book whatsoever.If you are looking for a book that has a thorough treatment of exotic textiles, you would be far better off searching for one specific to the region you were interested in. There may very well be great books out there that give you an overview of the textiles of several different cultures, but this book is not what you are looking for. I have very few books in my library that I would never use, and this is one that is toeing that line for me.My overall recommendation for this book, if you are truly interested in exotic textiles, spend a little more time searching for other books more specific to the culture you are interested in. If you are just looking for a broad overview of different cultural textiles, this isn't exactly a supurb representation, but there are some decent designs. Be prepared to do some work with the charts to make them workable, though - i.e. photocopying and enlarging at the least. I would not recommend this book to a beginner, and only conditionally to someone fairly experienced in needlepoint. If you are looking for true, culturally relevant patterns for ethnic textiles, look elsewhere. This book is far too shallowly focused to satisfy your needs.

Like many other stitchers, I love textiles of all kinds. I buy vintage embroidery at thrift shops, my floors are covered with oriental rugs, and I have a huge stash of fabric in the garage which I never use. Knight has taken her inspiration from all over the world to create this delightful book of needlepoint projects.The book is divided into broad geographical sections: Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Most sections have five projects in them, ranging from small (an Islamic Bookmark) to large (many pillows). There are unusual projects, such as a draught excluder, a pencil case and several bags. The book concentrates on wonderful projects and presents them well.Each geographic section begins with a two page introduction discussing artistic influences and fiber art in the continent. Each project has a full picture and several close-ups of portions of the stitching. The material list includes finishing materials and each project includes instructions about how to finish the design. A short introduction about each project is also included.This book has done an outstanding job of surveying a large subject, exotic textiles, and finding a selection of adaptations which will suit all tastes in needlepoint, from traditional to contemporary