How to embroider almost every cute thing A sourcebook of 550 motifs + beginner stitch tutorials

This is a useful compendium of small, adorable patterns for embroidery suitable for applications when whimsical accents are desired and for items for children in particular: animals, fairy-tale creatures, accoutrements for sports and hobbies, and so on. For each design, a full-color photo, stitch guide, and full-size template for tracing are included. The abundance of charming designs, sorted by theme, is broad enough to encourage creativity, but limited enough in scope to avoid the idea overload that can happen while searching for designs online. Noting the book's creator, Japanese publisher Nihon Vogue, one might expect kawaii-style designs at the mention of "cute," but the designs here tend toward the more traditional, with a storybook illustration feel. Five alphabet sets are included (two featuring flowers, two food, and one with simple embellishments), as are many border designs. The strength here is in the volume of designs; embroidery instruction is minimal, but is enough to get started with the basic stitches needed to complete any of these patterns.