NEEDLEPOINT: Design Your Own

A serviceable guide, full of helpful cautions about waterproof ink and tacks that rust, but rather disappointing in the designs it uses as examples. The authors, enthusiastic about their shared craft, also operate retail businesses, so their knowledge of such matters as transferring designs to canvas, choosing color combinations, and finishing off work is based on practical experience. They provide samples of ineffective and improved designs and don't limit themselves to flat or unimaginative symmetrical ones, although they warn that asymmetrical balance is harder to achieve. They also include directions for nearly 40 stitches recommended in the patterns reproduced. For a discussion of color and texture, however, Howard's Embroidery and Colour (1976) is more dynamic, and for fine artistry, all of Maggie Lane's books are more striking.