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August 15, 2010

Patterns: Made in France

Made in France shoes

This week's pattern review is of a book; Made in France by Agnes Delage-Calvet, Anne Sohier-Fournel, Muriel Brunet and Francoise Ritz.

Made in France: Cross-Stitch and Embroidery in Red, White and Blue is a treasure trove of small embroidery and cross stitch motifs in red, white and blue. It is beautifully photographed with lots of ideas on how to use the motifs but other than a brief how-to at the beginning of the book, it assumes that you have the knowledge to get the motifs on there yourself, although as most of the projects are simple it should be fairly easy to work out yourself. The book really demonstrates the beauty of stitching with just one colour.

The book is divided into three sections, each devoted to a single colour. There are lots of cute patterns for embellishing clothing and home accessories, with quite a few patterns perfect for decorating items for children or, thinking ahead, creating Christmas decorations.

My favourite patterns are the little birds that can be found in the blue section, there is a whole flock of them but I had to narrow them down to do the shoe project featured within the book. Although I have already found I'm beginning to embroider little birds everywhere, so these guys will feature on more than just my shoes!

10 comments:

  1. I've got this book and continue to dip into it for inspiration. It's so beautifully photographed and it's hard to know what project to tackle next. They're all so gorgeous.

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  2. I have been savouring this book for the past year, looking forward to having the time to try it out. I agree, those birds are very cute. I have been hunting for a white summer dress to try out no 13 for my daughter. It is beautifully photographed.

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  3. such a pretty blog - i adore the header...i would like one like that for mine!

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  4. Darling tennis shoes.
    Such a sweet blog!

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  5. Thank you for the blog compliments Casa e Cose and John'aLee :)

    Jane - that dress project would look so cute!

    Running Thread - I can't wait till Christmas to try out their Christmas projects next!

    I notice that they have Made in France: Blackwork and a Made in France: Linen and Thread books to (as well as a Made in France: Knitting book to for the knitters out there), sigh so many craft books so little time!

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  6. Here are some more lust-afters:
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7930818-vert
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5224580-anges
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7881968-scandinavian-needlecraft

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  7. These are so cute! Embroidery on shoes is adorable ;)
    This makes me want to embroider on my keds!!!!

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  8. This series of books are the English translations of the French "made in marabout" series. I have a couple of the French ones and love them, I am looking forward to the blackwork book!

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  9. how sweet are those birds! I really need to check out this book. Thanks for the tip!

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  10. Best book ever! I constantly go to it for quick designs.

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