In these posts I want to share some of my favorite pieces, which will include wall hangings, small works, pillows, purses, and just because pieces. February is National Embroidery Month, and I would like to share the pieces from some of my books, enjoy!
Week 4 of National Embroidery Month
For the Love of Embroidery! I love to embroider, which is no secret to all of you that follow this blog, or have taken a class from me, or even purchased one of my books. Thank you for that by the way, and thank you for your trust in letting me teach you, and thank you for letting me share this passion with you.




The Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, can be purchased from C&T Publishing, here is an index of the chapters and stitches.
This book was surely a labor of love to create, develop, and to write; and I had some amazing editors that helped me along the way to bring this vision to you.
To start with, there are over 500+ stitches listed in the book with images of the embroidered stitch and detailed how-to illustrations. I believe that there are almost 800 examples, if you count the illustrated variations of the stitches.
Certainly, this book should light the creative spark for any embroiderer, and did I mention there are both right- and left-hand directions!



There have been many embroiderer’s who have influenced my journey, one of them was Erica Wilson, her work was so diverse. I also researched many, many, many other books to find the variety of stitches that I wanted to include in this book. I even created a few new stitches that I thought would fit in with the my vision for the book.



When I teach a class on embroidery, I try to explain how the stitch is formed, and explain how stitches can be altered, to create a different stitch. In this book I grouped stitches by stitch families, starting with the individual stitch, that can then be used to create a continuous stitch. These are:
- Straight Stitches
- Outline Stitches
- Knotted, Woven, and Whipped Stitches
- Lazy Daisy Stitches
- Chain Stitches
- Barb Stitches (new stitch family)
- Blanket and Buttonhole Stitches
- Fly Stitches
- Feather Stitches
- Fleet Stitches (new stitch family)
- Cretan Stitches
- Cross Stitches
- Herringbone Stitches
- Capped Stitches (new stitch family)
- Chevron Stitches
- Embellishment Stitches



It is my goal as an author/artist/teacher to give you the reader/stitcher/student the confidence to learn and grow and become more familiar with the stitches. I feel a big part of one’s growth is to practice, I suggest working out the stitches for each stitch family, on a 6″ x 6″ (15.3cm) square of fabric. Once you have completed each square, you can stitch these into a Sampler Roll of Stitches as a reference guide and a keepsake.
You can see all of the books and products that I have created here. I wish you all the happiness and hope that you enjoy creating with this beautiful craft and art form.
Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen