Vintage Embroidery Book Collection – A Peek At My Reference Library
I can never turn down an embroidery book at the thrift or antique store. There are just so many good ones. One of my favorite things to do is to meander through a shop, searching for hidden gems. I have found most of these while I am out and about; then there are a few others that I have been generously gifted.
So, I thought it would be fun to catalogue all of the vintage embroidery books I own in my reference library and share them with you all on the blog so you can be on the lookout for some of them.
I would say about half of the books I own I use as reference and the other half are project based books that provide me with lots of inspiration. So let’s get into the books!
McCall’s Embroidery Book (1976)
This book is extremely colorful, which I would expect from a snazzy book from the 1970s.
The book contains lots of projects that appear to me to be rather timeless. If I had enough hours in the day I would make them all!
I think the embroidered picture frames are just phenomenal. I’ve made an embroidered polaroid frame, but this has inspired me to try to make some picture frame mats.
Creative Needlework (1974)
This is another project based book that has so many fun and unique designs in it. There is cross stitch, knitting, needlepoint, applique, and more.
I love all of the color in this book. There’s lots of interesting nature-inspired designs to choose from.
It also has some needlepoint projects. This rose pillow is something I would love to make for my living room couch.
Good Housekeeping New Complete Book Of Needlecraft (1959)
This book is one of my favorites. Sadly it started falling apart so I decided to re-bind it and I embroidered a book cover for it. But here it is in all it’s gold-embossed glory before I did that.
It is full of literally everything: quilting, crochet, knitting, drawn thread work, macrame, sewing techniques, even hand weaving, which looks really interesting. I particularly like the drawn thread instructions that are in this book.
McCall’s Needlework & Crafts (1964)
This is basically a hard cover magazine that my friend Andrea gifted to me. It has lots of cool vintage ads in it as well as a wide variety of needlework projects.
Erica Wilson’s Embroidery Book (1973)
I stumbled upon Erica Wilson’s work after I was given this book by a fellow embroiderer. (thanks Deb!) Deb also informed me that Erica Wilson had a needlework show; I’ve been meaning to check it out. You can watch it on YouTube.
This book has quickly become one of my favorites. There is so much detail and thought put into every page. It’s got a large variety of stitches with a ton of variations, making it a great reference book.
Crewel Embroidery By Erica Wilson (1962)
Another Erica Wilson book that has so much good stitch and technique reference in it. Everything is drawn or diagramed, but the instructions are very clear and helpful. There’s also a good amount of history about crewel embroidery at the beginning of the book.
Reader’s Digest Complete Guide To Needlework (1979)
I found this copy of The Complete Guide To Needlework years ago at a thrift store. There are a large variety of needlecraft techniques in this book and only a small portion of it features embroidery, but there are some really interesting types such as Huck embroidery and some drawn thread techniques.
Crewel Embroidery With Thread And Texture Variations By Audrey A. Francini (1979)
This is another fun crewel embroidery book. What I really like about this one are the many embroidery designs.
Better Homes and Gardens Treasury Of Needlecrafts (1982)
Another wonderful project based book from the 80s. This has lots of folky designs in it. Again, this book holds up really well and I don’t think the designs would look dated if you decided to make some!
I hope this provided some inspiration and amusement for you! I’ll try and keep this page updated as I acquire more books.
I will mention that you could probably find most of these on eBay or used on Amazon if any of these sparked your interest. Another free option is to check archive.org. I have found a large amount of interesting old books on there. (They have some that are way older than the ones featured in this post.) I made a long list of the ones I have found useful on my Patreon.
That’s it for now, but I’m always on the lookout for new finds. If you have a favorite that isn’t included here, please leave a comment. Happy stitching!
Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.
