Flowers are the universally popular motif for embroidery, whether for small decorative embellishments for personal use on clothes and household linen or for large embroidered flower pictures. The source of this inspiration is open to any embroiderer who can observe the flowers in their natural state in the garden or on a country walk. In this wonderful reference book, Janet Haigh provides inspirational designs and techniques for a wide range of popular flowers, in crewel work, applique and counted thread work. Each flower is depicted in the manner that most suits its natural form and shape, and occasionally in more than one technique. Copyable motifs and comprehensive how-to-work instructions are given for each flower depicted, so it's easy to recreate exactly what you see or reinterpret it in different colours, and on a larger or smaller scale. In addition to an exquisite gallery of designs for flowers, Janet provides easy-to-follow instructions for a range of simple embroidery techniques, both hand and machine, from the first principles of transferring the design onto the embroidery ground to working with ribbons, beads, applique, raised work and counted threads. A comprehensive, step-by-step stitch glossary provides the detailed information for each embroidery stitch used in the book.