Mystical Stitches by Christi Johnson

Embroidery is one of the most accessible crafts out there. Floss, needles, and embroidery hoops are cheap; you can use any fabric you like; and it's a great form of art for all ages and genders. So of course, when I saw this book in the store about embroidery for magical intent, I had to buy it. But is it good?

(The inside front cover is the "wrong side" of the embroidery from the front cover. I love that!)

The Embroidery Techniques

In order to be a good embroidery book for beginners, you need to talk about how to make each stitch type, how to choose a color pallette, and what to embroider on. Johnson does an excellent job at this, using clear, beginner-friendly explanations. She even gives tips for sewing onto already-finished clothes, which most embroidery books don't. My only disappointment with this aspect of the book at all, is that she tends to focus on using all 6 strands of floss at once. I'm a big fan of detail work, so I prefer to use different numbers of strands for different levels of detail. But Johnson also embroiders larger patterns than I tend to, so using all 6 strands makes sense.

The Magical Aspects

Here, again, Johnson hits it out of the park. She devotes over 100 pages to symbols and their meanings. There's even a section on making example talismans to wear, like this cool ourobouros shirt pattern.

The author wearing a black shirt with a picture of the ourobouros, a snake eating its own tail, embroidered onto it.

Every page in the Symbols section has beautiful photos of actual embroidered examples, which can serve as great inspiration for people who need a bit of help unlocking their creativity. It was too hard for me to choose a page to show here. I would photograph all of them, but then I'd basically be pirating the whole book. Please don't do that.

The suggestions and projects all have excellent directions, and are geared towards making your talismans into something you actually wear--as a small pendant, a patch to sew onto your jeans, or an eye-catching occult symbol on your jacket. This makes it great for jazzing up your wardrobe in a subtly (or not) Pagan way.

Overall

I give this book a 10/10. If you are interested in the occult, embroidery, or both, this book is absolutely worth the $25US price.