I absolutely love the motifs in Embroidered Kitchen Garden by Kazuko Aoki. There are vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, animals, and garden tools to embroider, either single or in combination. The edible flowers are so cute, and the delicate sprouts look amazing. There are even birds, butterflies, and spiders to incorporate into a garden scene. The instructions are easy to follow in combination with the beautiful photo illustrations.

I was able to read for this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Five out of five stars, this book is absolutely precious even for a beginner like me. I can't wait to own it in my collection- a must for anyone looking to create their own custom kitchen towels and napkins!

A delightful book. Lovely to look at and with some beautiful designs. Probably not for beginners, as some of the designs are quite complex.

This is a charming little book and the designs would be great for decorating tea towels and other kitchen linens. The designs look doable for someone with intermediate embroidery skills.

I am a total beginner to the world of embroidery. I was initially attracted to the vegetable motifs, but was a bit apprehensive that the book might be too advanced for me. I was needlessly worried. This book lists everything in a neat and beginner friendly manner. I found the motifs arty yet easy enough for me to do with a good outcome. Enjoyable!

A beautiful collection of botanical embroidery designs in a delightful Japanese style.
I was inspired to decorate linens for my kitchen, napkins and I would like to go on to a tablecloth when I feel more confident!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Embroidered Kitchen Garden is a book with beautiful illustrations by the very talented author, Kazuko Aoki. The brief introduction explains her inspiration for this intricate showcase of her embroidery. Included are fruit, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and kitchen garden visitors. The remainder of the book gives instructions on equipment and different stitches. I struggled to understand the embroidery instructions so I will assume it is for someone who already has a degree of expertise. The Kitchen garden facts and the conclusion seemed surplus to requirements but I loved the illustrations. Thank you to Kazuko Aoki, Net Galley and the publisher Zakka Workshop for an ARC.

Another gorgeous book from Kazuko Aoki! This collection of embroidery motifs with a kitchen garden theme will delight stitchers looking for horticultural motifs to add to projects. While there is a stitch guide and lists of materials, tools, and embroidery tips in the back of the book, this is not an instructional book, but rather a library of motifs, so keep that in mind when considering this book. The designs are lovely, and there are notes on the vegetables and flowers throughout the book. Very inspirational!

While it is probably a bit hard for beginning embroiderers, this book has lovely embroidery of fruit, vegetables, and even garden animals. You could follow the instructions exactly, or use the photos of the embroidery as inspiration for your own creations.

Embroidered Kitchen Garden by Kazuko Aoki is a collection of beautifully stitched kitchen samplers followed by the patterns to recreate them.

The first half of the book is composed of the samplers and feels like a showcase. If you were to flick through the book on a shelf, it would be easy to assume that this is just a coffee table book. However, once you reach the mid-point you encounter some brief instructions before being provided spread after spread of line art to recreate the gallery that you’ve just consumed.

The instructions were disappointing, and they seem to insinuate that there is a correct way to embroider these pieces and that it is to recreate Aoki’s work. For example, Aoki states that 100% linen backed with medium weight fusible interfacing is her choice material. She offers no suggestions for adapting to different materials which seems nonsensical in a piece which celebrates loving that which nature has produced. Surely, readers could have been encouraged to reuse fabrics and thrift materials.

The stitch guide which follows is poorly constructed, and the visuals are tricky to follow. I’m just out of the beginner stage and had to look up tutorials to understand how several of the stitches were created. If I had paid the full price for the guide I would feel frustrated at having to invest elsewhere for the necessary information to complete the pieces. I do appreciate that the aesthetic construct of the guide is important, but this is ultimately a tutorial. You should be able to follow it with ease.

The patterns are simple line drawings with lines stemming from them which list the colour code for the thread and the stitch type. Personally, I struggle to follow patterns in this style unless the final product is visible on the spread.

In consequence, I would only recommend this piece to confident stitchers, or to those seeking to use this as an inspirational piece which they will then reinterpret in their own embroidery style.

I got a copy of the ebook version of this from Netgalley, and quite honestly, even the ebook version is deliciouhe first half of the book has both images and text about certain food stuffs.

The second half has descriptions of how to stitch the images from the first half.  To be fair, this is the point where I would want the physical book in front of me. Not only to be able to switch easily between the instructions and the image, but the instructions do rely on you having a  certain level of stitching knowledge (this is not for the beginner!).

I will be on the lookout for the physical version of this book, to add to my collection!

This book is such a strange but lovely amalgamation of embroidery and gardening (for the kitchen, no less). I'm not quite sure of its practical application. It's for embroiderers, surely, but is it also for amateur gardeners? One thing I know is that the embroidered illustrations are quite beautiful and tru to their botanical counterparts.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely collection of embroidered garden edibles. I see so many different uses for these little stitched delights. I thought the book was well organized and the instructions were easy to follow.

My thanks to Zakka Workshop and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is a very beautiful and realistic guide to surface embroidery focusing on colorful vegetables and herbs. It also has a few fun insects and garden creatures. The picture are amazing and roughly the first half of the book is dedicated to pictures of the designs. The instructions are very clear I believe even for a beginner. However, I would rate this book for the more advanced embroiderer as the designs are not simple but they are well diagramed so with enough patients if you are new to the art you could possibly achieve similar results. I found this book to be very beautiful and inspiring and I plan to buy several copies as gifts for friends. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Every artist picked their medium because that was the best way to express what they saw or felt. Kazuko Aoki too shares the moment she decided to do the embroidered kitchen garden. There's a picture of beautiful, fresh vegetables in a basket. Its the mix of those colors that she wanted to get right, which she felt at that moment, that it was better done with thread.

Couching Stitch for curves. Split stitch. Satin stitch.

There's a good detail and template for the kind of stitches needed and the scale and trace for some of the vegetables to embroider.

In the process, you will learn about some new vegetables. An upgrade to your garden might be in the offing.

A time to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature's delights.

An interesting embroidery book which takes its theme from a kitchen garden. There are a lot of vegetables, plus a little fruit and some 'garden visitors', birds etc.

Rather than a how to, the book reminds me of a brochure accompanying an artist's exhibition. The book includes an explanation of the author's inspiration, details about the vegetables themselves, full name etc. In the first half of the book there are photos of the finished embroidered vegetables etc. The second half of the book has an outline of the threads and stitches used for each one, rather than step by step instructions on how to embroider each one for yourself.

An interesting book, as far as it goes.

Beautifully embroidered kitchen garden designs by Kazuko Atkins. From a market tote to samplers. Tomatoes, figs, Brussels sprouts. Advice and tips, a beautiful book.

This book is beautifully designed. I just love that the book has a theme and story behind each design. The instructions have been written well and are easy to follow.

This collection of embroidery designs is very realistic, rather than cutesy. The finished products are very beautiful, and they have been photographed well. The instructions are pretty minimal, and there aren't a lot of ideas for how to use the designs (e.g. on tablecloths or framed art), so it's perhaps not the best beginner's book. It is a lovely book to page through, and even get some gardening ideas--the back features an index of the plant varieties with their official names, in case you want to track them down!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC.

The embroidery in the book is lovely and the idea of embroidering your kitchen garden is charming. Unfortunately when it came to instructions something was wrong with the galley proofs and there were a bunch of numbers all over the pages which didn’t make sense. Suggestions for projects (kitchen towels, pot holders, napkins, trivets, and pictures) would be helpful.