Pretty Punch Needle
Modern Projects, Creative Techniques, and Easy Instructions for Getting Started
Andie Solar’s Pretty Punch Needle equips its audience to perform its fun and easy craft by introducing beginning techniques––and thirteen projects that don’t look like the work of beginners.
Solar describes punch needle work in detail, showing how it differs from rug hooking, though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably; she lists the supplies that are necessary for getting started. The outlay for a beginning crafter is small: just fabric, a frame, yarn, and a punch needle. Still, Solar’s guidance makes it easier to know what to buy to make first projects a success.
Numerous clear, large photographs of tools and techniques help readers to get started with this craft with confidence. The projects are arranged by skill level, starting with a simple lemon wall art project and progressing to a multicolored geometric tapestry that uses loops of different lengths. There are also several children’s projects, including a happy-faced flower, a raccoon wall hanging, and a huggable owl plushie, that can be made with or without adult help.
Step-by-step photographs illuminate steps like preparing the canvas, punching orders, and finishing techniques, while the book’s charts show which colors of yarn go where, and in what order to work with them, making it even easier to follow Solar’s process. Most of the projects are small enough that the included templates can be printed out in their actual sizes or traced from the book; enlargement instructions are included for projects that need it.
Solar’s encouraging attitude will inspire crafters to try punch needle and empower them to experiment with their own materials and colors, designing their own projects to suit their décor.
Punch needle is a fast way to craft with yarn, and Pretty Punch Needle makes it simple for new crafters to get started with confidence.
Reviewed by
Sarah White
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
