Review: Subversive Cross Stitch by Julie Jackson

Subversive Cross Stitch by Julie Jackson
96 pages, 33 projects
$14.99 list price, <$0.50 per project
5 out of 5 stars (Grab your thread and get to stitching!)

To kick off the Reviews section of the blog, I could think of no better book than Subversive Cross Stitch by Julie Jackson. As Julie says on the cover, these designs are definitely for “your surly side”, which suits me just fine! David happened to be with me when I picked this up from Borders last month, and every time I showed him a new page of the book, he asked when I had written it, and why I wasn’t sharing my residuals with him.

The book begins with a short section of cross-stitch how-tos – these are not only clear and direct, but also set the tone for the project section of the book perfectly. (I’m always a bit partial to instructions that tell me “Don’t freak out” 🙂 )

The 33 projects that make up the majority of the book are what you would expect if you’ve ever toured the Subversive Cross Stitch website – fabulously snarky phrases surrounded by traditional, sampler motifs. My favorite thing about Julie’s design style is it’s flexibility. While each project is charted for Aida cloth and DMC cotton floss, converting it to your own fabric and thread is a snap! I’ve already started a project of my own from the book, converted to 30 count linen and my handspun thread:

Julie even helps with conversions by providing an alphabet chart in the back of the book (including the all-important @ # $ % & +=!! ? symbols if you need to make the more sailor-worthy statements office-friendly). I think “Cross Bitch” is going to end up with a “Fiber Whore” companion piece at some point in the future.

Overall, I think this is a fabulous addition to any craft book shelf – the projects are well charted, easy to follow, and fun to stitch. Each project takes between 2 and 8 colors, and can easily be converted to the (handspun) thread of your choice.

Have you stitched any projects from Subversive Cross Stitch? What do you think of the book? Let us know in the comment section!