I have always been interested in "slow sewing" and menswear is especially fascinating to me. Already owning several books on the subject of the history of male attire, I was surprised to find that until fairly recently (probably late 19th or early 20th century) the man's dress shirt - which was always white - until even MY childhood) was considered part of the man's UNDERCLOTHING! No wonder I have always thought an immaculate white dress shirt on a man makes him look so sexy ! If it also smells like starch, I am ready to swoon !!! I have enjoyed sewing custom vests, for symphony musicians to wear with "tails" and enjoy sewing all manner of "classy" mens wear. My son will marry in May of this year and I would love to think I could talk him into wearing something I learned how to make from this book. He and his beautiful bride-to-be have their own ideas though; who knows? I would love to have the book and at least try.

In that last submission, I meant "wind the THREADS", not "wind the treads". Thanks"

That is a beautiful piece of embroidery. Thank you for letting us view it. It is similar to a handkerchief in my collection done in a very pale pink thread on a white background. I enjoy surface embroidery of all kinds and especially French knots and bullion stitches but I found them frustrating until I read somewhere that the choice of needle was extremely important. I have found this to be true by personal experience. The best needle is one (such as a "milliner's" or "straw" needle) that has a consistent circumference throughout its entire length. Although unnoticeable in ordinary use, most needles used in handsewing are not made in this way and either gradually get larger as the eye is approached or suddenly expand for the eye. Either way, this change in needle circumference means that as one tries to slip the wrapped threads off the needle, they are suddenly too tight to slide easily over the end of the needle. The alternative when using the "wrong" needle is to wind the treads too loosely in order for it to slip over the large end of the needle and this creates a sloppy knot on the surface of the fabric. If you are going to bother to take the time to make the hand embroidery, do yourself a favor and buy the right needle so that your effort will be efficient, pleasant, and result in a thing of beauty instead of disappointing sloppiness. Thanks for listening.