Can Do Hairdos: A Review

A Peek Inside Can Do Hairdos

Sandy Arthur, who along with Tony Minieri is the busiest professional stitcher I know, has managed to turn out a wonderful new book among all the cyber-classes,  real life teaching and stitch guides and models she creates.  It's called Can Do Hairdos:  Techniques, Threads and Stitches for Hair.  The book became available September 1st and Sandy sent me a copy for review purposes.

It's quite small--about 5 inches wide and a bit over 8 inches tall--so it'll fit in your stitching bag or suitcase nicely.  The booklet is spiral bound with heavier cardboard front and back covers that are covered with a plastic coating for durability.  Seven types of hairdos are covered:  Braids, Buns, Curls, Curly, Straight, Wavy and Whimsical.  Some hair styles have only one recommended stitch, some have many.  There are 33 pages inside, including the cover page which has the index inside it and the back page which includes a little biography of the author on the inside side.

There are usually several examples of each hairdo type covered.  For example, Braids are represented by pigtails or pony tails and the "European Roll, " which is those Princess Leia braids over each ear.  Each stitch has photographs and/or diagrams to illustrate how each is stitched and Sandy recommends the type of thread that works very well for each hair style in most cases.  For example, Curls can be created with perle cottons, Mandarin Floss, or silks.  Sandy shows you how to make Braids with four small photographs and clear instructions.  Dreadlocks are demonstrated with two diagrams and a photograph of a finished set of dreadlocks. Sandy says single stranded threads like Pepperpot Silk work nicely for those, by the way.  She also tells you where to start stitching each type of hair.  That's always a puzzle for me.  Very often I try starting at the nape of the neck or the part, only to have to rip out and try again because I can tell it's not working to start there.

Is this book for everyone?  Well, no.  Obviously if you don't like stitching people or you specialize in counted canvaswork, you don't need a book like this, but if you stitch many Santas or Princesses or Old Ladies or Geishas--I do and have stitched a lot of people over the years--you'll want this book.  I'm not an amateur at creating hair, but Sandy still managed to come up with seventeen different ways of creating hair that I've never considered or even seen stitched elsewhere.  Having this book is going to allow me to up my game with more styles and techniques than I ever dreamed of!  I really hated for the book to end when I read through it cover-to-cover.

This little book is jam-packed with interesting ideas.  The diagrams are clear and the little photos inspirational.  If you are tempted, you can pick up a copy by ordering from Sandy's Duo Designs website.
http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/can-do-hairdos-by-sandy-arthur

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 9, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.