Stumpwork Demystified
A Book Review of Megan Zaniewski's "Stumpwork Studio"
Welcome to Megan Zaniewski’s Virtual Book Tour! Read until the end for a chance to win your very own digital copy of her new book, Stumpwork Studio.
Many of us spend a lot of time grumbling about “the algorithms” that dictate most of our social media consumption, but every once in awhile the mysterious algorithm works in your favor and brings something truly delightful into your world. That happened to me many years ago when Instagram showed me one of @megembroiders posts and I became an instant follower. Megan has been one of my favorite embroidery artists for a long time, so I was honored to have the opportunity to participate in the virtual book tour for her newest book, Stumpwork Studio: Mastering 3-D Embroidery.
If you are not yet familiar with Meg’s work, pause a moment and head over to her Instagram feed to take a quick look at the incredible works of art she creates with needle and thread. One of my favorite things about following someone for a long time is that you get to see their style evolve over the years. The first thing that caught my attention all those years ago was how Meg used bold colors for her background fabrics and her incredible thread painting skills.
It has been so inspiring to watch Meg’s style and skills evolve over the years and to see her designs, quite literally, jump off the hoop as she began to delve into the three dimensional world of stumpwork.
Her nature inspired designs were already so realistic, but the addition of stumpwork techniques took them to a whole other level whimsical realism. In the introduction to Stumpwork Studio, Meg writes:
Stumpwork is a term that refers broadly to all three-dimensional embroidery techniques … The three-dimensional effect can be subtle or dramatic depending on your design and preferences. Subjects can rise up from the fabric base or even stand independent of a base altogether. Stumpwork is highly adaptable and well suited to any design style or subject. (page 8)
In her first book, Stumpwork Embroidery & Thread Painting, Meg guides the reader through an introduction to thread painting and stumpwork techniques with clear written instructions and excellent step-by-step photos for each project in the book. She brings the same easy to understand teaching style to her newest book, Stumpwork Studio, as she guides you through 15 realistic nature-inspired projects to stitch.
In the first chapter titled “Materials”, Meg breaks down all the tools you need to dive into the world of stumpwork. From helping you select the perfect fabrics for your project to explaining why you might want to use different kinds of needles for different aspects of each design, Meg breaks down a technique that can seem somewhat intimidating to stitchers that have never tried stumpwork before into easy to understand and accessible steps.
Two of my favorite projects in this book are right on the cover - the Io Moth and the Amanita Mushroom. (Although the River Otter on page 72 and Hedgehog in Blueberry Wreath on page 84 are pretty amazing too. The hedgehog reminds me so much of my sweet Maki.)
Another chapter that I really appreciated in this book was the one that focuses on how to display your finished work. Oftentimes in books or tutorials, we get to see the pretty end result photos, but it isn’t always clear how you get from final stitch to beautifully displayed masterpiece. Meg shows you exactly how to mount your stumpwork for final display, how to select a frame that is the correct size for your project and even how to select a color for your frame that will compliment your finished project. All of these tiny details help make this a comprehensive guide to anyone interested in three dimensional stitch work.
Curious about stumpwork? Thanks to Meg & the generous folks at C&T Publishing, I have a free digital copy of Stumpwork Studio to giveaway to one lucky reader! For a chance to win, head over to this Google Form and submit your responses to the three questions on the form. For bonus entries, you can re-stack this post on Substack, share this post on Instagram (be sure to tag @snugglymonkey so that you get credit for the share!) or follow Snuggly Monkey on Substack and/or Instagram. The winner will be announced on Sunday, April 12, 2026. Good Luck!
Looking for supplies for Stumpwork & Thread Painting? Here is a list of direct links to some of the supplies mentioned in Stumpwork Studio.
Needles
Stumpwork is magical - I hadn’t heard of this artist, what beautiful inspiring pieces. thank you for highlighting them!
Gorgeous work. Her Insta is inspirational.