The Intentional Thread


Book Description

Communicate your ideas using line, shape, color, and texture with this reference and how-to exploration in one. Whether your particular interest is pictorial, portraiture, abstract compositions, or actual text, you can "say" almost anything with thread. More than 350 color photographs translate the techniques of drawing, painting, and good composition into the world of stitch, and "Try This!" projects inspire your own individual approaches. Including the role of machine stitching, this design resource, learning tool, and inspirational reference helps practitioners at all levels, whether beginning student, dedicated amateur, or professional. Take a lyrical--but logical--journey of skill building, and begin to stitch intentionally and express your creative vision.




The Embroidery Book


Book Description

“A spectacular encyclopedia of embroidery, sharing valuable techniques passed down through the generations . . . you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it.” —Sew Magazine Enjoy the tranquility of slow stitching with this step-by-step, visual guide to 149 embroidery stitches, motifs, and extras. Go beyond basic color theory–robust color charts take the guesswork out of choosing thread, silk ribbon, buttons, beads, and trims. Then take your embroidery to the next level with luxurious seam treatments and stunning stand-alone designs. Bestselling author Christen Brown’s traditional and contemporary techniques are showcased in a colorful gallery of crazy-quilted projects. “An overview of embroidery stitches and techniques as well as inspiration for embroidery projects . . . She dissects several of her pieces, summarizing the color palette, decorative elements, and stitches used.” —Library Journal




Mystical Stitches


Book Description

Explore personal transformation through the stitching of dreams and intentions. Anything but ordinary, Mystical Stitches combines the beloved and accessible craft of embroidery with a spiritual element, introducing a rich treasury of 200 magical symbols you can use to set an intention and create personal icons to wear or embellish items in the home. Christi Johnson offers unique patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, zodiac signs, and mythical beasts, for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson’s folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form.




Empowered Embroidery


Book Description

With Art Makers: Empowered Embroidery, learn to sketch and stitch strong, recognizable women from all walks of life. Featuring sketching and illustration instructions, basic stitches, embroidery techniques, and 6 projects with portraits of famous women, this book is a must-have tool for hands-on artists and crafters. If you’re a beginning embroiderer, start with the basic stitches and embroidery instructions at the beginning of the book. Essential tools, warm-up exercises, tips for embroidering facial features and hair, and general information on embroidery will give you the know-how you need to get started. Then dive into sketching your favorite female cultural and historical icons: Frida Kahlo Eleanor Roosevelt Maya Angelou Harriet Tubman Ruth Bader Ginsburg Michelle Obama Once you’ve sketched your figures, follow along with the step-by-step embroidery projects as you learn to stitch the women featured in the book—and anyone else you admire! All of the projects are beautifully paired with large photos so that you can easily mimic the techniques at home while relaxing with your embroidery. The author is a professional illustrator, designer, and embroiderer uniquely suited to give instruction on this fun, trending embroidery technique. With her expert tips, you’re sure to enjoy learning a new hobby, or advancing your skills if you’re already familiar with embroidery. Art Makers: Empowered Embroidery makes it easy to sketch, stitch, and create your favorite female icons, from empowering women of today to icons of the past. The Art Makers series is designed for beginning artists and arts-and-crafts enthusiasts who are interested in experiencing fun hands-on mediums, including polymer clay and papier-mache.




Stitch Draw


Book Description

A guide to figurative stitching with the sewing machine – using the thread and needle almost as a pencil. A look that is growing in popularity, figurative stitch work needs some guidance and a leading exponent of the style reveals the basics but also how to expand your repertoire to really showcase your creativity. The book covers: How to set up your machine; How to tackle drawing (with exercises that will help even those who are afraid to put pen to paper); Transferring drawing to cloth, working with transparency, different surfaces and adding fabrics and colour; Photography, with details on using photographs in textiles; Putting it all together with layering images, playing with scale, repetition and composition. Stunning work by Rosie James and other textile artists who work with figurative stitch are featured throughout the book.




Mindful Embroidery


Book Description

Embroider Your Stress Away Escape the chaos of everyday life by embroidering yourself a romantic and tranquil getaway. Allow Charles Henry and Elin Petronella to whisk you away to the calming villas of the French countryside. Discover the hidden gems of Paris, stroll down the colorful tiled streets of Lisbon or float along the canals of Venice. Let go of your worries stitch by stitch through these 20 delightful European scenescapes inspired by Charles and Elin’s favorite places throughout Europe. Beginners can confidently complete any design in this book using five common and simple embroidery stitches. As leaders in the modern hand embroidery movement, Charles and Elin invite you to let go of perfectionism and instead slow down, unwind and enjoy the meditative process of creating something gorgeous one stitch, and breath, at a time. For a printable download of the pattern design templates, please email Charles at [email protected].




Hot Textiles


Book Description

An inspirational and practical guide to the potential of heat tools for textile artists. Soldering irons, heat guns and household irons can add texture and variety to textile work – whether it's hand embroidery, machine embroidery, quilting or felting. Stunning work can be produced with a variety of materials: hot and cold foiling; painted and plain Bondaweb (fusible webbing) on wood, paper, fabric and pelmet Vilene; making beads from synthetic fabrics, Tyvek and Kunin felt; melting and distorting plastic bags and cellophane; working in three dimensions; and embossing powders. With step-by-step instructions, full health and safety advice and stunning photography, this is an important book for all textile artists. Following on the bestselling Fusing Fabric and Surfaces for Stitch, it demonstrates the latest techniques wanted by all those involved in textiles. Back in paperback for 2018.




Fabric + Paint + Thread = Fabulous


Book Description

If you're ready to take your quilting skills to the next level, this is the book for you! Pat's innovative techniques for painting, free-motion quilting, and embellishing allow you to expand your artistic horizons and make breathtaking art quilts. First you'll paint on fabric to make a simple landscape background. Then the excitement begins! You'll use thread to "paint" astonishingly realistic trees, leaves, and more onto stabilizer, cut out the motifs, and apply them to the quilt. With five projects to choose from, there's plenty of inspiration for your next quilt.




Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting


Book Description

Use color and thread to create the quilting of your dreams! With Color, Thread, & Free-motion Quilting, author Teri Lucas, a world-renowned master machine quilter, shares her brilliance and guidance to hone your machine quilting skills in a helpful, comprehensive, and understandable way. Quilters talk about building their fabric stashes but what about building their thread stashes, which is equally important? This book is a beautiful, well-guided and helpful resource for choosing threads––considering color, kind, and weight; choosing aids to help you quilt successfully; improving your free-motion quilting skills; and ultimately making free-motion quilting FUN! There are also lots of tips and tricks to help make your quilting enjoyable, playful, and frustration-free! Color, Thread & Free-motion Quilting is a comprehensive, go-to book that will be a staple resource in any quilter’s stash; I know it will be in mine!” ~ Pokey Bolton Thready or not! Learn how color, thread, and motif come together in machine quilting Compare actual quilted color wheels on a rainbow of various background fabrics Make your quilting a design element with solid quilting tips and color fundamentals




Art in Felt & Stitch


Book Description

In this visually stunning book, Moy Mackay reveals how you too can create beautiful pictures using felt. Characterised by her wonderful use of colour, Moy's work is breathtaking and includes still-lifes, animals and landscapes inspired by the dramatic scenery of the Scottish Borders where she lives and works. Moy takes you through every step of the process, including the materials and tools you need, the feltmaking process itself (which is easier than you'd imagine), and how to put together four fabulous felt paintings of your own. There is guidance on stitching, including both hand- and machine-stitching, as well as how to use colour and introduce texture in the form of different fibres and threads. There are numerous examples of Moy's work through the book, and by the end you will not fail to be inspired to create gorgeous felt paintings of your own. "e;Moy's passionate use of colour and the deep texture created by felting are what draw me to her work. I also like the way that she concentrates on her surroundings for her subject matter - her work is very free."e;-Kaffe Fassett