embroidery Archives - Inspired By Everyday Beauty

Fabric Collage Play

Sorry to say I’ve fallen behind in my blogging, but I’ve been very busy having fun! In November, I attended a Fabric Collage workshop at the Kingston Seniors’ Centre https://seniorskingston.ca/ and it has given me a fun new obsession. The workshop was presented by Linda Coulter, a local fibre artist who specializes in collage https://www.lindacoultertextileart.com/

Fabric collage seems to be a perfect combination for me. You can use every scrap and piece of fabric, thread or bobble that you already have in your stash; you can have a lot of fun cutting and laying out pieces to build your design from either your imagination or your favourite photos; and, after tacking everything together, you can secure and ‘paint’ the piece with lots of hand sewing.

At the workshop, we each chose a prepared bundle of fabrics that provided a foundation or ‘ground’ fabric and a mix of cotton in compatible colours, different scales and different values. Who doesn’t love to get a little bundle of fabrics? Let the fun begin!

Linda provided a great balance of instruction, guidance and freedom to appeal to participants ranging from debutants to those more experienced with design and fabric construction. The introductory lesson was a good refresher for me to consider pattern, scale, colour value, movement, light/dark and focal point.

My bundle had an overall warm-toned assortment of yellows and oranges that are not my usual preferred colour palette, but I decided to roll with it and experiment. I used my bundle of fabrics for inspiration and began to lay out a base that would show some depth. I used a variety of scales to create a foreground and background. The instructor had brought a mountain of other fabrics from her stash and we were encouraged to hunt for any bits that we needed for our design. This was pure, unfiltered fun.

While cutting, layering, and adjusting our collages we kept stepping back to view the design from different angles for overall effect. This is very useful to know when to add or take away pieces, to achieve balance, movement, and a focal point. Once satisfied, the next step was to pin and baste all of the pieces onto the ground fabric. Not to worry though, basting can be removed, and pieces could still be shuffled around or changed at any point (the benefit of not using any glue)!

That is as far as we got in the short workshop. We bundled up our work to take home where, as Linda advised, we let it sit for a bit looking at it from different angles and distances before finalizing it. Then my favorite part, the hand sewing. I love to hold the fabric in my hands and add stitching with coloured threads to adhere the pieces to the collage, and to highlight any detail. To me, this is a bit like mess-free painting that can always be picked out and changed to correct mistakes.

*Baste and pin all the pieces to the ground fabric*

I did try not to make a landscape, but it seemed to migrate in that direction. It’s reminiscent of a forest gone to swamp land, as I see so often on my country walks in the countryside north of Kingston. My focal point–as is very plain to see–was the gorgeous bright flower cut from a larger fabric piece. Have I mentioned how much I love flowers? If you look closely while out in nature, no matter how bleak a landscape may seem from a distance, there is almost always at least one flower to be found. In this piece, I flipped the narrative–as one can do in collage–by making the swampland retreat to the background allowing the larger-than-life flower to dominate. I finished the piece with a border of muted, moss-coloured faux suede to tie into the imagined landscape and highlight the brightness of the flower.

Having tried my first collage guided by fabrics and imagination, I decided to try the next one using a favorite photo for inspiration. You know I love flowers… I chose this photo of a dandelion gone to seed because of the beautiful texture of the seed globe. As it turns out, you will see that the dandelion becomes my oversize focal point and I take great liberty in imagining the background setting in which it can be found. Maybe there is a theme developing here of letting flowers shine in their environments…

It was time to dive into my stash and choose fabrics that would create the background and setting for a dandelion star. I was intrigued with how I might show the texture of the fluffy seeds and considered using strands of white mohair, but decided to keep with cotton thread and stitch technique to avoid letting the piece become too busy. I used a variety of scale and pattern all in the same bright palette, to build a pastural scene fading off to woodlands, hills and sky. It was great fun to experiment with the adhering stitches, varying style and colour to alternately blend into or define the background.

**Imagine lying in a field looking up at this beautiful dandelion surrounded by pastures, woods and hills beyond.**

Fair to say I am now hooked on fabric collage and will add it into my long list of other fibre-based obsessions. I can’t wait to create more using my photos, fabrics I print and dye, hand sewing and free-motion machine stitching….if only there were more time in a day!

Creating with purpose

As I explode with ideas for creating new fiber art projects I occasionally touch down to reality and think, “what am I going to do with this?” I’m rapidly running out of wall space and need to think through, “where will I put this next one?” It doesn’t make much sense to rescue materials from deep within my stockpile, spend countless hours transforming them into pieces of art, and then stack them against the wall, or shove them back in a closet. Although I haven’t yet reached the point of selling any of my work, maybe that will come soon –as soon as I learn how to part with them!

The most obvious answer, at least for now, is to make useable, functional pieces. And that my friends is how my embellished jean jacket came to be.

Some months ago, I bought a new jean jacket with the intention of tarting it up with a little embroidery. I got side tracked with other projects and I let the jacket take its place in my stockpile, until I came up with an idea to combine several projects and techniques. In keeping with the idea of being inspired by everyday beauty, I make note that for me beauty in nature is rarely limited to one element. Most often, it is a combination of colours and textures and sights and sounds.

I’ve been embroidering and sewing, but recently became interested in collage and block printing, so I decided to pull it all together. I just happened to have a beautiful block print of sheep on linen (warned you more sheep would be coming), and in my treasure trove stash, believe it or not, I had several pieces of silk.

One sheep print on a piece of cream linen was my favourite block print. The linen seemed best suited to picking up the ink, and its natural fiber lent itself to the pastoral theme.

*Silk acetate sky and silk sari pasture.*

I chose two different lengths of fabric. The first was a blue and purple abstract print on silk acetate. This particular fabric has been used several times throughout the years, as scarves and sheaths of one sort or another. Its circular pattern and brushstroke texture remind me of a cloudy sky. The second, a length of sari silk, combines all my favourite colours and suggests the foundation for foliage and light in a pasture.

These three pieces were perfect to make a central focal point in the back panel of the jean jacket. I laid out the sky, sheep and pasture over a layer of cotton batt and began the embroidery and embellishment phase. During this part of the process, I always let the fabric speak to me and ‘sew as I go’.

In this case, the clouds needed pinning down–achieved with circles of boro stitching, pulled together with white linen thread. The sheep needed only minimal highlighting, done with the subtle addition of linen thread to tack down the fabric, drag down the clouds and accentuate the texture. The sari-silk pasture called for bright colours of cotton thread to bring out the flowers, foliage and light of the grassland.

Now, to make the rest of the jacket ‘fit’ with the elaborate back panel.

*Under collar silk over cotton batt. Border folded to front. Embellished with cotton embroidery.*

First up, the collar. I really do love the colours in this piece of sari silk and I decided to use it to tie together the front and back of the jacket. I fully covered the undercollar with the silk and then folded the border print over to the front of the collar to highlight the collar’s edge and bring colour to the front. I used the bright cotton embroidery thread to anchor the layers, to embellish the design and to highlight the textures.

One of the tricks I like for jean jackets is adding an inner cuff of cozy wool. The fabric gives a better base for embroidery, making it a bit flashier when turned back, but also making it toasty warm when folded down and buttoned. I was really trying to keep this jacket from getting too busy keeping the back as the highlight, so I chose to use design repetition and picked up the circular motif and colours from the sky to add pizzazz to the cuffs.

A final touch. To bring the front collar, cuffs and pockets together I added a very small bit of floral embroidery to the front pockets and outer cuffs.

Although these things never seem to be finished, and I may add bits here or there, for now this functional piece is ready to wear! No frame necessary, no dusting to be done. This is a piece of art with purpose. Hope you like it!

Boiled Wool

My memories of boiled wool bring up pictures of European jackets and alpine hats. Dense, sturdy fabric of matted wool. These days, what passes for boiled wool on the fabric market, in my opinion, is more akin to boucle. Remember those new coats we got to complete our Easter Sunday outfits? If you grew up in the 60’s, you likely had at least one! I used to think of it as ‘curly’ wool. Being spoiled by our British grandmother, we got new ones every spring. Mine was always pink, my sister’s blue. We felt so elegant, with our new white knee socks, white patent leather shoes, fresh white gloves and little flowered hats.

To get boiled wool, I have considered making my own by washing and beating old wool blankets in a hot water cycle. You may have done this unintentionally to some woolen socks or woolen sweaters that mistakenly made their way into the wrong wash load. If you are doing it intentionally, the trick is to get it out while it is the right density before it turns into completely shrunken, stiff felt–although that could get you started on some slipper making! For me, boiling my own wool is still an idea in the works. In the meantime, when ‘boiled wool’ aka ‘boucle’ went on sale last fall, I took the speedier route and bought an array of bright pinks, purples, blues, oranges and reds. I had a vision of mitts embroidered with colourful threads. A little something to brighten up the winter.

I really hate to throw out fabric scraps, so when I cut out my first pair of mitts I used the scraps to cut crazy shapes and appliqued them with bright No. 8 wt. pearl cotton. I didn’t have a pre-planned pattern, just played with shapes, stitches and colours. I already had a good stock of faux fur trims, and also some cozy faux fur for linings. The mitts were constructed using machine stitching, and the embellishment was added by hand. I used a traditional Inuit pattern that has gathered space to keep your fingers warm. They were toasty even on the coldest of winter walks.

The No. 8 wt. cotton thread is a bit heavier and I thought it would show best on this weight of wool fabric, but I discovered that No. 12 wt., although a bit finer, worked as well. (see pics below for the comparison)

With lots of wool left, I ventured into hat making. This time, both the construction and the decorative work were done by hand. I prefer hand work. For me, it gives the added bonus of quiet contemplation and excitement as I see the creations slowly unfold before my eyes.

*I love how they turned out. Lots of colour, and warmth for cold winter walks.*

Let it snow

This is the time of year when most people are desperately seeking spring. Although I admit that on the wettest of dreary days I do pine for the sunshine and growth of spring, for the most part, I actually love winter!

Overall, if it comes right down to it, I prefer cold temperatures when you can bundle up and feel the freeze of your cheeks and thighs when out walking. This year, to my taste, has been great for the amount of snow we’ve received.

Earlier in the week, the snow had cleared, the sidewalks were gritty, and the smell of wet grass was in the air. “Ahh, its coming,” we all thought as our spirits buoyed and our paces quickened. But this morning, we awoke to a glorious sight.

There is nothing more beautiful, and inspiring, than naked black tree boughs under a burden of fat, fluffy, new snow. I couldn’t resist posting this series of backyard pics. I know they will inspire me for quilting, or needlework, or printing…or something, but in the meantime, I’m going to go out and breathe in the freshness of what very well could be our last snow of the year! Enjoy.