Innehållsförteckning för April/May 2023 från Stitch

The Coronation of King Charles III this May provides yet another reminder of how intrinsic embroidery is to special occasions, with the large amount of regalia usually worn on days like this. Only last year we looked back to the exquisite embroidery used on the Queen’s Coronation Dress and Robe as we celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. Now we enter a new era and the Coronation will provide an extra layer of interest for those of us keen to discover or spot any specific embroidery patterns or goldwork that have been created especially for the King. In the meantime you can celebrate the King’s Coronation from the comfort of your own home with a unique online goldwork class by Hand & Lock, taking place on 5 May. Turn to page 32…

Feathers have long been cherished by many cultures and have taken on many different symbolic meanings. They’ve been associated with freedom, transcendence, strength and wisdom. Like the birds they come from, feathers symbolise the ability to move beyond our barriers and limitations. I hope stitching this feather inspires you in that way and reminds you that you are capable of more than you realise. Great and beautiful things can be accomplished if you put your mind to the task. YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Fabric: - Linen, medium to heavy weight, or 56 count, White. Cut on thread to 33 x 38cm (13 x 15in) if working on a slate frame. If working on stretcher bars or a Hoop, cut fabrics to 30.5 x 35.5cm (12 x 14in) - Calico…

The Hand & Lock Prize is a private textiles competition, run by the Royal Family’s official embroiderers. Designed to to help discover the next generation of creative embroidery talent, it is now in its 22nd year. The Prize has given away over $1 Million in awards and helped launch the careers of hundreds of designers and artists. The 2022 Prize concluded with a special live judging and prize-giving event on 19 January 2023. The celebrity judges included Philip Treacy OBE, Artist Cornelia Parker OBE and teacher and TV personality Esme Young. They were joined by expert embroiderers Anthea Godfrey and Jenny King and Times journalist Anna Murphy. The theme for this year’s prize was ‘The New Nature’; Embellished design in harmony with the natural world. The full set of categories…

FOR MORE GREAT BOOKS SEE PAGE 6! STITCHED MIXED MEDIA By: Jessica Grady Publisher: The Crowood Press ISBN: 978-0-719842238 RRP: £18.59 Explore and enjoy creating vibrant textile embellishments with hand stitching, mixed media and incorporation of recycled products. Colourful projects demonstrate the possibilities with step-by-step sequences to show how the exciting process of playing with textiles and mixed media can create unique work. There are also ideas for sourcing supplies, how to make a stitch library of samples and ways to use threads creatively, from paper to recycled plastic, and more. The colours bursting out of this title won’t fail to inspire you! MODERN EMBROIDERY By: Rachael Dobbins Publisher: Yellow Pear Press ISBN: 978-1-684810093 RRP: £30.45 Rachael Dobbins uses a combination of traditional and unconventional stitching and macramé techniques, Modern…

I love to experiment with all kinds of materials to create new techniques or find unconventional ways of using more standard materials. During lockdown I developed this technique which has the added bonus of being a ‘two-for-one’ project if you cut out carefully. My inspiration came from the early morning clouds hanging low over the woods and fields as I took my daily walks – they gave a muted view of what lay behind. YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • White cotton or poly/cotton fabric, 18 x 18cm (allow more if you think you may want to play and do more printing than this) • Acrylic paints in three or four colours to suit (dark, medium and light) • Medium-weight fusible interfacing, 18 x 18cm (not the floppy kind as it…

Applying a Bead Secure the bead with a single stitch. Back Stitch Bring thread through on the stitch line and take a small backward stitch through the fabric. Bring the needle through again a little in front of the first stitch, take another stitch, inserting the needle at the point where it first came through. Repeat. Blanket Stitch Bring the thread out on the lower line, insert the needle in position in the upper line and take a straight downward stitch, keeping the working thread under the point of the needle. Pull up the stitch to form a loop and repeat. Bullion Knot Make a back stitch, the length of the bullion knot required. Bring the needle out where it first entered the fabric, but do not bring it out…

Find details of this issue’s competitions at: bit.ly/stitch-win The closing date is Friday 31 May 2023. Prizes, gifts, or give-aways offered in competitions might be substituted with ones of similar value. Unless otherwise stated, all competitions, free samplings, discounts and offers are only available to readers in the United Kingdom. Winners are picked at random; the Editor’s decision is final. You’ll need to register if you’ve not already done so. Please state when entering if you do NOT wish Warner’s Group Publications plc to contact you regarding their products or services that may be of interest. Or for your details to be shared with reputable third party companies. Full terms and conditions are available on our website at warnersgroup.co.uk/competition-terms/ Join us: facebook.com/stitchmag Follow us: instagram.com/stitch_magazine Email us: stitcheditor@warnersgroup.co.uk Visit us:…

In this project you will create a beautiful iridescent mixed media fan using a variety of materials and free machine embroidery. You’ll get to upcycle lots of everyday items and materials, from coffee stirrers to cellophane. Every fan will be unique, depending on the colour palette and fabrics you choose, so there’s nothing stopping you making more than one fan, once you’ve got the hang of the basic steps – you could even create a really impressive wall display with several fans hung together! YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Clear PVC plastic sheet, A4, x 2 • Small pieces of cellophane, sheer fabrics, gold paper • Template printed out to A4 size • Embroidery threads • Selection of coloured threads for sewing machine • Acrylic paint (or coloured felt pens)…

SCOTLAND THE TEXTILE STUDY GROUP MAKING: 50 - A LANDMARK EXHIBITION 1 APRIL - 5 AUGUST 2023 Tweedale Museum & Gallery, Peebles (Also 16 September – 26 November 2023, The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber) The Textile Study Group will be 50 in 2023. It maintains a core membership of 25 experienced textile teachers, all of whom are nationally and internationally recognised for their forward-thinking and challenging approaches to art practice, contemporary teaching and making. We will be celebrating our anniversary year with a significant touring exhibition – Making: 50 – and by publishing a limited edition bespoke book. Both will include new and exciting work from our current membership, and acknowledge those who paved the way by initiating ‘Group ‘73’, (which later evolved into the Practical Study Group, renamed the…

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TURN TO PAGE 45 FOR CHRIS’ FERNS PROJECT! Your ferns design in this issue is beautiful – what did you enjoy the most about creating it? Since we moved to a more rural area four years ago I have been taking lots of woodland walks with my dog. There are two plantations close to us and I love the way that the ferns carpet the undergrowth. That led me to researching different types of ferns and I loved the new avenues this search opened up such as fungi and seed-heads. After finishing the ferns piece I went on to create a series of pieces based on seed-heads and am currently working on several fungi pieces using different embroidery stitches. Tell us about your journey to becoming a textile/embroidery artist. After…

ENJOY 20% OFF! This book demonstrates the exciting scope of pictorial feltmaking and explains how to create felt pictures with the depth and atmosphere usually associated with a graphite drawing or a watercolour painting. Enjoy practical instruction whether you are a novice or an experienced embroiderer and learn how to add metallic thread for visual impact. Aimed at guiding you through each stitch and technique, and with tips for moving on to your own designs, this book is an essential guide. Crewelwork has a long history but this book brings the technique right up to date. It mixes contemporary styles with older traditions to give an exciting twist on this enduring and beautiful style of embroidery. Follow step-by-step sequences to over forty different stitches ranging from filling to outlining stitches,…

I’ve always loved the colourful canal folk art that was used to decorate working narrowboats in the 19th century. It’s typified by strong vibrant contrasting colours, and stylised flowers. Often known as Roses & Castles, it was used to decorate the boats and anything used within. For this design we are just focusing on the roses, along with some of the other flowers typically depicted, to create a striking pillow. I’ve chosen to use my signature wool thread for this crewel embroidery. The word crewel is an old English or Welsh word meaning ‘wool’ which was the traditional material for embroidery. These days it simply means ‘embroidery with wool’. My modern interpretation of crewelwork means simplifying the stitches and aesthetic. Instead of using intricate stitches as decoration I prefer to…

This project is inspired by my 52 tags challenge from a couple of years ago. Fitting mini landscapes and seascapes onto a simple luggage tag and designing on a small scale means you will come up with creative solutions. Gather scraps from your stash to make a landscape from a photo and enjoy the process! YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Luggage tag • Photo of a landscape • Piece of fabric the same size as your tag • Snippets of fabrics in the colours of your landscape • Range of embroidery threads, including a machine thread in a matching colour • Any embellishments you would like to add EQUIPMENT • Needles • Pins • Scissors STITCHES & TECHNIQUES Textiles collage, freestyle hand stitching such as: Running Stitch, Back Stitch, Chain…

My inspiration for just about everything that I do is the natural world. Germany is full of butterflies in the summertime and I take good care to plant the things that they love so that they will keep coming to visit us. Punch needle embroidery is a great way to freeze an image that has touched you in some way and because it is quite robust, it is really suitable to make into wearable art. YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • 50g balls of fingering yarn or sock in the following colours: - Cream - Light grey - Dark grey - Blue - Yellow - Orange - Black - Tan - Mid brown TOP TIP! I have used Drops Nord and Drops Fabel yarn. You will not use a whole 50g…

This design uses a modern take on two European stuffing techniques associated with quilting but loved by embroiders too. Italian Trapunto uses two layers of fabric sewn together with tiny white running stitches over a pattern to produce pockets through which to ‘push’ wadding into spaces from the back, resulting in beautiful raised decoration, often floral. The second type, which originates from Provençal in the South of France, is known as Boutis and is identical in its use of layers and fabric but unlike the Italian method, threads were used to stuff spaces, thus being ‘pulled’ through or around spaces to produce the three dimensional patterns. Boutis has a look all of its own, often more delicate than its Italian counterpart with backgrounds made up of rows of parallel straight…

NEW IDEAS TO STITCH! PLUS! * Riverbank beauty: Part 1 of Kay Dennis’ stunning stumpwork 3D box * Summer loving: Victoria Matthewson’s exquisite needlepainted bee & strawberry plant * Under the sea: Have fun with multi-media to recreate Jay Hooper’s underwater cove IN SHOPS THURSDAY 25 MAY 2023 DIGITAL & SUBSCRIPTION COPIES AVAILABLE THURSDAY 18 MAY 2023* FOR OFFERS VISIT WWW.STITCHMAG.CO.UK STITCHING KNOW-HOW • NEW TECHNIQUES • ALL THE STEPS • EVERY ISSUE Contents may be subject to change. * ‘Date refers to the day our subscriber copies are posted, not the date of receipt.…

STITCH LEGEND A WORD ON COPYRIGHT Sharing may be encouraged in many aspects of life, but when it comes to original material, you have to be wary of copyright. By all means, copy the project or demonstration for your OWN PLEASURE, but no part of this magazine may be published, reproduced, copied, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. Even where permission is gained, it’s still courteous to credit the original source and designer. Any activity used to benefit commercially from the magazine is not permitted. By respecting copyright, you ensure that we, as publishers, can continue to provide you with the content you want. For more on how you can navigate this tricky area, visit hobbies-and-crafts.co.uk/information/copyright. For any further queries relating…