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stacks of fabric, and then slash and decorate them for a richly
textured look. I thought that I had done (or at least seen)
most forms of fabric manipulation, but this is new to me and
looks most impressive. It is a good way of making the most
of all sort of leftovers and doing a lot with a little, turning
the ordinary into something new and exciting. Most of the
tools needed are the same as those required for ordinary sewing,
and if you sew you will already own stacks of fabrics. This
is a book aimed squarely at the experienced needlecrafter
who is up for something fresh and challenging, and who already
has the basics under their belt.
There are seven step-by-step projects in here, and plenty
of preliminary information to get you started. This large
format book also has lots of lush good-sized photographs to
get the creative juices flowing. All the staged photographs
are a decent size, too, which is essential for such an unfamiliar
craft, where the samples have so much detail. After the section
on tools and materials there are several chapters showing
how to layer the fabric and grids for the slashing part.
Each
chapter has ample written instructions and enough photographs
and diagrams, including some for simple embroidery stitches.
After this comes a section on inspiration and design, focusing
on ideas, keeping a sketchbook and stylizing the real world
into workable drawings. This is very helpful, showing the
progression from inspiration (eg a field of lavender) through
to a painting, a simplified drawing, a design and finally
the finished piece.
The next
section, entitled Pushing The Boundaries, looks at “advanced
techniques” and contains four staged projects. The final
section on 3D appliqué has three projects, and each
project is designed to get you working on a particular type
of layering technique. Fabric puffs, trapunto, booklike stacks,
twisted spirals of cloth and more look amazingly complicated
until they are explained and you work through the stages.
It is all great fun for needlecrafters and something a bit
different. As a maker of wearable art, I was pleased to see
how many projects are for wearable items as opposed to the
usual pictures and cushions. One for the keeper shelf.
If you cannot find a good range of fabrics and other sewing
materials locally try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
Reviews
of other titles in the The Textile Artist Series
Felt
and Fibre Art
Layered
Cloth
Layered
and Stitched Pictures
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