The companion volume to Machine Stitch, Hand Stitch is an essential read and reference for any textiles student, practicing embroiderer, designer and artist. Together these two titles form the significant and substantial references on current stitch practice. Each chapter is written by an established maker, embroiderer, artist or academic and discusses hand stitch from a different perspective. Wonderful illustrations of artistic hand stitch, both contemporary and historical, demonstrate this diverse and intimate craft in detail. The contributors draw upon important collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester, and the rich archive held by Manchester School of Art in this extensively researched and beautifully presented volume.

This unique book collection culls the expertise of academics and the actual embroidery machines archives of Manchester Metropolitan University in Great Britain whose specialist embroidery department has been instrumental in artistic and educational innovations in textiles since the 1960s. This book is the definitive record of the vast number of machines from the traditional Irish Embroidery machines to the latest generation of computerized sewing machines and features a rich and fascinating record of the machines themselves and the samples and artwork that were produced on them. Each contributor gives their own individual perspective on machine stitch and the book illustrates how key machines can be applied to the artistic, industrial and domestic practice and shows how to combine techniques and develop new ideas in machine embroidery, a creative medium that is flourishing in both design and production.

New York Times Bestseller Learn the Historically Proven Stitches Every Seamster Needs with Beloved Historical Fashion YouTuber Bernadette Banner Whether you are just getting started with sustainable fashion and need to alter your new secondhand finds, or you want an introduction to sewing techniques for making your own clothes, Bernadette Banner’s signature voice will guide you through all the traditional stitches and techniques you need to extend the life of your favorite pieces and take fashion into your own hands! From tips and tricks on choosing your materials and preparing your fabric for sewing to more complex techniques like mending small holes, adding pockets to garments, making your own buttons and beyond—this book has everything you need. Complete with step-by-step photos and insight into what alterations each sewing technique is best suited for, Bernadette walks you through every step of your sewing journey. For added inspiration, this book also includes profiles on exciting voices in the historic sewing community and their perspectives on how taking fashion into their own hands has changed their lives for the better. Make, Sew and Mend is the perfect foundation for beginner sewers to start making their fashion their own.

Forty different hand-embroidery stitches, plus a host of creative ideas for using them, generate a range of amazing textures that will delight anyone who enjoys needlework. In what will clearly become a classic of the craft, Jan Beaney analyzes in detail the eye-catching effects that an embroiderer can achieve through the use of different background fabrics, unusual threads, and various needles. She asks questions such as “Can the stitch be worked in circles?” and “Can it be worked upside down?” and illustrates some of the possible answers. All the orthodox methods of working a canvas are discarded; unique, original techniques reign, and the colorful photos show the wonderful results.

Explore the possibilities of freestyle machine embroidery and its applications for quilting and fiber art with this inspirational guidebook for all skill levels. This overview of all the basic methods and stitches for each technique includes step-by-step photographs and illustrations, diagrams, close-ups of sample swatches, troubleshooting tips, and design guidance, altogether elevating crafters' skills to an artistic level. Beginning with an introduction that includes a list of necessary supplies, chapters cover adjusting thread tension, understanding fabric distortion as it relates to stitching direction, and caring for a sewing machine. This comprehensive guide is sure to move crafters beyond the basics of the stitching process to using color and texture creatively in unique designs and professional-grade finishes.

Through their metaphorical and material qualities, textiles can be seductive, exciting, intimate and, at times, shocking and disquieting. This book is the first critical examination of the erotically charged relationship between the surface of the skin and the touch of cloth, exploring the ways in which textiles can seduce, conceal and reveal through their interactions with the body. From the beautiful cloth which is quietly suggestive, to bold expressions of deviant sexuality, cloth is a message carrier for both desiring and being desired. The drape, fold, touch and feel, the sound and look of cloth in motion, allow for the exploration of identity as a sensual, gendered or political experience. The book features contributions on the sensory rustle and drape of silk taffeta and the secret pleasures of embroidery, on fetishistic punk street-style and homoerotic intimacy in men's shirts on screen, and a new perspective on the role of cloth and skin in the classic film Blade Runner. In doing so, it interrogates experiences of cloth within social, historical, psychological and cultural contexts. Divided into four sections on representation, design, otherness and performance, The Erotic Cloth showcases a variety of debates that are at the heart of contemporary textile research, drawing on the fields of art, design, film, performance, culture and politics. Playful, provocative and beautifully illustrated with over 50 color images, it will appeal to students and scholars of textiles, fashion, gender, art and anthropology.

Offering a challenging new argument for the collaborative power of craft, this ground-breaking volume analyses the philosophies, politics and practicalities of collaborative craft work. The book is accessibly organised into four sections covering the cooperation and compromises required by the collaborative process; the potential of recent technological advances for the field of craft; the implications of cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaborations for authority and ownership; and the impact of crafted collaborations on the institutions where we work, learn and teach. With cutting-edge essays by established makers and artists such as Allison Smith (US) and Brass Art (UK), curator Lesley Millar, textile designer Trish Belford and distinguished thinker Glenn Adamson, Collaborating Through Craft will be essential reading for students, artists, makers, curators and scholars across a number of fields.