Alysn Midgelow-Marsden shares her exciting and innovative ideas for combining fibres and stitching with various forms of metal, using both textile and mixed media techniques. In this paperback edition of a former Textile Artist series book, Alysn Midgelow-Marsden shows how to use both textile-based and mixed media techniques to create beautiful artworks using metal in the forms of shim, foil and woven fabric alongside many other materials. She shares her expertise in an inspiring variety of techniques from free machine stitching to gilding, embossing, needle felting, beading, printing, appliqué, making stitched foil fabric and using dry decal transfer images. There are seven beautiful projects to inspire and instruct textile artists everywhere, including a lampshade, bauble pods, a memory lampshade, decorative panels and a tablet cover. Artists can take inspiration from the individual surfaces that make up the pieces, the completed projects, and from the developments from each project, which have full, instructive captions. This is an invaluable resource for textile artists looking for new and beautiful ideas.

Stunning bestseller now in paperback! This is an essential book on using paper and metal in textile art and embroidery. Interest in new and exciting surfaces in textile art continues unabated and this is still the best book on the subject by two leading textile artists. Paper is very popular choice; and handmade and purchased papers can be manipulated, cut, torn, stitched and moulded into any shape or form. You can add colour, texture and metallic effects. New forms of metal can be used in textiles, such as metal shim (very thin stitch-friendly slices of real metal), glittering metal meshes, wires and coils, beads and foils, and recycled domestic metals. And stitch is the ultimate enhancer. The book has great suggestions for combining elements of paper, metal and stitch to produce finished stitched pieces – books, panels, icons and frames. With step by step intructions, all you need is this book, your enthusiasm and a swing-needle sewing machine.

With a sense of humor and creative abandon, this guide shows how surprisingly easy it is to turn fabric, paper, stitch, and embellishment into artistic treasures to keep and share. Step-by-step instructions for making projects such as greeting cards, wall hangings, and books are provided, while the latest mixed-media products and techniques are also used, including embroidery stitches, etching, burning, metallic threads, paints, embed fibers, and found objects. Basic design principles are also employed, such as layering, highlighting motifs, and creating grids to give art depth and meaning.

This timely project guide concentrates on two of the key materials being newly incorporated into textiles and fiber arts--paper and metal. Both media are covered in separate sections that describe the unique properties of each, as well as textural methods, adding color, and embellishing with stitches. Paper can be molded, formed, cut, torn, embossed, and stitched; metal adds a new gleam; and additional dimensions of the material are explored with soft sheet metals, meshes, wires, and coils. Concepts build through each section, starting with elemental embroidery and basic, texture-building steps, and moving to exciting finishing ideas for combining and mixing techniques for original and innovative results.

A beautiful sewing reference guide full of exercises designed to inspire great ideas and motivate readers of all skill levels to create. This inventive book is a treasure trove of over 40 inspiring practical exercises, a rich and creative exploration of fabric and stitch, and a fascinating all-round read. Elizabeth Healey’s approach to sewing is that it should be fun, and not like a chore or an exam we need to excel in. Her aim is to simply encourage you to pick up a needle and thread and get sewing! The exercises draw inspiration from around the world: create corded works of art inspired by Milton Glaser’s iconic Bob Dylan poster; craft bold embroidered African masks; layer up and cut away to make Mola applique; use bleach and fabric paint to create Aboriginal dreamtime lizards; create knotted works of art inspired by ancient Mayan counting systems; embroider varsity cross-stitch letters; or try out decorative Japanese book binding. Alternatively, try a host of other techniques such as quilting, printing, dyeing, couching tumbled crockery, creating pleats and puckers, and needle lace. Packed with stitch galleries and bursting with slow sewing ideas, the book also contains “behind the stitches” features: illuminating insights into sewing movements such as Boro textiles, Gee’s Bend quilting, and Dorset buttons.