Communicate your ideas using line, shape, color, and texture with this reference and how-to exploration in one. Whether your particular interest is pictorial, portraiture, abstract compositions, or actual text, you can "say" almost anything with thread. More than 350 color photographs translate the techniques of drawing, painting, and good composition into the world of stitch, and "Try This!" projects inspire your own individual approaches. Including the role of machine stitching, this design resource, learning tool, and inspirational reference helps practitioners at all levels, whether beginning student, dedicated amateur, or professional. Take a lyrical--but logical--journey of skill building, and begin to stitch intentionally and express your creative vision.

“A spectacular encyclopedia of embroidery, sharing valuable techniques passed down through the generations . . . you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it.” —Sew Magazine Enjoy the tranquility of slow stitching with this step-by-step, visual guide to 149 embroidery stitches, motifs, and extras. Go beyond basic color theory–robust color charts take the guesswork out of choosing thread, silk ribbon, buttons, beads, and trims. Then take your embroidery to the next level with luxurious seam treatments and stunning stand-alone designs. Bestselling author Christen Brown’s traditional and contemporary techniques are showcased in a colorful gallery of crazy-quilted projects. “An overview of embroidery stitches and techniques as well as inspiration for embroidery projects . . . She dissects several of her pieces, summarizing the color palette, decorative elements, and stitches used.” —Library Journal

It's a question asked by many budding textile artists: how can I be more creative? You've got a few ideas and know some techniques, but you're not sure how to get started or make your work hang together. This book shows you how. It explains the creative process from the very beginning: where to find inspiration and how to harness those ideas; how to gather source material; how to pull together what you have. The authors then take you on a journey to develop a design. Learn how to put elements together to make a cohesive whole and develop a theme, learning established design rules along the way. Part Three, Moving into Stitch, gives you a range of techniques and easy experiments with which to turn your design into stitched-textile work. From choosing what fabrics to use, to layering, creating texture and adding embellishment, it covers the key techniques to try. This is a terrific book for those starting out in textiles who really do want to be as creative as they can possibly be.

A guide to figurative stitching with the sewing machine – using the thread and needle almost as a pencil. A look that is growing in popularity, figurative stitch work needs some guidance and a leading exponent of the style reveals the basics but also how to expand your repertoire to really showcase your creativity. The book covers: How to set up your machine; How to tackle drawing (with exercises that will help even those who are afraid to put pen to paper); Transferring drawing to cloth, working with transparency, different surfaces and adding fabrics and colour; Photography, with details on using photographs in textiles; Putting it all together with layering images, playing with scale, repetition and composition. Stunning work by Rosie James and other textile artists who work with figurative stitch are featured throughout the book.

An inspirational and practical guide to the potential of heat tools for textile artists. Soldering irons, heat guns and household irons can add texture and variety to textile work – whether it's hand embroidery, machine embroidery, quilting or felting. Stunning work can be produced with a variety of materials: hot and cold foiling; painted and plain Bondaweb (fusible webbing) on wood, paper, fabric and pelmet Vilene; making beads from synthetic fabrics, Tyvek and Kunin felt; melting and distorting plastic bags and cellophane; working in three dimensions; and embossing powders. With step-by-step instructions, full health and safety advice and stunning photography, this is an important book for all textile artists. Following on the bestselling Fusing Fabric and Surfaces for Stitch, it demonstrates the latest techniques wanted by all those involved in textiles. Back in paperback for 2018.

Use color and thread to create the quilting of your dreams! With Color, Thread, & Free-motion Quilting, author Teri Lucas, a world-renowned master machine quilter, shares her brilliance and guidance to hone your machine quilting skills in a helpful, comprehensive, and understandable way. Quilters talk about building their fabric stashes but what about building their thread stashes, which is equally important? This book is a beautiful, well-guided and helpful resource for choosing threads––considering color, kind, and weight; choosing aids to help you quilt successfully; improving your free-motion quilting skills; and ultimately making free-motion quilting FUN! There are also lots of tips and tricks to help make your quilting enjoyable, playful, and frustration-free! Color, Thread & Free-motion Quilting is a comprehensive, go-to book that will be a staple resource in any quilter’s stash; I know it will be in mine!” ~ Pokey Bolton Thready or not! Learn how color, thread, and motif come together in machine quilting Compare actual quilted color wheels on a rainbow of various background fabrics Make your quilting a design element with solid quilting tips and color fundamentals

In this visually stunning book, Moy Mackay reveals how you too can create beautiful pictures using felt. Characterised by her wonderful use of colour, Moy's work is breathtaking and includes still-lifes, animals and landscapes inspired by the dramatic scenery of the Scottish Borders where she lives and works. Moy takes you through every step of the process, including the materials and tools you need, the feltmaking process itself (which is easier than you'd imagine), and how to put together four fabulous felt paintings of your own. There is guidance on stitching, including both hand- and machine-stitching, as well as how to use colour and introduce texture in the form of different fibres and threads. There are numerous examples of Moy's work through the book, and by the end you will not fail to be inspired to create gorgeous felt paintings of your own. "e;Moy's passionate use of colour and the deep texture created by felting are what draw me to her work. I also like the way that she concentrates on her surroundings for her subject matter - her work is very free."e;-Kaffe Fassett