Thrifty Flair
Modern crafters don’t need to embroider their tales
December 23, 2011
Jennifer O’Connor
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
No one has anything against “Little Susan.” Suzie, a Holly Hobby-like character featured in one of Vogart’s embroidery kits, will help you turn your tea towels into to-do lists (Monday is wash day, Tuesday is for ironing). It’s just that there’s more to stitchery than puppy dogs and tea cups.
Two recent books explore radical craft: PUSH Stitchery: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Stitched Art, curated by Jamie Chalmers (aka Mr. X Stitch), and Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery by Leanne Prain, co-author of Yarn Bombing. A lovely addition to any DIY library, they offer plenty of techniques, inspiration and connections to crafters.
PUSH Stitchery is part of a new series from Lark Books (the other being PUSH Paper).
The artists featured are doing some really interesting work. Severija Incirauskaite-Kriauneviciene creates cross-stich using patterns from women’s magazines and found objects. “Direction” is a metal shovel that’s been drilled and cross-stitched with cotton thread in a floral design.
Emily Eibel makes what she describes as “narrative stitching and illustrations.” One piece, “Butcher,” shows a man cutting meat inside three stomach-shaped bubbles. It’s a clever assemblage of fabric and thread held together with matte medium, appliqué and machine stitching.
Each artist’s work is accompanied by a short Q&A about their subject matter, technique and inspiration that often reveal the social and political aspects of crafting.
“It started as small, densely embroidered frolicking figures,” says Orly Cogan of her work, “that played off the patterns on printed fabrics and has evolved into much more complex and elaborate thread drawings, layering imagery that incorporates portraits of actual people in my life. . . . When I started working in embroidery my work began to explore feminist topics and gender issues, which I continue to mine today.”
This is a beautifully photographed book that features a variety of styles and materials that show the possibilities for embroidery.
Where PUSH Stitchery is like an exhibition catalogue, Hoopla is a DIY guide. The book begins with a background on stitchery (where we meet “Little Susan”). Other chapters cover “Tools and Materials” (how to choose fabric, how to use a hoop, etc.), “Finishing Techniques” (cleaning, drying trimming, pressing, displaying and storing your work), and “Stitching Resources” (a list of museums, films, books and magazines related to needlecraft).
Here, again, there’s a range of interesting work.
Siobhan Long embellishes photographs with stitchery, giving a toddler a quirky moustache, for example, and Richard Saja works with toile and alters the image, giving one lady the tail, comb and beak of a chicken.
Aubrey Longley-Cook’s images show skeletons of animals with their fleshy profiles surrounding them (I especially like the orange horse), while Iviva Olenick creates graphic narratives of her dating (mis)adventues using embroidery and fabric.
Not every artist in Hoopla is interviewed, but those who are have longer Q&As, and the book includes step-by-step instructions for numerous projects (“Knuckle Tattoo Church Gloves,” “Ransom-Note Pillow”) if you’re so inclined.
No matter what type of embroidery project you’re interested in trying, it probably won’t cost a lot. “While crafters rarely have trouble amassing materials, embroidery projects generally require very little equipment,” writes Prain, adding, “Filling your embroidery basket does not have to be expensive. You should be able to purchase new floss, needles and fabric for under $15. It can also be rewarding to re-purpose unused supplies.”
Imagine what a modern crafter could do with the “Little Susan” embroidery kit.
You can contact Jennifer O’Connor at thriftyflair@gmail.com or follow her on Facebook.