Transform your ideas on creative fabric embellishment for textile art that's full meaning and astounding texture, in this inspiring book by award-winning textile art tutor and artist Jan Dowson. Whether it's a landscape, a garden, an animal or a powerful memory of a place or object, Jan shows you how she develops them all into beautifully stitched representations that exude awe-inspiring detail, colour and expression. Discover Jan's unique sketchbook process, where she stores and collects natural items, and explores different patterns, textures, media and markings to cultivate her final design. See her simple yet effective methods for transforming her fabric for stitching, including dyeing, embellishing and stamping. Then, watch her transform an unassuming square of fabric into a contemporary piece of art brimming with colour, texture and extraordinary stitched markings - all made through the combination of traditional sewing techniques and other media. Following a fascinating, illustrated step-by step chapter on Jan's key techniques, join her as she takes you through the stages of three types of work for which she is most renowned - the stitched landscape, the memory cloth and the bird sculpture. Each project also includes a break down of the materials, tools and techniques used, so that can understand as well as see the development of her astounding, mixed-media creations. Throughout the book, a gallery of Jan's work complements her techniques and projects, showing how to truly push the limits on your stitcheries. These are stunning pieces that will open your eyes and turn your own creative concepts into original, personal work.

Kathleen Matthews shares her unique method of creating beautiful landscapes using quilting, dyeing and stitching techniques. She shows what materials are needed, and takes us through her design process from taking reference photographs of landscapes through composition, identifiying the light source and choosing fabrics and thread to create the scene. There is an excellent section on using simple dyeing methods to create unique fabrics that are ideal for landscapes. We then learn how to transfer the design on to fabric, create a quilt and then layer fabrics to create the various parts of a picture. Free machine embroidery is then used to create the effect, with hand embroidery sometimes employed for details. There is plenty of information on creating landscape elements such as water, skies, trees, hills and mountains, fields, flowers and buildings and more, and on depicting the four seasons. There are five gorgeous step by step projects showing an Autumn Woodland, Flowers in a Landscape, a Mountain Scene, a Sunset on Water and a Lavender Field. The book is filled with beautiful landscapes to inform and inspire textile artists. This book is part of the new Stitched Textiles series for textile artists (in particular intermediate to experienced embroiderers, quilters, etc.), showing how to embellish and enhance fabric surfaces with paints, dye, appliqué, collaged elements, stitching, beads and more. Themes are forever popular in the textile world, and this book on stitched landscapes will demonstrate how to design, realise and create original work.

Sew Wild liberates you! Enjoy unlimited freedom to color, pattern, and customize your own fabric with fun, spectacular results. Get wild with printing, painting, drawing, stenciling, and other surface design methods and unique materials such as plastic bags, photographs, and cardboard. Dive into 12 simple sewing projects to make colorful, wearable, and hip designs, including a stunning wall quilt, adorable hats for kids or adults, a pretty wreath, cuff bracelets, and a modern ruffled apron. Artist Alisa Burke demonstrates many of the techniques and essentials of surface design and sewing on an included DVD. In addition to the in-depth video instruction, you'll get a bonus project exclusively on the DVD. Whether you're already a rule-breaker or you're looking to improvise, Sew Wild shows you how to create fabric and designs that explode with color, pattern, and soul.

"Katie Essam's fresh, modern style uses unique combinations of traditional techniques, and in this book she shows you how to create beautiful textile art inspired by the beauty in everyday objects."--Amazon.com