The Textile Artist: Expressive Stitches

A ‘no-rules’ guide to creating original textile art by Jan Dowson

Transform your ideas about creative, fabric embellishment for textile art that's full of 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. 

Jan begins the creative process by collecting and storing natural items and exploring different patterns, texture, media and markings to cultivate her final design. She uses simple yet effective methods for altering fabric prior to stitching, including dyeing, embellishing and stamping, then transforms her fabric into a vibrant, textured artwork using a combination of traditional hand stitching, machine stitching, 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 you 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, providing inspiration for your own textile artwork. These are stunning pieces that will open your eyes and turn your own creative concepts into original, personal work.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Tools & materials
Fabrics, Threads, Stitching tools, Mixed media

Inspiration
Places, Walks, Collections

Recording
Ideas, Creating a unique sketchbook, Playing with Colour, Marking making

Developing expressive work
Making a plan, Preparing your fabric

Expressive techniques
Dyeing fabric & threads, Printing, Stamping & stencilling, Embellisher, Appliqué, Free-motion embroidery, Expressive hand stitches, Historical & world sewing techniques, Experimental embellishments

Expressive projects
Stitched Landscape, Stitched Landscape Gallery, Memory Cloth, Memory Cloth Gallery, Bird Sculpture, Bird Sculpture Gallery

Conclusion

Index