Natalie Chanin and her Alabama Chanin and The School of Making present
their breakthrough method, featuring illustrated instructions (for both
right- and left-handed stitchers) for more than 100 stitches.
Their lessons range from the most basic straight and chain to the more
fanciful feather and herringbone; photos of both right and wrong sides;
and guidelines for modifying stitches to further increase one's
repertoire.
As makers, we tend to learn different stitches over time without
thinking much about how they relate to one another. But when Natalie
Chanin and her Alabama Chanin and The School of Making teams began to
look at needlework closely, they realized all stitches are based on
geometric grid systems--and by using grids as guides, they could make
learning stitches, even seemingly elaborate ones, as easy as child's
play. Chapters include:
- A New Way to Think about Sewing and Embroidery
- For the Love of Tools
- Basic Stitches
- Enhancing Stitches
- Manipulating Grids
- Patterned Stitches
There is also an Index of Design Choices and a Stitch Index.
To simplify learning, the book includes two plastic stitching cards
die-cut with the grids on which every stitch in the book is based. These
reusable cards can be stitched through for practicing (just as children
use lacing cards to learn to tie shoes) or used as stencils for
transferring grids to fabric.
Chanin writes in her introduction, "The art of making can change your
life, help you become a more informed consumer, and aid you in passing
on important knowledge to the next generation. I know that I am my best
self when I am making and sharing. I hope the lessons in this book will
instill you with confidence, deepen your love for the arts of hand
sewing and embroidery, and inspire you to share your love of making with
others."
