The Textile Artist: Layer, Paint And Stitch (create Textile Art Using Freehand Machine Embroidery And Hand Stitching)

Explore Wendy Dolan’s artistic process, from layering fabric textures to painting and embellishing with stitching. This beautiful book contains six step-by-step projects, on the themes of Architecture, Landscapes and Flowers. Each chapter features an inspiring gallery of Wendy’s work, and the final chapter offers inspiration for creating stunning three-dimensional items.

This beautiful book guides the reader through Wendy’s inventive style of work: from piecing and patching fabrics and creating textures to painting and embellishing with hand and machine stitching. This book contains a wealth of inspiration for any textile artist, showing them how to create gorgeous, textured pieces of art and then, in the final chapter, offering inspiration for how to transform these pieces into three-dimensional items such as cushion covers, notebooks, 3-d vessels, and even a wedding dress, which Wendy made for her daughter. The book contains six beautiful step-by-step projects, broken down into three chapters: Architecture, Landscapes and Flowers, and at the end of each section there is an inspiring gallery of Wendy’s work.

Introduction 6
Materials 8
Inspiration 10
Colour 18
Freehand machine stitching 20
Hand stitching 30
Playing with colour 34
Playing with texture 44
Design 48

Flowers
Summer Meadow 54
Iris 66
Flowers gallery 80

Architecture
Venetian Window 82
Montage inspired by Gaudi 94
Architecture gallery 104

Landscapes
Rugged Moors 108
Poppy Field 120
Landscapes gallery 130

Three-dimensional inspiration 134
Wedding dress 136
Three-dimensional vessels 138
Cushion covers 142
Notebook covers 143

Index 144

Explore Wendy Dolan''s artistic process, from layering fabric textures to painting and embellishing with stitching. This beautiful book contains six step-by-step projects, on the themes of architecture, landscapes, and flowers. Each chapter features an inspiring gallery of Wendy''s work, and the final chapter offers inspiration for creating stunning three-dimensional items. 

If you have ever wondered about how to put depth and soul into your work then Wendy Dolan’s book will show you her technique for doing so.

Wendy encourages you to gather together all those odds and ends of fabrics, natural and synthetic, and experiment to find out how they work together, and the differing ways they accept, or reject, other media.

The first chapters are very informative about materials, equipment, machine supplies and some basic items. Inspiration and colour use is followed by an in-depth look at free machining with some great ''Wendy Tips''. She really does know her sewing machines!

Wendy encourages you to play with colour by mixing, layering and mindfulness of your base layer fabrics. Following these first instructions you could spend quite some time just experimenting with the amazing effects to which she opens your eyes. In the second part of the book, Wendy takes you through some of her workshops, step-by-step. Flowers, architecture and landscapes are produced with such character from the layers and applications of media that you cannot fail to be drawn to them.

Though nothing quite replaces a physical workshop, this book comes as close as you could to spending a few days with Wendy herself. The instructions are easy to follow with plenty of information clearly explained. Novice and more experienced stitchers will find plenty to learn.

This book is eye candy with instructions! Browse through the pages and you’ll feel