Fashion and Embroidery in Art
Take a look at some paintings from the British Portraits room at Compton Verney and explore how the artists represent the garments of the sitters with a particular focus on embroidery.
Poppy Inspiration
We love to find inspiration in our gardens and you know we both have used poppies in our work. Take a look at these beautiful examples and maybe use them to draw or paint from in your sketchbook.
Page to Stitch: Painterly Poppies
So you've been working in your sketchbook and are really happy with the pages, but how can you translate that to fabric? In this two-part workshop Linda will show you how she creates a painterly study of poppies in her sketchbook then takes those pages as inspiration to create a quilted panel.
Inspired by Ceramics: Table Runner
Discover how Linda chooses a fabric colour palette for a summer table runner inspired by a collection of hand painted ceramics. Follow our lead and be inspired by your tableware to make a perfectly coordinating quilted table runner. She uses stitch and flip technique in a quilt as you go method of piecing. This is an ideal project for making use of many coloured scraps.
Inspired by Hawaiian Appliqué
Inspired by paper-cut Hawaiian appliqué designs Laura will show you how to use the Procreate app on your iPad to create digitally designed versions and audition your fabrics.
Inspired by Seminole Patchwork
Learn a fast and easy method to design for your quilts using strip piecing inspired by Seminole Patchwork. Laura will show you how to work directly with your fabrics for the design process so you can be sure ideas in your sketchbook pages will translate well to your quilts.
Inspired by Nature
Find inspiration in nature and see how Linda interprets a photographic source as a mixed media study in her sketchbook. She'll show you how to use watercolour, charcoal pencils and oil pastel to create rich surfaces sympathetic to the subject matter. Then working from her sketchbook, Linda interprets the mixed media study into a stitched textile. See how she uses opaque and transparent fabric scraps to build painterly layers adding texture with machine and hand stitching.
What’s the Story? Fractured
Discover the inspirational sources that Linda brought together in the making of her quilt 'Fractured'. Linda also discusses the techniques that she used in the making of the quilt.
Discover The Needle Museum
Discover the fascinating Needle Museum and learn about the history of the dangerous business of making needles from Jo-Ann Gloger, the curator of the collection.
Finding Inspiration
In this archive collection of 5 video workshops Laura will guide you through one approach to finding inspiration for your next project, from sourcing inspirational images to creating interesting layered sketchbook pages.
Art Diary
Are you up for a challenge? How about working along with Linda as she records events, people and places in a visual art diary? It's a fascinating way to approach a creative challenge - you just let your imagination respond to each day as it happens. In this archive collection you'll be encouraged to collect inspirational material, write, draw, print, paint and stitch - before you know it you'll have experimented with a huge range of art techniques and you'll have a sketchbook bursting with ideas to inspire future work!
Still Life- Quick Drawing to Fabric Collage
Start with quick sketches, explore tone and draw with colour. Take what you've learnt to create a fabric collage with machine stitching. Linda and Laura will show you step by step how to record your chosen still life objects using graphite pencils. How to introduce colour with water soluble pencils and finally, how to translate the still life arrangement into a small textile piece using appliqué and both hand and machine stitch.
WAG: The Art of Drawing
Visiting The Art of Drawing at Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Banjara Inspirations
Linda looks to the traditional textiles of the Banjara for inspiration. Join her to look at some examples and to study the colours, techniques and patterns of these decorative and heavily stitched cloths. Using them as inspiration, Linda demonstrates how you can start your own stitched cloth in the Banjara style.
Archive Three
In Archive 3 you’ll find a lively mix of some of the very first shows we taped for DMTV. Ranging from discharge printing, through altered books and free motion quilting, there’s lots to inspire.
Art as Inspiration
Art, and paintings in particular can provide a rich source of inspiration for textiles. In this series of video workshops Linda guides you through how she’s been inspired by the paintings of Paul Klee to make a small art quilt.
Simple Sock Knitting
Try some simple sock knitting to use up all those left over bits of yarn. Hand knitted socks make a fantastic gift, if you can bear to give them away that is!
Tips for Sewing a CC Charlie Caftan
The Charlie Caftan by Closet Core is a great pattern. Here's my latest version and a step by step look at my method for tackling the trickier part of the make.
Inspired by Ceramics: Table Runner
Discover how Linda chooses a fabric colour palette for a summer table runner inspired by a collection of hand painted ceramics. Follow our lead and be inspired by your tableware to make a perfectly coordinating quilted table runner. She uses stitch and flip technique in a quilt as you go method of piecing. This is an ideal project for making use of many coloured scraps.
Sewing Patch Pockets
Laura's latest dressmaking project has patch pockets. See how she sews them for great results every time.
Dress/Skirt Refashion
Refashion a dress into a simple skirt. This is a super quick project which gives a whole new lease of life to an unworn garment. You'll just need some elastic and a few minutes of time.
Pattern Review: Vogue V9112
My first time making this Marcy Tilton pattern.
Summer Tops – New Look 6217
We've got the dressmaking bug again! The sun is suddenly shining so we need new summer clothes. Immediately! This simple top in cotton lawn was the first off the production line...
Inspired By...
"Where do you get your inspiration from?". That's the number one question we are always asked whenever we teach or give a lecture. And the answer? Well inspiration can be found all around you! We all have themes and ideas that appeal to us, and that we return to time and again. For us inspiration can be found in the landscape, nature, art and music, but what fires you? Maybe it's architecture, plants, historical costume...
Finding Inspiration
In this classroom we'll talk about not only the places you can look for inspiration, but equally importantly, what to do with it when you find it.
Video Workshops
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