What is Slow Stitching? How to Get Started
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Recently I've fallen in love with a new artistic practice called tedious stitching, and it fits so well with periodical making I decided to first a whole new category here on Artjournalist just for fabric arts.
If you're new to the whole concept of slow stitching or maybe you've been eyeing up some lovely hand sewn projects, hopefully this post will assistance you become on the correct track.
What is Irksome Stitching? Definition & History
So, what is dull stitching? In a busy and cluttered globe, sometimes it's just nice to…well…slow downward, relax, have a few deep breaths and non worry about creating a production, just enjoying a procedure. Slow stitching is i of those creative arts perfect for this!
I ascertain slow stitching as a mindful needlework process that focuses on intention and the joy brought from creating – non then much the terminal result of the piece itself.
Does that sound familiar to my philosophy on what is fine art journaling? Of form it does…no wonder I love boring stitching so much!
The slow stitch movement was originally created past Mark Lipinksi, a well-known effigy in the quilting industry. Afterward some health issues he realized the need for slowing downwards – and the many benefits that can come from a mindful stitching exercise.
Modeled after the irksome nutrient motility, the bespeak of slow stitching isn't to be perfect, or fifty-fifty to make a cohesive concluding piece {although many pieces are beautiful pieces of textile art!} – the intention is to enjoy the process one stitch at a time, to relax, and to not stress about all the things we might worry about if we were trying to brand a perfect quilt or sewing projection.
This is where I have to come up in and say while I Dear sewing…I am just not very talented at it. I can sew a direct run up, and that's virtually it! {Sometimes my stitching isn't even straight!} But that's what is great about slow stitching – if you love the procedure that'south enough to savour it!
My adventures in sewing other projects accept not been so enjoyable. I've tried quilting several times over the past years. Cutting exact measurements, precision and those darn scant 1/4″ seams are all things you'll never have to worry nearly over again when y'all cover slow stitching, which is why I think I like it and so much!
The best office about slow stitching? You don't necessarily need any expensive tools to get started. Some fabric scraps, a needle, and thread is all that'south really necessary – although there's plenty of beautiful trims & embellishments that can be used to finish off a piece.
The Benefits of Slow Stitching
One of the best things most this mindful artistic process is yous don't take to be perfect – not at meditation and not as sewing either!
Mindfulness looks differently to different people. For some, it might be sipping on an herbal tea and meditating, to others it might be just the and sewing along to some of your favorite podcasts or videos in the background.
For me, the art of slow stitching is all most just intuitively letting the creative process period…I don't worry about following a pattern, or having perfectly cut pieces, I even let raw unfinished edges hang loose.
Virtually of the time I just hum right along, beingness happy to just be in the moment without worrying or stressing near stuff going on in my life. And when I am stressed, needlework tin can definitely reduce that amount of stress, information technology's a lot like mark making with cloth!
Here are some of the many benefits of why slow stitching is healthy:
No Fancy Supplies Required:
Sewing and Quilting supplies are expensive. I call back the beginning time I visited a material shop and was floored to realize everything I liked cost $20/grand. I understand the value of loftier quality textile {and love to support small shops!} but unfortunately at the time the loftier cost made information technology impossible for me to even consider actually getting into traditional quilting.
While you can certainly notwithstanding buy new cloth, the thing I like about tiresome stitching is it actually gets back to the roots of original quilting and patchwork using up scraps of dissimilar fabrics and materials.
There are all sorts of things you lot can apply in slow stitching – much like I say when making junk journals – if you can gum information technology on, you tin can use information technology! In slow stitching, we just sew it on instead. 🙂
No Planning or Expected Outcome
Another thing I love well-nigh slow stitching is there actually is no expected outcome in what you might create. Y'all don't have to plan meticulously similar you lot would for a quilt. Y'all don't have to worry about sticking with a detail theme or motif {although I frequently do pick a motif just to narrow down my focus}.
You don't know what you might make, other than some type of material fabric fine art. Your finished slice might be a textile collage, a piece of embroidery, a journal cover – or it might be something totally unexpected that blurs the lines betwixt what exactly information technology is – that'southward okay!
You Tin Embrace Your Imperfections
Permit's face it: None of u.s.a. are perfect and we all have some inner critic who's going to tell us we're not adept enough or our art is not up to snuff.
With slow stitching, yous can embrace those imperfections and throw your inner critic to the curb, at to the lowest degree while yous're stitching anyways. {That critic e'er has a way to sneak back in on me…tsk, tsk, that pesky inner critic!}
I like to recall of slow stitching as the "art journal" of the sewing globe – it'southward a bully place to exercise, explore, and experiment with unlike ideas and learn new techniques.
When we're learning something new, sometimes we accept to remember that the trying process…can be very trying indeed! With slow stitching, you can endeavour those new techniques you lot've been thinking of, without necessarily having to worry about "ruining" anything.
It'southward Portable
Some other squeamish advantage of slow stitching is it's portable and well suited for travel, especially if you're sewing by hand. Yous can bring an English paper piecing project well-nigh anywhere, and you can certainly embroider with minimal supplies in tow.
I've fifty-fifty been able to do a couple of slow stitching projects in bed. I gear up a couple of bins, one with textile and one with sewing supplies like needles and thread – and I can sew away happily and easily clean upward when I'yard done.
While y'all don't have to go all minimalist, it'due south prissy to know that you tin can escape from having to lug effectually a sewing car just to meet upwards with friends to do a piffling sewing together. It's also great for travel!
Slow Stitching is a Soulful Process
Lastly, the act of wearisome stitching can exist very spiritually fulfilling, equally it helps give your human action of creating a deeper pregnant. It allows y'all to plough within and really recollect almost what you want to limited – instead of but following current trends or ticking off projects off your to-do listing.
With every piece I create, I'thousand always thinking of a story. Maybe it's the story of "what's going on now" or "how I feel today" but other pieces have been stories of people I've loved, like the peacock tiresome stitch project I made incorporating my grandmother's necklace, which I likewise wore to my blood brother's nuptials.
Existence able to piece of work on a project so nearly and dearest to my center and to recall of my grandmother and her 2 crazy peacocks named Oreo and Cookie with every stitch was merely an amazing experience that made me love slow stitching all the more.
Some people call slow stitching soul stitching or therapeutic sewing, and with so many benefits, it'due south easy to empathise why!
Now that we've talked about what slow stitching is and it'southward benefits, I hope you want to try it and would love to get started! Below is a unproblematic tutorial that goes over the basic supplies and materials y'all'll need, only of course proceed in mind there actually are no rules – you lot tin can do as you like!
How to Get Started in Slow Stitching
Ane of the things I honey about slow stitching is it doesn't have to be any specific sort of project or even a specific medium. You could quilt, embroider, knit, crochet – or perhaps even combine a fleck of all your favorite needlework and textile arts.
Step 1: Gratitude for Supplies & Materials
You don't need a lot of fancy supplies to go started – you can utilise some former fabric scraps or if you lot don't have any fabric yet, a lot of shops sell fat quarters super cheap which is a great way to build a stash.
The of import thing is y'all practice a niggling gratitude for those supplies and materials – they didn't come from sparse air! Someone designed a pattern and put all the piece of work into creating the fabric you are working with. If you've ever spent some time weaving or spinning yarn, you know the time and talent involved!
For a basic project, get together some foundation fabric {cotton muslin or quilt batting works great for this!} and some favorite fabrics from your chip pile. You lot only need petty bits, and so don't worry if your pieces are small.
If you don't even so have muslin textile or quilt backing or much for sewing, here are some supplies I recommend:
Muslin Textile By The Yard {Don't go crazy buying a ton – 1 yard is plenty for several modest projects!}
Cotton Quilt Batting – Again, one package is PLENTY for lots of projects! Either buy the muslin or the cotton fiber quilt bankroll – you don't need both!
Embroidery Thread – I like to utilise embroidery thread for nice big stitches, if y'all don't have any yet you can buy a nice package of assorted colors like this one.
Fabric Scraps – It can be difficult to discover textile scraps sometimes if you lot don't have whatsoever. The first identify is to check your cupboard – practice you have erstwhile clothes yous don't wearable anymore that could exist repurposed? You tin can also find fabric bundles similar this i at Amazon to kickoff inexpensively.
Step 2: Get Aware of Your Surroundings & Intention
The next step is to go aware of your surround and make sure it'due south a fun environment to work in. Exercise you accept plenty lighting? Do you experience comfortable where you're set?
Feel free to pour yourself a cup of tea, calorie-free some candles or diffuse your favorite essential oils to ready the infinite for mindful stitching. Yous don't have to have the perfect setup or fifty-fifty a studio – the of import affair is you are comfy and can be intentional in the stitching process.
I've been able to successfully set up slow stitching on my burrow in the living room and in my bed, even if the bed isn't the virtually platonic place to work!
Speaking of setting an intention, this is where information technology can be fun to make up one's mind why you're slow stitching in the start place.
In my tiresome-stitched peacock fabric collage shown above, I was inspired by a fabric I saw at Walmart with peacocks that reminded me of my grandma and her two crazy peacocks Oreo and Cookie. This ready my intention to focus on all the good memories I had of her and times spent at her subcontract as a kid.
Other times, I don't think most anyone or anything specifically, I just focus on the stitching. And don't retrieve this has to be limited to just sewing – you could always adopt the same practice for crochet, knitting, weaving, and more!
Another thing you can practice is get intentional about something you've been thinking about lately. For example, I've been thinking virtually opening up my own shop to sell journals and inspiration kits for slow stitching. What better fashion to stay focused on that than while actually stitching?
You can as well gear up an intention of trying something different or new. Mayhap you lot've never added embellishments to a quilt before, or maybe you desire to do fine-tuning your embroidery skills. You could set the intention to exercise and try out new techniques.
Footstep 3: Outset Stitching!
Lastly, you're ready to only get-go stitching! Whatever your medium may be, you tin focus on your intention and savour the slow and creative process of making your project.
I unremarkably get-go by cutting out my fabrics showtime and making sure they're all going to fit on the backing, much like I would with a regular paper collage. Next, I brainstorm stitching these pieces in identify.
I use what is chosen a running sew, also known equally a straight stitch. It's the near basic of all stitches, but of course you can use other stitches if yous want to try some more than advanced embroidery techniques.
Of grade, this process of sewing everything on by manus is wearisome…just this is a smashing fourth dimension as a creator to remember you enjoy the human action of creating – certainly we wouldn't spend all the time we do on projects if we didn't!
Stride 4: Finish and Enjoy!
It'southward really upwards to you when a piece is finished, and once your fabric pieces are stitched downward y'all tin can choose to embellish your dull sew together project with other things besides!
Hither are some things I've added to my slow stitch projects:
- Buttons
- Ribbons
- Decorative Cloth Trims
- Embroidered Patches
- Jewelry Bits
- Pins
- Charms
The possibilities are endless for things you lot can add to a projection. If yous tin sew information technology down, y'all can add it to your final slice. Like I said, this procedure is so much similar art journaling, merely with fabric instead!
There are too so many options for what you might do with your concluding projection. Some ideas:
- Demark into a fabric journal
- Hang every bit wall art {you could even frame it!}
- Wrap onto a wooden spinning wheel yarn spool
- Place in a keepsake box of small-scale projects to go through everytime you demand some creative inspiration and a smile!
Now that nosotros've talked most what slow stitching is and how to get started, permit's go over some common questions I've been asked the past couple of weeks since I've become hopefully addicted to boring stitching.
Common Questions & Answers Well-nigh Slow Stitching
Do I have to sew everything past hand?
Of course not! You can nonetheless use your sewing machine. The important thing is to exercise gratitude and fix that intention and focus on the artistic process more than the final upshot. I take had a lot of fun "slow stitching" on my Vintage 1947 Singer Sewing auto!
Am I Never Allowed to Buy Anything Once more?
While the commercialism of the crafting industry can get tiresome, y'all are notwithstanding immune to purchase stuff for your projects. The master affair is you Apply those supplies more than y'all simply buy and collect them!
You can buy cute luxury fabrics if you have the means to practice – the important matter is you reflect a little chip on the source of that fabric. Sometimes cheap is not ever good for the environment or maybe a company doesn't marshal with the aforementioned values as yous exercise. Maybe you don't accept a supply stash from decades and in that instance information technology certainly justifies buying new fabrics.
I personally like to use upcycled fabrics from thrifted finds because non only are they are much more affordable that way, simply also because information technology helps reduce landfill waste product.
But yous can certainly purchase new fabrics, which I do sometimes exercise myself considering…well, when you love a fabric, you honey information technology, and that's the terminate of the story. If a material resonates with your intention, it makes sense to just buy it and be done with it!
What if I Don't Like Meditation & Mindfulness But Honey the Finished Expect?
I become it, the whole mindfulness and meditation stuff is not for everyone, heck information technology's non even for me some days lol…and in that case I call back it'southward important to merely remember it's about procedure not final production…let your creative cocky flow and get into it…you lot might be surprised at the results! And of course, practicing gratitude is always a nice habit to become into. Run across my post on gratitude journal prompts. 🙂
I hope this guide to slow stitching is helpful for you, and of course if you take any questions in getting started, please just allow me know in the comments below – I'thou happy to answer whatever questions you might accept! And if you make whatever slow stitched projects I of course would LOVE to meet them – y'all tin can share them in our Artjournalist Facebook Customs Group.
Source: https://artjournalist.com/slow-stiching/
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