Creative Reuse: Proposed Workshop - Improv Embroidery
The workshop I’d like to teach focuses on “improv embroidery,” by which I mean, intuitive embroidery without a plan or pattern. This is how I work on all of my embroidery projects.
This workshop will provide gentle encouragement and instruction on how to create beautiful embroidery pieces using an unplanned, improvisational approach. Whether you have never picked up a needle or are an experienced embroiderer, this method is available to you. Enjoy the beauty of color, textile and fiber without any stress of “messing up,” which is simply impossible in this approach!
Rather than being guided by a pattern, you will learn to follow your intuition and the direction provided by the work itself as it progresses. You may make a piece that’s abstract, representative, lettered — the process is very flexible.
Learning to work in this way is fun and relaxing, and applicable to any embroidery project. It also provides useful skills and confidence that are transferable to other stitch projects that can throw curveballs, such as visible mending, because working in this manner requires us to really understand our materials and how they behave.
I have many years of experience as a teacher. Please see more about that here.
I am focusing on projects that used materials I found at Creative Reuse below, but you can see more of my fiber arts projects here. Every project on that page was made with reused materials that were found in thrift shops and other reuse stores, such as FabScrap and Sew Green.
Collaboration with Anonymous Project: 2023 to Present
For this series I source incomplete embroidery projects at reuse stores and I complete them in my own improvisational way. Here are two examples that started in your bulk section!
Example 1: “Coast Refracted”
The first image on left was how I purchased the starting embroidery.. It was a very carefully done cross stitch on pale blue Aida fabric. I didn’t love the fabric — it reminded me of shop cloths - and so I wanted to cover it all up. I also wanted to add a lot of texture. The beading accomplishes that, and I used many raised embroidery stitches as well. It was finally mounted on a piece of foam board also found in the bulk section.
Example 2: “The House of Flowers”
The original piece looked to me like an experimental piece that was quickly abandoned. I wanted to preserve the happy color scheme and expand on the floral theme, which is a favorite of mine. This is mostly embroidery with a bit of applique, also made from reclaimed fabrics.
Embroidery Projects with Creative Reuse Materials
Example 3: “Ugh”
This project is my statement on November 2024. The first photo here is of an early stage of this project, where I’d already started to stitch in the lettering. (I don’t always take the time to snap a “before” photo, I’m usually too excited to get moving on it! In this case at least I remembered early on. ) The material was found in the fabric sample bin in your bulk section, and most of the fibers I used in this piece were found in your fabric section. The sequins were thrifted elsewhere, as was the frame, which I painted to complement.
Examples 4: “Sumptuary”
I don’t have a starting photo for this work, but this was initially also a fabric sample in your bulk section. Originally only the gray/ silver stitching was present on a white ground. You can probably see the areas that look machine stitched; whereas all of my work is done by hand.
I was thinking about oligarchy when I made this piece — sumptuary laws historically limited luxury materials and even some colors exclusively for the use of the wealthy. This piece includes elaborate braiding stitches, beading including some natural gem stones, glass cabachons attached with shisha work and applique. This piece also has goldwork, but I want to make clear that there is no actual gold in this piece! That is the term for all metal used in embroidery — I used gold colored copper and plain copper wire here. I am currently painting a thrifted frame for this piece.
Example 5: “Terrain”
The vintage handkerchief was sourced at a thrift shop in Connecticut but the fibers used in this piece were purchased at Creative Reuse.
