From Viking Age clothing to Catholic vestments and prestigious royal gowns, European embroidery has a rich history that is closely intertwined with our cultural past. Europe was also a site for embroidery innovation; techniques that were discovered here continue to live on today in the clothes we wear and the ways we decorate our homes….
Finery and Lace: Embroidery in Europe
Wassily Kandinsky lived and breathed colour, letting it infiltrate his entire life. His impassioned, ferocious paintings are a testament to this, with their noisy, clanging clashes of dazzling brilliance that exude a spirit of endless optimism and hope. He was a great leader in the 20th century European avant-garde, taking art into the great and…
Those of you that have already read my first entry ‘Diary of a novice Sewist’, will maybe remember, that PANTS were quite the challenge for me. For weeks… When I started making my own clothes in February, I predominantly found patterns through Instagram. It didn’t take long for my paths to cross with the Persephone…
The art of adorning clothing with embroidery has been an Indian tradition for more than 5,000 years. Its history is deeply embedded into the history of Indian culture, religion and daily life, and it is a tradition that continues to this day. Throughout Indian history embroidery has been there, adorning the homes of ordinary people…
Cubist painter Georges Braque celebrated the ambient power of warm, naturalistic colours throughout his career, bringing rich and appealing earthy tones like LODEN GREEN into many of his most famous paintings. A pioneering French Cubist alongside Pablo Picasso, Braque’s limited hues initially gave him room to focus on wildly experimental designs without letting bright colours…
When I first looked through FS patterns, I didn’t notice the RIVA collection. Looking at it closely, this pattern bundle not only contains the perfect wardrobe staples with timeless designs but also featured outstanding detail. Funny story, I never had a classic white shirt – please don’t blame me – but in all honestly, I used…
What does it mean to be well? This is a question I ask myself, every single day. To be more precise, I ask myself; how does this person sitting before me feel, when they are well? This question is at the root of everything that I do and every decision I make as an acupuncturist….
Post-war British artist Patrick Heron was a colourist at heart, creating noisy, expressive paintings that seem to fizz and pop with life. He often brought sombre shades of purple, indigo and blue into his abstract paintings, letting it meander in velvety ribbons across white backgrounds, or seep into endless pools of darkness. BLUE ICE’s cool…
Are you ready to make some beautiful linen stockings? They are a great use of your scraps. I recently had the honor of being featured in the Curated By You series, and I decided to use the leftover QUARTZ linen from my dress to make some new Christmas stockings for my family. We have quite the miss-matched collection…
When I think of Christmas, I think of the smell of oranges, freshly baked Vanillekipferl (Austrian cookies coated in vanilla sugar) and of blown out candles. I think of the city that seems to sparkle with the festivity of Christmas lights and you can just about see every single snowflake illuminated. Christmas markets, where you…
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do. My name is Ella. I’m 29, a proud first-generation American, now Californian, and a home garment sewist by night. By day, I work for a nonprofit foundation connected to Levi Strauss & Co., offering hardship support for Levi’s employees and retirees. When people in our…
Cool, icy greys like VAPOR BLUE are a mainstay in Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s art, capturing the freezing, oceanic air of her native Cornwall. A leading member of the St Ives artists group in Cornwall, England, Barns-Graham was entranced by the steely silver of the ocean and its surrounding rocks. She painted, drew, and printed abstract visions…
The journey of embroidery in the United States is long and complex, with many twists and turns along the way. It begins with the ancient cultures of Native America, and travels through the 17th century New World, flourishing in the American colonies and remaining a popular pastime in the later cities that emerged. Because of…
French artist Raoul Dufy is one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century, known for his brilliantly colourful, spirited artworks that convey a world of eternal optimism. Although he is primarily remembered today as a painter, there is another, less publicised side to Dufy – that of a pioneering textile designer. He produced…
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do. My name is Sara and I live in Northern California with my husband and 3 young boys. All I ever really wanted was to raise a family, and I married my love when I was 19 years old and began doing just that! I’ve dabbled…
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