Russia, as we now know it, has a long and complex history of embroidery, one going back many hundreds of years. From the gold thread vestments of medieval clergy to the colourful and intricately illustrated clothing of indigenous cultures, Russian embroidery has much to tell us about the nation through the centuries. Far more than…
National Treasure: Embroidery in Russia
ROSE SMOKE’s sweet, tart pink coloured Robert Delaunay’s kaleidoscopic art, filling it with the bright freshness of summer. Delaunay was a leading figure in the early 20th century School of Paris, and his art encapsulated the joyful anticipation of the era, a time when rising industrial change promised a life of danger, thrill and adventure….
Linen for babies? 1000% yes. I’d love to share how I became so sure of this decision and show you something truly adorable. If you’re reading articles from the thread often, you may already know the natural benefits of linen. If you’re new here, I’ll go ahead and share just a few of these benefits….
Contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley makes art that celebrates life, with ridiculously exuberant characters, joyful colours and indulgent patterns that are impossible to ignore. Taking his cue from the great history painters of the past, Wiley explores the emotive potential of fabric, allowing it to wrap around his heroic characters and lend them masterful qualities of…
Expressionist artist Chaim Soutine made meaty, muscular paintings loaded with great slabs and strokes of paint; they twist, curl and contort across his canvases in an endless state of flux. Like many artists of the early 20th century Soutine painted a heightened, exaggerated version of the real world, one lit up by iridescent colours and…
Editors Note: Please keep in mind Sophie is writing from the perspective of a new sewist. We do not encourage you to follow her method for sewing your Capucine robe from the unwashed IS010 fabric, this may lead to a poorly fitting robe, rippled seams, and hems. Interfacing is not required, and fusible interfacing will…
The roots of embroidery are often traced back to ancient China. It was the Chinese who first began cultivating and producing silk, a magical substance that could be woven into the softest fabrics, or spun into threads as soft and fine as human hair. Some of the very first embroideries were also produced in China…
Dazzling shades of blue like CERULEAN linen were a hallmark feature of Pablo Picasso’s late art, colouring it with the fresh light of the Mediterranean Sea. In his later years Picasso settled in the South of France, and, much like his contemporary Henri Matisse, the vivid, intense colours he encountered there ignited his artworks with…
Recently, I forced myself to take some time during one of my busiest times of the year, to purposefully go into nature and forage for sources of colour. I particularly love experimenting with new plants, seeing colour magically emerge from the dye bath. I love learning about the nuances of plants and familiarizing myself with…
Sean Scully’s art has a dense, hard-won quality that seems innately bound to the earth. Warm, metallic shades of grey like that of PEWTER Linen dominate his works of art, stacked into loose grids that resemble the hand-made structures of human civilization: drystone walls, slate rooves or careworn paving stones. Throughout his long career, Scully…
Just like I announced in my last entry, today I would like to replace fear and anxiety with some inspiration. Some of you might remember the keywords IRONING and ZIPPER. I will talk about both of these in some detail today. But I promise you, it’s not that horrible and it won’t hurt. You have…
In our final article on the role of fabric in Japanese ukiyo-e art, we examine how the genre of ukiyo-e evolved and changed in the 20th and 21st centuries, and the continuing role fabric played in its development throughout this period. Although the dominance of ukiyo-e in Japanese culture largely faded from around 1900 onwards,…
Sonia Delaunay was an unmistakable talent, a star of the 20th century who moved seamlessly between disciplines. Underpinning her practice was a fascination with colour and movement, and the ways it could capture the anticipation of rising modernity in Paris. The colour combinations she explored were often unusual and unexpected, creating jarring, clanging clashes of…
Embroidery has an incredibly rich and varied history spanning thousands of years, and it is still widespread and popular today. In fact, of all our world’s ancient traditions, it is one of the longest surviving. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised at this epic lifespan – embroidery has the power to entirely transform clothing and fabrics,…
20th century Russian pioneer Natalia Goncharova had an astonishingly varied and prolific career, spanning painting, printmaking, costume, set design and more. Pulling together all these diverse ideas was a desire to celebrate her Russian heritage, and its place in an increasingly modern society. Russian fabrics were among her most favourite and cherished objects, particularly those…
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