In this engaging and comprehensive instructional guide, British textile artist and teacher Alison Holt demonstrates how to create embroidered pictures using nothing more than straight and zigzag stitches on a sewing machine. Holt, who emphasizes economy at every step (practice with thread and fabric you already own, for example), begins with the basics of freeform embroidery before zeroing in on the program's specific focus: flowers (such as poppies, roses, daisies, and foxglove) and foliage. Multiple camera angles are employed, including a three-way split screen to offer viewers 1) an overall view, 2) a look at Holt's tensioning on the machine, and 3) a close-up of the actual stitching. After covering flower specifics, Holt discusses painting silk backgrounds using heat-set dyes, and then demonstrates how to embroider flowers on the top to make miniature landscapes. Highly recommended. [Note: also newly available in the Studio Galli arts & crafts series are Creating Wire & Beaded Jewelry with Linda Jones and Silk Painting with Jill Kennedy.] Aud: P. (R. Reagan)
Creating Machine Embroidery with Alison Holt: Flowers & Landscapes
(2008) 207 min. DVD: $29.95. Studio Galli (dist. by The AV Cafe). PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-9789201-2-0. Volume 23, Issue 5
Creating Machine Embroidery with Alison Holt: Flowers & Landscapes
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