Stitch Draw: Design and Techniques for Figurative Stitching

Use your thread and needle like a pencil! This guide to figurative stitching with the sewing machine will help you expand your repertoire and master this increasingly popular technique.

When you want to make a fresh artistic statement, put down the pencil and turn on the sewing machine instead! Figurative stitch work is a hot look, and Rosie James—a leading exponent of the style—takes newcomers by the hand and guides them through its ins and outs. Using her own gorgeous drawings, plus those of other top artists, she lays out a repertoire of techniques, including: transferring drawing to cloth, working with transparencies, stitching on photographs, using multicolored threads, layering images, and creating a pleasing composition.