Dedication
For my daughter, Saya
For Grammy
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to everyone at C&T for giving me the amazing opportunity to work on this book. I have learned so much through this process. Thank you especially to Cynthia for giving me the guidance I needed to dive into work on my first book. I am in awe of your talent with words and grateful for your support and your patience.
Thank you, Sharon, for your hospitality, your friendship, your support, and all your help in getting this book done.
Thank you to Stephanie and Matt for your help.
Thank you to Madison, Madisyn, and Milana for being beautiful on the inside and out and for being so much fun to work with.
Thank you, Christa, for your beautiful photographs and for being so wonderful to work with. Im so glad I found you!
And, of course, Junji and Saya. You are my best friends, my teammates, and my inspiration. Thank you for making sacrifices so that I could have the time and space I needed to work on this book. Thank you, Junji, for telling me that I could fail and you would still love me. I carried those words in my heart and thought of them every time I started to doubt myself. Your love and support carried me through this process. I love you both with my whole heart.
HELLO, STITCHERS!
Do you love to make things? Or are you new to crafting and just want to give it a try? There is nothing I love more than making things. I cant wait to share some ideas with you! Whatever your skill level, I hope this book will inspire you to get creativeand to have fun, too.
In these pages you will find projects you can make with fabric, paper, and thread. You can make things to wear or to decorate your home. You can make something for yourself or something to give as a gift.
Many of the projects involve embroidery. I will show you how to use a needle and colorful embroidery thread to add pictures and patterns to fabric and paper. Youll also find simple sewing projects and fun, unusual ideas for using fabric and recycled materials. All the materials used in the projects are easy to find at a craft store or thrift store.
Even if you are a beginner, you will be able to make all the projects in this book. But some may take a bit more skill and patience than others. The projects are marked with one, two, or three needles. This marks their level of difficulty.
| This is a simple project that you will be able to take on right away. |
| For this project, youll learn a new skill. |
| This project may be a little tricky, or it might take a little longer, but with a little practice and patience you will be able to master it! |
GET STARTED, GET INSPIRED
When you start crafting, you will see endless possibilities for things to make. Begin by learning some basic skills and techniques. Then you can go in any direction you choose.
To make the projects in this book, youll need just a few simple supplies and tools.
Once you get started, you will find that certain fabrics and tools become personal favorites.
Fabrics
Hand-printed fabric: You can buy lots of wonderful print fabrics at quilt shops as well as online. I especially love hand-printed fabrics, though. They are so different and such fun! All the printed fabric shown in the projects in this book comes from Sara Lee Parker. She sells her hand-printed fabric on Etsy (etsy.com/shop/saraleeparker).
Linen: This is my favorite fabric for embroidery. For more about plain fabric to embroider on, turn to Fabric ().
Leather: A couple of projects in this book call for upcycled leather. For this, you can find and cut up old purses or wallets. Used leather is soft and has a nicely worn look.
Detail of Embroidered Bracelet ()
Felt & felted wool: Some projects in this book use felt as a backing for fabric or embroidered pieces. You can use craft felt or wool felt. Wool felt is a little more expensive, but it is great to work with. Felted wool is different from felt. Its made from old sweaters! In this book Ill show how you can easily wash and shrink sweaters to make soft, fuzzy felted wool.
Start with an old wool sweater.
Felted Disk Coasters ()
Fusible web: One of my favorite products is Pellon 805 Wonder-Under fusible web. Its a fusible interfacing that sticks to fabric when you press it with a hot iron. You can use it to stick one fabric to another without sewing! Wonder-Under has a paper backing that comes in very handy for tracing patterns. Several projects in this book use Wonder-Under. The directions for using Wonder-Under come with the product, and I suggest you read them carefully before use. You will need an iron and ironing board to fuse it in place.
Crafting Supplies
Most of the supplies and tools you will need are pretty basic. You may already have some of them around the house. Many of the rest are easy to find at craft stores and fabric stores.
Youll need a few other simple but special items for embroidering. To find out about these, turn to Embroidery ().
| safety tip |
Two tools youll use often are an iron and a hot glue gun. An iron you know about.
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