Introduction
The difficulty for me in organizing this course has
always been, not what I wanted to share with you, but how to edit what I wanted
to share. I have been exploring and
experimenting with my two loves, paper, and stitch for a while now, trying to
find what appeals most to me, where my creative bent lies. I’m coming to think I have a dual personality
in that regard.
I’m attracted to very precise stitching on paper,
geometric and linear as well as a very random and almost raw or organic
stitching. I find white on white or neutrals appealing and Zen-like while
appreciating the shock value of vivid colour on white or black. I can appreciate the beauty and soul in a
limited, muted colour palette while finding joy in vibrant colours. Manipulation of paper can add dimension as
well as texture to a stitched piece giving complexity versus simplicity. Adding metal opens up new areas to
explore. There are no boundaries. I am only now beginning to narrow down some
of the elements that strongly appeal to me.
What I am hoping to do in this class is show you some of the paths I’ve travelled;
expose you to techniques I’ve come across in my journey (and wherever possible
provide you with references and video links to those techniques) and show you
some of the work of the artists who’ve inspired me.
Not every technique will be of interest to every person
and not every style will appeal. I’m
hoping that you will take what appeals and follow that path. Every creative journey is unique and meanders
in its own way. It’s my hope that over
the next six lessons you will discover some interesting paper/textile artists
and add to your own repertoire of skills. The number of inspiration artists has
grown since this class was first taught and my own personal tastes have changed
somewhat over the intervening years. I
hope you enjoy the journey.
One of the first things to explore is stitching into a
paper background. At this point, we are or still dealing with a single sheet of
paper. Speaking of paper, when you begin
you want to have a relatively sturdy paper to work with. I typically use a 140lb or 300 gsm
watercolour paper. I have worked with
90lb or 190 gsm (or lesser weight paper)
but you need to take some precautions if
and when using wet media to keep your paper from buckling when drying (tape it
to a flat surface) I’ve included a link
to a guide to looking at paper weights – it can be very confusing to determine
the weight and thickness of paper when you use the lb measurement. The gsm is a much more reliable measurement
for paper weight and sturdiness.
What
Is GSM Paper? Everything You Need to Know.
Paper Sizes
There are two main paper size systems used in the world –
ANSI (American National Standard Institute) used in North America and ISO
(International Organization for Standardization) used internationally.
In Canada, we are more familiar with ANSI which gives us
Letter and Legal-size paper, while Europe uses A4 and A3 sizes. The international system is based on an
aspect ratio format which is equal to the square root of 2. This is handy in measurement. The A system
(most used) is based on the A0 which has an area of 1 square metre. Each size category, when folded in half, will
give you the next size category below it, unlike the ANSI system in which all
levels have unique measurements.
Lesson 1
Stitch
You can look at stitching on paper from a couple of
perspectives: hand stitching, machine stitching, and a combination of the two
Points to consider when Hand stitching
·
Paper is not forgiving – when you make a hole
to stitch through, it’s permanent – there is no unpicking your work. The only thing you can do it live with it or
cover it up with more paper.
·
The thicker the paper, the harder it is to
sew through but the more stable the surface
·
The more layers you have, the harder it is to
sew through
·
The thicker the thread, the larger the needle
eye, therefore the larger the hole required
·
When you have thick paper or a lot of layers
of paper, it is hard to be spontaneous with your stitches because the holes for
stitching usually need to be pre-punched for sewing
·
When pre-punching holes, do so on a soft
surface – a layer of foam or several newspapers, corrugated cardboard, etc.
(something that has a bit of give to it)
·
An awl or paper piercer or large needle will
work as piercing tool
Tools
for Stitching Paper: A Flashback to the Past (the tools I mention are available on Amazon,
ebay and etsy for outrageous prices)
Beginners
Hand Stitching for Paper Crafts - YouTube
Simple
Geometric Stitching on Cards - YouTube
Points to consider when machine stitching
·
Use a longer than normal stitch length –
stitches that are too close together will simply perforate the paper making it
easy to tear along the stitch line
·
Dedicate one needle to working on paper –
paper will eventually dull the needle, and you won’t want to use it on
fabric. (Mark it with a bit of marker or
nail polish so you can tell which one is for paper use)
·
Free motion embroidery is possible on paper –
making an outline of an image or adding text on multiple layers or backed with
thin muslin
·
Tension is not always the same for paper as
for fabric so test on a scrap (standard procedure)
Fundamental
tips for machine sewing into paper - YouTube
Free
machine embroidery....on paper?! - YouTube 10 min
starts the actual construction of the collage to be stitched
Designing Simple Patterns
There are many ways to begin designing your own simple
patterns. If you can draw (I’m
challenged that way), you can simply sketch lightly on your substrate surface
in pencil and then mark out your holes for stitching at regular intervals. When your pattern is complete, you can erase
any pencil marks that remain.
If you are like me, or you plan to recreate the item
several times, you can make a template on
separate, lightweight piece of paper.
I frequently use dotted or lined grid paper for this purpose since I
like working with geometric designs. I
also find that having a stitching template that has connecting lines drawn on
it, is extremely helpful when I go to complete my design. When you remove your template and you are
faced with dozens if not hundreds of holes in a piece of paper it can be hard
to remember where you had planned to stitch.
The first template on the left is the hole placement mentioned in the
video Simple Geometric Stitching on Cards listed above.
L template
R template
Sizes for Card Making
When starting to stitch on paper, card making is an easy
size to work with. Cutting an 8 ½ x 11” piece of cardstock in half will give
you a basic card size and then you can work your way down from there to
calculate a small 1/8 “ mat and the size of your stitching base. You can adjust
the sizes if you would like a larger ¼ “ spacing for your mat.
Single Mat Card Double
Mat Card
5 ½ x 4 ¼ “ card 5
½ x 4 ¼ “ card
5 ¼ x 4 “ mat 5
¼ x 4 “ mat 1
5 x 3 ¾ “ stitching base 5 x 3 ¾ “ mat
2
4
¾ x 3 ½ “ stitching base
Miniature Art
If you like working small, you might want to consider
Artist Trading Cards. (this would also
lead into the Guild Inspiration Day activity)
The size requirement for an Artist Trading Card or ATC is 2.5” x 3.5”,
the size of most common trading cards like Hockey, Baseball and Pokemon, etc.
Books – for Reference
A
Look at Books video of books used for this class (listed
below)
Mixed Media Master Class with Sherrill Kahn (50+
Surface Design Techniques for Fabric and Paper)
Cut, Shape, Stitch: Working Creatively with Cutting
Machines by Maggie Grey, Samantha Packer and Paula Watkins
Long Diaries, Tall Tales: Making Narrative Textiles by
Maggie Grey
Paper, Metal, Stitch by Maggie Grey and Jane Wild
Surface Treatment Workshop: Explore 45 Mixed Media
Techniques by Darlene Olivia McElroy and Sandra Duran Wilson
Stitched Textiles: Seascapes by Amanda Hislop
Textures from Nature in Textile Art by Marian Jazmik
Stitch, Cloth, Paper and Paint by Angie Hughes
Storytelling with Collage by Roxanne Evans Stout
Paper Quilting: Creative Designs using Paper and
Thread by Bridget Hoff
Designing
a Stitch Template Using Grid Paper – video demo
Artist Links
Izzy
and Gina -- In Stitches podcast series
Sophie
Reid littlepaperwarriors
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