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Like many pieces, this little fabric collage started with an afternoon playing in my studio. I had no real plan, just a desire to experiment further with my patched and stitched cloth method.
This is my favourite way to create, no pattern deadlines, no size restraints, and no clear outcome of what it’s intended purpose will be. Just my hands, fabric scraps, little vintage treasures, threads and needles.
It’s such a calming way to create, just you and the rhythm of thought as your hands touch textiles, admiring their colour, pattern and texture. It’s a type of mindfulness completely unique to working with textiles, a feeling of productivity in a beautiful way, a connection between hands and fibers that calm the mind and bring joy to the heart.
For this piece I started with a piece of peachy pink solid cotton fabric. I went to my little scrap box and pulled out a few pretty fabric scraps that just kind of spoke to me. Then I went to my embroidered linen boxes and found a few sweet pieces I could harvest – some flowers and the sweetest little blue bird. I also pulled out a vintage piece of lace and trim and some colourful buttons.
I arranged all of my pieces, playing around with the composition, laying them on top of each other and shifting them around until I was happy with the layout.I made sure to take a photo so I would remember where everything went incase things shifted during stitching.
I used my favourite clover applique pins to hold the pieces in place while I invisible stitched them down. I then did an overcast stitch around the raw edges of fabric patches using Superior Threads Bottom Line Thread in Silver. I love this thread for invisible stitching and overcast stitching as you can barely see it.
For the decorative stitching on top I decided I wanted to focus solely on straight stitch and Kantha Stitch and experiment with different threads and ways to make the stitches.
I used 4ply yarn and perle threads to create different short and long stitches, sometimes overlapping them and varying the length of stitch. I then decided to sprinkle some french knots in a wool colour similar to the background fabric to add some contrasting texture.
With the collaging and stitching complete I now had to decide what I was going to do with the piece. I am really happy with how it turned out and think it’s just the sweetest little thing!
I put a call out on Instagram for suggestions and had lots of great ones such as turning it into a bag, cushion, stitching it to the back of a jacket and framing it in a frame.
I really like the idea of putting it in a frame, but I need to find the right one, something a bit shabby/granny chic, maybe timber with chippy paint. Until I come across that, for now I have just blanket stitched the edge in a soft pink that blends in to the background fabric and I have hung it on a vintage peach knitting needle.
I’ve created a little wall vignette in my living room, hanging it alongside my Blooming Stitches Textile Art piece and an artwork by Sophie McPike.
I hope this little piece inspires you to go to your scraps stash and have a little play. Remember we don’t have to create for an end purpose or item, we’re free to stitch and create just for the pure joy of it. What you make doesn’t need to be big or time consuming, this piece was worked on a couple of hours at a time over a few days. I picked it up and put it down when I felt drawn to it.
I see this piece as a bit of a loose sampler style project. A project like this is great to practice a particular stitch and experiment with different thread types and how they perform as different stitches.
So don’t go throwing out those little scraps of fabric, lace and textiles. Instead give them new life in a sweet little fabric collage and enjoy them.
Like many things I create, this piece was begun on a whim or rather wave of inspiration. Scrolling through instagram one day I stopped at a post by Fleur Woods, a textile artist who requires no introduction and someone who has become a bit of a mentor to me, though I don’t think she’s aware of that.
The piece in question was called Room with a View and it captured my attention through it’s soft pastel colour palette, neutral ivory and cream stitches, embroidered flowers harvested from doilies and pretty lace trims.
It’s a gentle piece, not quite as bright and bold as some of Fleur’s other pieces. It has a soft rhythm to it, the stitches fall like drops of rain, swirling around the flowers and painted colour swatches.
Above: Images of Fleur Woods Textile Art Piece, A Room With a View
The painted cloth background of Fleur’s piece instantly brought to mind some calico I’d previously experimented on with watercolour paints. I pulled out one with soft pastels gently blended across an A4-sized piece of fabric. I paired it with a piece of wool blanket cut to the same size, then began the familiar, comforting ritual of sifting through my embroidered doilies and treasured vintage fabric scraps, seeing what what spoke to me.
I pulled out three embroidered florals and some pieces of vintage sheet fabric with bright pastel roses on it. I also found a tattered piece of lace and some little bits of tatting.
I cut and arranged my pieces on to my painted cloth, using pins and then invisible stitch to fix them in place. I also added in a couple of little scraps of quilting cotton fabrics, arranging them in a little patched grouping.
Image to the right: My initial layout on my painted calico before stitching.
Images Above: Starting to work stitches and thread painting the flowers.
With the main elements down it was time to have fun and experiment with different stitches. I decided to thread paint the vintage sheet roses, using both hand dyed yarn and embroidery floss.
I added running stitches as well as little seed and cross stitches to the embroidered doily pieces. I worked different sized running stitches in both hand dyed yarn and cotton floss, weaving them around the different elements.
I scattered around some French knots and added seed stitch to the lace. I experimented with doing a loopy couching stitch and different style crosses.
I added some over cast stitches and satin stitch to the fabric patches and also created some little sections of weaving stitch around them.
There was one stitch in Fleur’s piece that had me quite intrigued. It was almost web-like but I couldn’t quite tell how it had been created.
Fortunately for me I was able to view Fleur’s piece, along with two others, in an exhibition at the Embroiders Guild NSWGallery 76.
I stood for a long time pouring over every little detail, every little stitch and collaged piece of textile. It was quite an experience being in the physical presence of not one but three of Fleur’s incredible art works.
After staring at the web-like stitch for awhile I realized it was blanket stitch but executed in a different way. So I experimented with that too, using a lovely green thread.
To fill in some gaps I added a vintage yo-yo and also another smaller yo-yo I had made. Of course being a Miss Leela piece, I had to add in an element of EPP, so I appliqued on a little scrappy 3/8″ hexie flower. I also added some hand dyed crochet motifs and some trims to the bottom.
The final touch was a sprinkling of beads. I didn’t want to overdo it — just a gentle highlight here and there. I added tiny clusters of blue seed beads nestled into the tatting, and stitched a few into the two pieces of crochet for a soft glimmer. Along the pink crochet edge of the blanket-stitched rose doily, I followed the curve with a delicate row of pale pink seed beads.
And I simply have to pause and admire that rose — perfectly formed, stitched entirely in the neatest, tiniest blanket stitch. Such beautiful, patient handiwork deserves a moment of appreciation.
Like many of my projects, I worked on this piece on and off, picking it up when I felt the urge or desire to stitch on it.
I enjoyed creating this piece immensely and had so much fun experimenting with different stitches and different threads. The thread painting of the flowers took forever but it was well worth the effort – and it was quite an effort in the end getting all of those stitches through the calico and wool blanket, not entirely easy and a bit hard on the hands to be honest!
When I set out to create this piece I admit I was a little bit trying to emulate the same feeling and rhythm that Fleur captured in her piece, I wanted to re-create the soft palette and paly of textures.
But, I quickly realized that while I was directly inspired by Fleur’s piece (and her art in general) I am not Fleur, I’m Leela and my hands and soul create to their own rhythm.
Blooming Stitches represents where I am at this present moment and time. It speaks of someone playing and experimenting with their textile art.
There were definitely moments when I wasn’t quite sure where I was heading, or I found myself unhappy with a particular stitch. In fact, that little stitched wool flower sitting on top of the pink crochet doily still makes my eye twitch just a touch — and more than once I’ve threatened to unpick it entirely.
But I haven’t. Because it’s all part of the stitched journey — the experimenting, the second-guessing, the learning to let things be. Every piece holds those moments, and somehow they become part of its story.
While I absolutely adore the soft, muted palette of Fleur’s piece — those gentle tones with their quiet sparks of brightness — my own piece has naturally taken on a slightly different feel. It’s still pastel, but in a brighter, sweeter way. I’ve realised time and again that this is the palette I’m most drawn to — those light-filled colours that feel cheerful, hopeful, and just a little bit playful.
When I worked on this piece, there was not a moment when I didn’t feel light and joyful. It’s a piece that invites your eye to roam around, taking in all of the little stitched details. It encourages your fingers to do the same, to wander around it touching and feeling all of the textures.
I decided not to back this piece, or finish the edges, or frame it. I wanted it to remain raw and simple — honest in its making. Instead, I stitched three little fabric tabs along the top and hung it from a vintage knitting needle, which adds a slightly quirky touch that feels very me.
On the back, I added a simple label with the name of the piece, my name, and the date it was finished. I truly believe it’s important to label your work — to put your name on it proudly and say, these hands made this.
If you’re looking at my piece and feeling that little itch of inspiration and excitement then please go and gather some pieces and simply play. Allow yourself to give in to the ‘whims’ of life because they really do make the journey that much sweeter.
Like I did, you will find your way, your own unique voice among the slow stitchers and textile artists, and yes you must call yourself an artist because that is what you are, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
As usual, my mind is whirling with new ideas, each one eager for its turn. Now that this piece is finished, I’m so tempted to dive straight into something new.
But before I do, I feel gently called back to my Joyful Embroidery piece that I began in Fleur’s online course in 2024 — a project still quietly waiting for me. It feels right to return to it, to pick up those threads again and continue the story where I left off.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about the origins and journey of Blooming Stitches.
Follow along with Fleur’s creative journey on Instagram HERE
Many thanks Fleur for allowing me to use pictures of your beautiful work in this blog post and for all of the inspiration, guidance and joy you bring to us all. Your generosity and spirit is a bright light in this stitching community.
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