Layer, Paint and Stitch

This book guides us through Wendy’s inventive style of work, from piecing and patching fabrics and creating textures, to painting and embellishing with hand and machine stitching. There are six step-by-step projects and a wealth of technical inspiration.

May I begin this review my making sure you are aware that this is a reprint of a book, initially published back in 2015. You might ask a few questions, given a decade has gone by. Namely, is it still relevant for us today? Was it a moment in art time, something past not present? I will explore my own highlights of this book within my review and show why this book is not a time related title.

Books content

I see this book as a way of visually exploring your own memories in textile art mediums. That is it in a sentence.

Introduction

I enjoyed the comments near the opening where Wendy notes how lovely it is to make something for yourself. That’s so true and I thought about that simple statement a lot. What did she mean? Was she asking us to making something as a selfish activity, something simply kept to ourselves for ourselves? If that was the case, we might be put off. Some of us need more of a reason to make than ourselves; for example you might be planning to make a gift for a friend. No, I see her statement as the action - when we make something, we are creating the new, the ongoing - it is actually a therapy in itself - no matter who or what we are making it for. If you need a purpose, great, make your reason. But if you are inspired by an image of your own and you are happy to explore in within this art medium - then do.

This is no do as I say book

She hopes, that we will use the instructions within our own practice. So we are not expected to get a result that she has achieved already. This is about using the instructions along with our own memories.

What will I find thematically?

Dolan brings in nature, architecture, florals….imagine the travels and photos you have on your own phones. We see an interesting piece around the 100 page mark, based on the work of the artist himself Gaudi. So her exploration is effectively double art - art on art.

Materials used

There are plenty listed in the beginning of this book - some are not what I was expecting to find and that excited me. On page 11 I discovered what the ‘paint flakes’ are that she mentioned and what about ‘horticultural fleece’? I was imagining a rather naked sheep somewhere? Read the definitions here!

Thinking off the flat page

Often we see textiles as flat, whether it’s a piece made for a wall, out in a frame or something initially made flat, under a sewing machine, resulting in a garment. But when worn, it is 3D and there are so many other forms of structural textiles to discover. Although Dolan does not elongate any narration on this, she does give us a few examples near the back of this book - my personal favourite in the Urban Landscape on page 140. It’s like a drawing come to life - check it out!

Final thoughts

This book feels achievable. Although it is not ground breaking, it has so many of ideas which we will in reality try, not just look at in awe.

Wendy Dolan is a Fellow of The Society of Designer Craftsmen, The Sussex Guild of Designers and Makers, and The Embroiderers’ Guild. Specializing in Freehand Machine Embroidery and related creative stitching techniques, she offers a range of courses, lectures, and workshops. Living close to the South Downs, the landscape provides a constant source of inspiration for her stitched textile designs. Her first book, The Textile Artist: Layer, Paint and Stitch, sold nearly 25k copies.