A Slow Stitching Panel – taking your time with a pretty fabric craft

Wonky is good I have decided. Recently my attention was drawn to Belle’s bunting in an Instagram post. The bunting was indeed wonky. I immediately set about straightening it because why wouldn’t you if it were lop-sided and had been pointed out to you. Then I began noticing frequent wonky in my world and set about creating more straight. And now here’s the thing. I don’t do straight. I do wonky. And apart from one particular canvas in the home which will just not straighten and has now begun to cause me sleepless nights, I am quite at home with my wonky world. This week’s craft is also wonky. And unfinished. I don’t think I have ever presented you with unfinished work for a blog post. Also, this crafty piece doesn’t have a name because I am undecided what it will finally be. Which is not a particularly smart move for a blogger, since a blog is often discovered organically by using key words and search terms. Thus, a blog post with no key word and a craft with no purpose does not really work if I’d like others to find the blog and join our club. Which I would. Taking all this into consideration, I decided this piece is to be called a slow stitching panel since those keywords seems quite searchable. So, may I present this week’s blog post. A wonky slow stitching panel with no purpose at the moment. It’s jolly pretty though and uses that delightful fabric from last week and other fabrics and treasures you are sure to have already in your stash. Shall we begin?…

My research for a slow stitching panel suggests:

Slow Stitching is the practice of hand sewing with intention and thoughtfulness whilst giving us the perfect time to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. … This sewing method focuses on using simple hand stitching techniques and processes and gives total creative freedom – extract taken from a simple Google search and sounds pretty perfect if you ask me.

Who wouldn’t want to take a break from hustle and bustle? And I thoroughly applaud total creative freedom. There is a theory that many think of themselves as uncreative – a word I choose not believe in at all by the way – simply because they haven’t previously enjoyed or been particularly successful at their chosen craft. If you have ever been told, “you can’t write, sew, paint, draw” it is perhaps understandable you might think of yourself as uncreative however I would suggest avoiding such dream stealers dishing out such nonsense. On more occasions than I care to remember, I have been told I wasn’t very good at something creative. And it took me a jolly long time to ignore such negativity. I’m rather glad I did since I may not have met you had I not given my creative art forms a go and I certainly would never have discovered the happiness I feel in creating with a great many mediums, dried flowers or vintage paper for beautiful garlands to name just two. Or indeed discovered the joy of writing about such beautiful crafts.

There isn’t any mention of wonky in anything I’ve read about slow stitching panels but not to worry, I think wonky sits well in slow stitching’s company. Slow stitching appears to be a beautiful art form and one I cannot wait to fully embrace. And a slow stitching panel it seems, ties in quite nicely with my Simplicity word for the year. There are a great many interesting projects incorporating this sewing method should you choose to search Pinterest. This board is my collection of researched pins which you might like a look at.

To kick start my slow stitching panel, I enjoyed a while looking closely at the results of my avocado dyeing exercise and began selecting tonal shades and different textures of fabrics to use. Then I cut and placed pieces at random together with snippets from my vintage stash and rather like one would approach a jigsaw puzzle, I tried pieces in different places until they fit, embracing wonky edges all the way. I stayed with a pink theme although with no rules to adhere to, any colour goes.

There was simply no rush at all as I spent a few warm summer evenings in the garden slow stitching and a few cooler nights in the home. In fact, like most crafts I try, I became a little hooked and disappeared off to the crafty corner needle and thread in hand experimenting whenever I could. You can use any stitch you like, so keeping it simple I opted for cross stitch and running stitch, a little blanket stitch here and there and the odd cluster of french knots. Oh and several newly invented stitches others might call mistakes. I imagine the more accomplished amongst us to use a variety of even more beautiful stitches in their slow stitching panels; no two panels would ever be the same.

And so, I delighted in many a quiet hour playing my new rule less game using deep jewel coloured embroidery floss, plain and simple inexpensive white cotton, and avocado dyed threads, simply allowing my imagination to run riot.

You may use any embellishments freely too. I selected buttons I’ve had for ever to compliment a few new ones in my collection and I snipped at worn fabrics with pleasing designs like this delicate rose from a frayed and until now unused scrap, plainly stitched in place to hide a threadbare patch, our little secret.

I’m enjoying incorporating my own kind of blossom tree in many a stitching project these days, a couple have been added to my panel and I found a home too for several tiny fragments of vintage lace and ribbon. I even tapped away on my old typewriter to add a few meaningful words to tiny scraps in my basket. In this craft I found myself able to use up even the teeny tiny pieces I have hoarded away. Imagine creating this as a gift for someone and you might personalise words and phrases and choose colours and fabrics to complement their home and style.

And finally, a spritz of my homemade lavender linen water and a gentle iron and for just a few pennies and whole heap of enjoyable time and no real skill of sort although an enormous amount of enthusiasm, may I present my beautiful slow stitched panel…

There must be a beautiful slow stitching coffee table book I should add to my collection. Do you have one I could know of? Online research is wonderful, although I think I should rather enjoy sitting tucked up on the sofa, open fire roaring on a cold winter’s night whilst flicking through the pages of a beautiful book.

And now the questions and decisions begin. What will my slow stitching panel become and who might it be for? Perhaps the start of a table runner or cosy quilt of sorts. Maybe a jacket for a favourite worn book or possibly a new journal. I rather fancy a wonky wall hanging displayed delicately in an antique brass frame. Oh I don’t know. If it were yours, what would you turn this pretty slow stitching panel into? Do let me know, until next time … x