Embroidery with Arynn Blazer Presented by Cincinnati Museum Center, Artswave, The Well and Wavepool for Camp cARTwheel

Background Intended Ages: 5+

Embroidery is using a needle and thread to embellish or decorate fabric with patterns, designs and colors. There Key Concepts: are many different kinds of stitches that achieve different  Embroidery has been effects when used alone or together. around for thousands of years. Embroidery has been used to decorate clothing and  Cultures all over the fabrics for centuries, and examples can be found in many world have their own different cultures. Each culture has unique embroidery embroidery techniques styles, motif or color palette. and styles.  Embroidery is just like Embroidery samplers date back to the 14th century, and any other art form, it’s were used almost as “scrap paper” to test out designs and up to the artist to use it new stitches. They evolved over time to become more creatively. detailed and were used to show off the skills of the woman who made them. Skills /Learning Outcomes  Fine motor skills Embroidery is just like any other medium such as paint,  Concentration paper or clay, in that it is up to the artist to use it in a  Planning/designing creative way. Today you can still find artists who use  Using new materials in embroidery in their artwork, expanding our expectations artmaking for the medium. Computers have made complicated  Understanding art in embroidery designs even easier to achieve, but many different cultures artists who use embroidery still prefer to embroider by hand. Materials:  Embroidery hoop  Fabric, cotton works Embroidery is can be enjoyed by people of all, great (nothing too stretchy) ages, cultures and genders.  Sewing needles (large eyed and pointed work best)  Embroidery floss  Scissors Embroidery How-To Safety: u Gather your materials (see list) and find a cozy spot that has Although not overly dangerous, good lighting to start your embroidery. Place your fabric in the needles are sharp and can cause a hoop by opening the hoop and sandwiching the fabric small prick to the finger. Watch between the two hoop parts. Fabric should be taught, and the where your hands and fingers are hoop should closed tightly with the small screw at the top. while you are embroidering.

What will you embroider? That is sometimes the hardest thing to decide! Some fun ideas for designs include your name, Extension questions simple shapes or line work. You can even find a sunny window  Do you have any clothes to trace a page from a coloring book! Starting simple is usually with embroidery on them? best; you can always add to your design as you become better  Have you ever embroidered before? at making stitches. Whatever you decide, draw it on your  Look at a piece of fabric. You can use a pencil, thin point marker or sharpie. embroidery from another There are also fabric pencils that wash off as well after the culture. How long do you design is complete. Test it on a scrap piece of fabric if you think it took to create?Do aren’t sure how it will work before you draw out your design. you think embroidery takes a long time? Choose a color of embroidery floss to start with. Cut off a  What could you add piece that is about a foot long. Embroidery thread is typically embroidery too to make it made up of 6 smaller strands. If you would like thinner line more decorative? work, simply pull the threads into smaller sections of 2 or 3 strands. Thread the floss through the eye of the needle and knot the two ends together in a large enough knot that it For Younger Makers: doesn’t pull through the fabric. If you are more experience Thread needles for younger makers, and tie knots to get them with using a needle and thread, you don’t have to knot the started. Verbally remind them and ends together; it just helps from pulling the needle off the gesture to them so they remember thread while you are stitching. to go up through the back and down through the top. Pull the threaded needle up through the back of the fabric where you would like to start the design. The knot should be on the back. Follow your design, or just have fun Accessibility Adaptations: experimenting with making stitches. The easiest stitch is the backstitch or straight stitch. Remember to go up through the Loop Scissors back, and then down through the top, to avoid the thread Needle Threaders tangling up around the sides of your hoop. When you have just a couple of inches of thread left, stop and tie a knot on the Clamp stand for hoop back of the fabric. Start again with another thread and continue working on your design.

Once you have the basics down, try it again and keep experiment with different designs, stitches and techniques.

Embroidery has been around for thousands of years, and many cultures around the world have developed their own unique style of stitching.

India

Japan

England Mexico China Embroidery samplers were created to demonstrate skill in needlework. Earliest examples were created as learning tools, a small piece of fabric used for trying new stitches and embroidery techniques. For women, creating samplers was a way of self-expression. Takashi Iwasaki Richard Saja

Artists can use embroidery to create works of art. Instead of using stitches to decorate clothing, they use embroidery as a medium to cre- ate artwork and express themselves. Here are just a few examples of contemporary embroidery. Arynn Blazer