Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art

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Lastly, you’re ready to just start stitching! Whatever your medium may be, you can focus on your intention and enjoy the slow and creative process of making your project. Hand Stitched Buttons - Buttons might be small, but their uses are extensive. Hand stitching buttons can add a special layer of personalization and bring a big hit of interest to whatever project you decide to use them on.

Of course not! You can still use your sewing machine. The important thing is to practice gratitude and set that intention and focus on the creative process more than the final result. I have had a lot of fun “slow stitching” on my Vintage 1947 Singer Sewing machine! Am I Never Allowed to Buy Anything Again? Take some smaller pieces - scraps - of fabric. These can be offcuts from other projects, little corners snipped off bigger pieces, torn fabrics from clothing. Precious linen, silk, cotton, etc from treasured linen cupboards. Slow stitching is the process of pulling a threaded needle through fabric.... and then repeating the process. It's meditative, creative, and most of all, unique. Anyone can slow stitch. It's a welcoming process that uses fabrics, lace, yarns, scraps of textiles, old clothing, even paper and sometimes, vinyl and plastic. By creating pieces that you adhere to a base piece of fabric, you create something unexpected, beautiful, and give new life to (sometimes, old and unwanted) materials. Here are the top questions that I get asked from people who are interested in creating their own pieces. The important thing is you practice a little gratitude for those supplies and materials – they didn’t come from thin air! Someone designed a pattern and put all the work into creating the fabric you are working with. If you’ve ever spent some time weaving or spinning yarn, you know the time and talent involved!As the interest in slow stitching has grown, so have the number of books on the subject. If you want to find out more about the joys of slow stitching, the following books come highly recommended. Claire Wellesley-Smith: Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art Slow stitching is a term that has only been used for a few short years, but stems from the history of hand sewing, stitching, mending and repair that humans have done almost since we learned how to make string. It’s something that I use in most of my everyday creative practice, as well as share in my workshops and online courses. Slow stitching lets you put your inner critic on mute. You're not working towards a particular end goal. Whatever you end up with doesn't matter. Providing you enjoy the process of creating, you've achieved what you set out to do. You Can do it Anywhere I personally like to use upcycled fabrics from thrifted finds because not only are they are much more affordable that way, but also because it helps reduce landfill waste.

Slow Stitching is an emerging technique which is influenced by an era when we wish to recycle/upcycle old fabrics and learn how to enjoy theprocessas much, if not more than, the outcome. So, what is slow stitching? In a busy and chaotic world, sometimes it’s just nice to…well…slow down, relax, take a few deep breaths and not worry about creating a product, but enjoying a process. Slow stitching is one of those creative arts perfect for this! If the lighting is good, if you're comfortably set up, and if there are no distractions around, you'll find it easier to get into a meditative state of mind. Consider lighting some candles, playing some relaxing music, or even burning some essential oils. If you need some inspiration to get started, consider some of these great projects, all of which give you a specific goal to work towards while still letting you concentrate on the joy of creation.You can buy beautiful luxury fabrics if you have the means to do – the important thing is you reflect a little bit on the source of that fabric. Sometimes cheap is not always good for the environment or maybe a company doesn’t align with the same values as you do. Maybe you don’t have a supply stash from decades and in that case it certainly justifies buying new fabrics. When we’re learning something new, sometimes we have to remember that the trying process…can be very trying indeed! With slow stitching, you can try those new techniques you’ve been thinking of, without necessarily having to worry about “ruining” anything. It’s Portable