my Sewing Birds article in Piecework out now!

Post by: Erin | Posted on: February 28, 2012 | In: Fiber Arts History

Look at what came in the mail yesterday:

See the headline, “Discover the ULTIMATE HELPER Sewing Birds” there on the left? That’s my article! The full title? Sewing Birds: Love Charm, Health Tonic and Lady’s Companion.

I always love writing for Piecework, and you already know I like to wax poetic about sewing birds. It is a pleasure to be in the company of such accomplished contributors in this issue. I loved Karen Ballard’s article on patriotic knitting bags and accessories from WWI and WWII but I was especially thrilled with Robert Haven’s article on Tambour beading. I’ve been meaning to try the technique for some time now!

Here’s a good example of Tambour beading, in case you’re not familiar with the technique:

A chain stitch is worked from the back of the piece using a small hooked needle and the beads are attached on the front. Here’s what the back looks like:

Sequins are common but you can also use the technique with bugle beads and seed beads. The technique even works well for plain, bead-less embroidery. I associate Tambour beading with flapper dresses and Liz Taylor, but that’s just me. Mr. Hand was fortunate enough to study Tambour beading and Embroidery at L’Ecole Lesage in Paris. I am so jealous. What an amazing experience! I’ll have to add that to my bucket list.

In any event, the last time I wrote for Piecework was back in the July/August 2011 issue. I forgot to post about the article, apparently, because I can’t find it anywhere in my archives, so I thought I’d mention it now. I wrote an article on the history of Victorian fish scale embroidery. The front cover of that issue, as you might recall, looked like this:

I also wanted to mention that Piecework is now available in an online edition, which might be nifty for those of us who can’t make it to the newsstand to pick up the latest issue. I love Stitch magazine and, of course, I live for Threads but Piecework is pretty amazing, too. In a perfect world, Piecework would focus a bit more on fabric-based arts and a bit less on yarn-based arts but the historical perspective Piecework brings to needle arts in general is unparalleled in the market. I’m proud to be involved with such a vital force in fiber arts history!