The Geometry of Hand-Sewing: A Romance in Stitches and Embroidery from Alabama Chanin and The School of Making

by Natalie Chanin, Sun Young Park (Illustrator)

Overview

This sewing guide reveals a breakthrough method to simplify learning stitches of all kinds, with more than 100 stitches from the simple to the fanciful.

As makers, we tend to learn different stitches over time without thinking much about how they relate to one another. But when Natalie Chanin and her teams at Alabama Chanin and The School of Making began to look at needlework closely, they realized all stitches are based on geometric grid systems. They also discovered that learning new stitches—even elaborate ones—became simple and easy when using grids as guides.

 

In The Geometry of Hand-Sewing Chanin presents their breakthrough method, featuring illustrated instructions (for both right- and left-handed stitchers) for more than 100 stitches—from the basic straight and chain to complex feather and herringbone. Photos of both right and wrong sides are included, as well as guidelines for modifying stitches to increase one’s repertoire further.

The book also offers downloads for two stitching cards with the grids on which every stitch in the book is based. These printable cards can be used as stencils for transferring grids to fabric.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683351238
Publisher:	ABRAMS, Inc.
Publication date:	04/22/2022
Series:	Alabama Studio
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	177,876
File size:	39 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Natalie Chanin is the founder and creative director of Alabama Chanin and author of Alabama Stitch Book, Alabama Studio Style, Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, and Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns.

Editorial Reviews

12/18/2017
Chanin (Alabama Stitch Book) adds something extra to this comprehensive anthology of embroidery stitches: plastic prepunched grids that crafters can use to ink fabric for the exact execution of embroidery. Chanin explains that geometry plays a large role in her design work, noting that she loves “the relationship among points, lines, and surfaces.” This appreciation for spatial relationships inspired her to develop a grid-system approach to embroidery that breaks down stitches into equidistant dots and parallel lines that enable a “stitch-by-number” mode of instruction. She lays out tools and materials, followed by directions of how to work the stitches themselves, then how to enhance those stitches by working in, for instance, twists, curves, or eyelets. Most helpfully, Chanin shows not just the threaded needle’s movement from right to left but also left to right, plus the backsides of patterns. Her tone throughout is as measured as her grids and as serene as the gray backgrounds appearing in the photos of each stitch. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly