Inspirations

Referred to by readers as 'the World's most beautiful embroidery magazine', Inspirations is where you find the best classic hand embroidery by leading embroiderers throughout the world. Complemented with superbly styled photography and captivating stories, each issue brings a diverse collection of timeless projects from home wares and bags to gifts and accessories. A wide variety of embroidery techniques is presented with detailed and easy to follow instructions, step-by-step tutorials and full size patterns, making each issue a valuable resource for people new to embroidery and seasoned needleworkers alike.

FROM THE EDITOR

CASAMENTO • For Starry-Eve Collett, a furniture designer from Cape Town, her collaboration with Australian fashion designer Akira Isogawa was a chance to work with someone who shared her vision of sourcing natural materials and to challenge herself creatively. “It is amazing how other people push your boundaries.”

PEOPLE OF CASAMENTO

Liz Payne • “I ALWAYS STRIVE FOR MY WORK TO EXCEED THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE MATERIALS IT IS MADE FROM.”

Lesley Uren OAM • Any discussion of Australia's most accomplished, decorated and productive textile artists must include Lesley Uren OAM of Victoria who, in her 85th year, is the last living foundation member of The Embroiderers Guild, Victoria.

BETWEEN THE COVERS

FRITILLARY, FENNEL & Scarab Beetle • The striking, chequerboard markings of the snake's head lily form a stunning contrast to the delicacy of the fennel flowers and bronze lustre of the scarab in this elegant study.

SPLENDID JACOBEAN • Jacobean designs are renowned for their wonderfully stylised flowers and imaginative use of techniques that together, produce exciting images full of colour and texture.

SPRING POSY • After a long, cold winter, the arrival of the first spring flowers is a welcome delight and the daffodil always seems to be amongst the first to appear, its distinctive form and vibrant colour making it hard to miss.

BLOMST (DANISH: flower) • Hedebo embroidery has a long history and has evolved through several distinctive styles to the current form that is characterised by very little surface embroidery and distinctive cutwork areas filled with needlelace.

RIPPLE • Huckaback or huck as it is now commonly known, was traditionally a linen fabric with a weave incorporating long weft and warp floats that created a bird's eye or honeycomb pattern.

FLOWERING IN RED • Withdrawn or drawn thread embroidery is worked onto a fabric base where threads have been carefully removed in a grid, allowing patterns to be worked, creating a beautiful, lacy texture.

WILDFLOWER Profusion • If your gardening taste leans more to a casual, carefree arrangement than a formalised display, this is the ideal project for you.

Inspirations

TRINKETS AND TEXTILES • Welcome to Loose Threads. Join Ansie every issue as she shares inspirational stories about all things needle and thread.