Taking It Slow Stitch

As the coronavirus pandemic raged in 2020 and 2021, I took to slow stitching to settle my frazzled nerves and create some pretty collages with the oh-so-many fabrics I have sitting about in my office/craft studio. One side note: being surrounded by fabric when trying to do the day job can be distracting!! But that’s a post for another day!

While I’ve never been much of a sewer, Fabric Is. My. Jam. I can’t walk into a craft store that carries fabric and not walk out with some. I’ve found many, many crafts that have allowed me to use my fabrics in different ways, including bookbinding — one day I’ll post about paperbacking fabric for that purpose.

It’s not that I can’t sew. I have a sewing machine and know the basics. I’ve cross-stitched a lot in other craft projects so I’m adept with a needle and thread too, even if I don’t know all the cool stitches.

I became intrigued with slow stitching when I learned it could be done sitting on the couch, while watching TV. I put together my first little collage (with batting between the layers because why I assumed this was sort of like quilting) and totally regretted that halfway through as it really hurt my fingers. Since then, I’ve been smarter and just using the layers of fabric — tacked down with lightweight Heat-n-Bond because that’s so much easier than pins.

My first attempts weren’t super neat, but I still love them. Being something of a perfectionist, I’ve had to remind myself that the practice of slow stitching is actually about being thoughtful and meditative. It’s a soothing activity that allows the mind to wander and the jumping nerves to settle back into place as you focus on the mechanics of stitching. It does seem to help. In the beginning, it took a little effort to remind myself of the journey thing, not so much the focus on a finished project.

What I also learned through the course of playing with this is that I loved rifling through my fabric stash — and a few trips to the fabric store and Etsy to put the pieces together. Buttons, laces and ribbons add to the piece as embellishments. It’s so much fun to see what works together.

I started with the basic collage style pieces and graduated to making a few “pictures.” I enjoyed creating the picture because it’s so much fun to see that come to life through fabric and this is something I’ve also done machine stitching (that’s a whole other post).

Collage slow stitching allows for the stitches to just go where they want. It’s meditative; it’s quieting, it’s imperfect and it’s relaxing. I enjoy sitting with the kitties on the sofa in the evening sort of watching TV and stitching away. Stay tuned for more!