Interview with Julie 

Can you tell us a little bit about your personal history with textiles? How did you become interested in sewing, was it taught at school?

I’ve been sewing for as long as I can remember. My mum and grandma were knitters so I’m not sure how I was first taught to sew; I must have had a kit as a child. We were taught basic sewing in primary school and in secondary school we had needlework lessons, and used sewing machines. I did a CSE qualification in needlework, which included dressmaking. I specialised in toy-making and embroidery.

It was only really when I moved to Edinburgh in 1989 that I devoted more time to textiles, joining the Embroiders Guild in 1990. Here I completed a level 1 City and Guilds course (long distance learning at Cardonald College) that helped me practise hand embroidery and encouraged me to be really experimental with textiles, for example using materials that reacted to heat.

Did your career relate to textiles or do you consider textiles more of a hobby/pastime?

I always intended to train as a nurse so my career never had anything to do with textiles. I used sewing as a way to relax so it suited me well that it wasn’t part of my busy work life. I enjoyed dressmaking and made eveningwear and wedding dresses, often for my friends. I enjoyed the creativity involved with dressmaking so I liked making dresses from scratch – my friends often asked me to alter clothes, but that involved no creativity so wasn’t any fun! Looking back now, I would have loved to go to art school and study textiles. It was a very different structure when I was growing up, there were not enough spaces at the Grammer school so I was streamed into a Secondary Modern. In a way I was very lucky because there were more vocational opportunities such as needlework, which I wouldn’t have had a chance to do otherwise.

Before these workshop, how much experience did you have with CAD? Have you used it before to support your own work?

After I finished working as a nurse, I began working as a classroom assistant in the art department of a secondary school. Here I was taught Photoshop software on a basic level. Part of my job was to photograph the student’s work and edit the images on Photoshop for presentation, I was lucky to be working more as a technician than an assistant. I wasn’t aware of the extent of possibilities that CAD software could be used for design purposes, until I did an online course. I would say that I don’t have a lot of design experience. I like Photoshop as it makes me feel less intimidated by the idea of designing something; I feel like I can’t draw but the software allows me to edit and enhance my drawings to produce better designs. Photoshop helps me explore my ideas and experiment with the different tools to produce interesting new outcomes.

What’s your opinion on the balance between teaching art and craft skills, and CAD skills in the education system today?

I think it is very unbalanced, there are almost no traditional skills taught. From my experience of working in a school with students I became aware of the negative affects that the students lack of basic sewing/needlework skills, and knowledge of fabric was having on them. I think these tools are absolutely essential for students to have to enable them to complete courses in Textiles, Fashion or Costume Design. I think you need the basic knowledge before you are able to be experimental with your work. Students are also taught basic Photoshop skills but certainly at the school where I worked, they were not shown its huge design potential, it was seen as an editing tool rather than a platform to create work.

Have you enjoyed these workshops, and were the dates/times manageable for you?

I enjoyed this set of workshops more than the previous one that involved screenprinting. This time we were given a bit more time to plan as the workshops were a week apart, last time we did the designing and making all in one day. It would have also been helpful to get a bit more information about the possibilities of CAD, and how the students are using the software before the workshops to get more of an idea of the types of work we could potentially produce in the workshops. If we had more of an idea of the different ways CAD could be used we could choose a specific skill we would like to work on, much like the students were able to choose which type of embroidery they wanted to learn. I found the dates and times easy to manage and very much looked forward to the sessions.

What kind of activities or skills would you like to explore if you did another workshop with us?

I’m not sure about specific activities because I don’t know what’s all available at the art college! I am excited by the prospect of using different types of CAD and the new possibilities it brings to textiles. Lindy mentioned there was a laser cutter here so it would be amazing to experiment with different materials in that.

What do you think of the experience of learning and teaching craft skills face to face, compared to learning from a book or online tutorial?

I find that although books usually have quite easy to follow diagrams, often what is written is harder to interpret. As a complete beginner I don’t know how I would find them. Online tutorials are good because they are usually broken down into stages that make learning simpler as you complete each section at a time. I think learning embroidery face to face with a tutor is most effective as you can watch exactly how they hold the fabric, needle and thread, as well it gives you the ability to pick up tips and ask questions if you don’t understand.

We would like to Thank Julie and all of the ladies from the Embroiderer’s Guild who gave up their time to work with us. It’s been an absolute pleasure and we would very much like to do it again in the future.

Please visit Julie’s personal blog for more information about what she’s been up to at: stitchednotions.wordpress.com

Day 4 - 

With the idea of a skills exchange at the centre of this project it was time for us today to learn from the lovely ladies of the Embroiderers Guild. Our group was going to look at insertion stitches. I hadn't actually heard of these before so I was very interested to learn more about them. Before the session I had a quick look on Pinterest to give myself a rough idea of what insertion stitches looked like and could be used for. I sketched out a rough design, combining the use of the prints we made in the last session and the insertion stitches we were going to learn. 

Above: My sketch of what a final collaboration of all of our work could look like, alongside Julie's insertion stitch samples.

To begin our insertion stitch tutorial we each had: 

an embroidery hoop

fabric

embroidery thread

lined paper

needles

pins 

the prints we made last session.

Beginning with the base fabric securely held in the hoop, we placed a piece of lined paper within the hoop, cutting it down to size if necessary. We then pinned our sections of print on the paper to hold them in place. The lined paper provides a perfect guide for measuring how far apart or how close together you would like the two pieces of fabric to be. With everything in place we were able to begin the insertion stitches.

I found it really helpful to watch Julie do the stitches first and although I did need to be reminded often of what was to happen next, I'm sure I would manage to repeat the stitches I learned today again. The technique is so effective and very versatile. As a group we were all really excited by the insertion stitches and kept on talking about how else we could use them! 

This picture shows my first two rows of insertion stitches that held together my heat transferred print. 

Julie's sample shows the insertion stitches really nicely. The colour and thickness of thread is also really important as it can really compliment the overall design. 

This was a print made from photocopying Julie's first sample, and heat transfer paper on synthetic fabric. I would like to stitch into this sample or cut it up and apply more insertion stitches. 

I really enjoyed todays session but am disappointed it is the last one working with the ladies. Towards the end of the day we had so many ideas and if we had more time it would have been great to put them into action. 

  

Day 3 Continued -

After learning several stitch techniques using embroidery books I am now going to use internet resources to try and learn something new that I have never tried before. The technique I am going to attempt is Crochet. 

How to Crochet for Beginners, is what I typed into Youtube and I was not disappointed. I selected the video third from the top, a 'right hand' tutorial, basics for beginners, chain single crochet stitch. 
I watched the video twice through before starting and was pleased at the pace that Donna was showing how to initiate the crochet. I felt confident that I would be able to follow the steps. 
Although I had to pause and rewind the tutorial continually I did find it very straightforward and within five minutes I had my first chain and row of single crochet!

I found that the video format was great to use and so easily accessible. I will definitely use tutorials again in the future. 
In comparison with using the embroidery books I found the video much easier to use as a learning tool and I didn't really have to think as much about what I was doing, whereas with the book I had to resort to trial and error and I even when it looked like it might be right, there might have been a better, easier way to do it. 

Using the lovely old books that would have been relevant to the Needlework Development Scheme gave me great pleasure and inspiration. There were tips and techniques I would never have thought to use or hadn't even heard about. I think that using a combination of books and the internet is the most productive way to go about learning new techniques independently.

Link to the Beginners Crochet tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqca00LdmAc

Day 3 -

Today we are very fortunate to have so many instant resources. If ever I needed to learn a new crafting technique my first search would always be done online. There is a huge wealth of resources that are so easily accessible on the internet. From Youtube tutorials to step by step instructions with photographs to guide you through. 
Today we were asked to make a comparison between these online resources and the selection of older embroidery books that have been made available to us. What would we find easiest to use? What would we prefer? The most important factor was to use the books and the internet separately for two different techniques. 

As I am relatively familiar with most basic stitches I opted to work from the 'Dorset Feather Stitchery' book by Olivia Pass, 1957. In Chapter 3, 'Embroidering the Theme' I noticed some lovely hand drawn illustrations of decorative stitches with surface overwhipping. I had never heard of this before so I was very keen to give it a try.

To begin my sampler I did a Blanket (buttonhole) stitch, however with only one illustrated image to go by I kept getting confused and was sorely tempted to search it on my phone!

However I persevered and managed to get it done. I then began to overwhip the blanket stitch. I couldn't understand why the instructions said to use the eye of the needle as if it were the point. After several attempts of stabbing at the fabric I realised that the name 'surface over whipping' should have been a good hint that I wasn't meant to be passing the needle through the fabric at all...! 
I carried on with the next six samples and found that the book was fairly easy to use and that reading the instructions also helps!  

I will definitely use these techniques in the future as I think they are really lovely decorative stitches. 
I am now going to use an internet source to learn how to crochet as this is something I haven't done before.

Day 2 -

Following on from last weeks research, with a range of photographs and sketches from the conservation workshop today we were able to show the ladies from the Embroiderers Guild the very basics in Photoshop. By scanning in our own drawings and some of the very interesting images from Lindy's amazing collection of Embroidery books we began to change and manipulate our findings.

For example, from this book I really liked the tiger illustration so I resized the image on photoshop and tried out some of the different techniques that I have learnt so far. Such as; resizing and rotating the image, changing the colour, using the pen tools and creating a repeat pattern. 

I think that this is a really exciting and innovative way to bring the Needlework Development Scheme into the 21st century. We now have the ability to take inspiration from past work and to build on it ways that would have been unimaginable at the time they were created.

I drew this design, inspired by a pair of English Crewelwork bed hangings from 1710. 

I proceeded to scan and open up this drawing in photoshop, from this point I was able to crop and resize my image and make any other changes. 

I decided just to repeat my design initially, without changing the colour and then I made a Gaussian blurred version as a background that I could potentially embroider onto.

In our group we decided to each work from our own images and create something that could be digitally printed. To do this we created a TIFF file that incorporated all of our selected designs at the right size. This is then printed onto paper using a sublimation printer which is specifically for textile transfer application. The printed paper was then given to us to transfer onto a synthetic fabric using a large scale heat press. This was a very fast and effective way to produce a very good quality print in a short amount of time. We were all very pleased and excited by the results. 

We were also shown another technique which uses the monochromatic photocopies and coloured heat transfer papers on the heat press with synthetic fabric to create simple transfers. This was very effective when using photocopies from some of the embroidery books, I particularly like the way it transferred text and fine details.  

The next part of this process is to use all of the skills we have learned and exchanged so far to create something unique together that embodies what the NDS were able to achieve with the wealth and depth of all of the exciting new technologies that are at our disposal today.

Needlework Development Scheme

The Needlework Development Scheme (NDS) was a collaborative project between art and design education and industry. Originally established in Scotland in 1934, its aim was to encourage embroidery and to raise the standard of design in Britain. Financed by J and P Coats, the thread manufacturers, the Scheme was organised by the four Scottish art schools, Pa1962Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Its collection of foreign and British embroidery was available to domestic science and training colleges, women's institutions and schools, as well as art schools. By 1939, the Scheme had acquired some 900 embroideries but the outbreak of WWII closed the Scheme and the collection was retained by the four original art schools.

Information and image courtesy of the V&A museum. 
Panel, Beryl Dean, 1953. Museum no. CIRC.196-1962
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/n/needlework-development-scheme/

Heritage Skills Exchange

Day 1 - Conservation Workshop 

As a second year student at Edinburgh College of Art, I have been given the exciting opportunity to work with members of the Embroiders Guild and the conservation team at Edinburgh University to preserve and take care of many very precious Textile artefacts that were gifted to the University from the NDS (Needlework Development Scheme) after it's closure.  The aim of this project is not only to conserve but also to interchange skills and knowledge from the very gifted 'expert amateur embroiderers' from the Embroiderers Guild. I am very enthusiastic to learn from embroiderers with such a great wealth of experience.

At the beginning of the day we given a brief induction as to how the conservation team would approach the textile items and what they wanted us to do to help conserve them. 

The items included clothing, christening gowns, decorative banners and even a kimono. 

Each item was to be placed individually inside an acid free box, with acid free tissue. The problem however, was that after years and years of being folded and unfolded many of the more delicate items were becoming irreparably damaged. By making padding different shapes of padding to go in and around garments would help to reduce creasing and protect it as much as possible. 

We were split into groups of three's, 2 students to each member of the embroiderers guild, and given an item. Our group was given a beautifully embroidered women's bed jacket. We came to the conclusion that it would be best to make several different padded 'sausages' to help hold the garment within it's box and to reduce creasing. 

To make the padding we used wadding and a very soft jersey material, which had been washed at a very high heat to remove any unwanted residue before coming into contact with the collection. The wadding was cut and rolled to the appropriate thickness and length, covered in the jersey fabric and stitched into it. 

Womens long sleeved bed jacket, white cotton with extensive brodrie anglais. 

Here are some other beautiful embroidery samples from Edinburgh Universities collection.