Creativity is a toolbox, and artists can always add more tools. It’s a refrain repeated often in our creative workshops. This summer marks one year since Multicolores’ four groups of embroidery artists added another tool to their impressive creative toolbox: appliqué.
Needle turn appliqué is a technique for stitching layers of fabric together, hiding the raw edges with near-invisible stitches along the edge of the shape. To teach this new technique, I visited each community so that each group could participate in a workshop together with all its members.
“Your embroidery is like using a fine-tip marker,” I told the embroiderers before we began stitching. “Appliqué will allow you to paint with a wide brush.”
And paint they did! Appliqué has allowed them to add depth, texture, and dimension to their work, complementing the fine detail of their embroidered stitches. Artists source secondhand clothing to use in their appliqué, favoring finely woven, lightweight cotton garments. For the faces and hands of their embroidered portraits, they use naturally dyed cloth colored with a range of materials, including avocado.
Here are more examples of the artists’ fine appliqué on embroidered portraits:
We can’t wait to see how the artists’ creations evolve as they master this new tool! Stay tuned- embroidered artwork is coming to our online shop in early autumn 2020.
–Maddy Kreider Carlson, Creative Director
