Janice Botterill – ZOOM Workshop – ‘Home stitch Home’ (2 parts)

This workshop will run in 2 parts on Saturday 27th June 10.00 am – 12.30 pm and Saturday 11th July 10.00am – 12.30 pm

Using photographs and sketches of elements of your home as a starting point,  this workshop will guide you through the process of designing, constructing and embellishing an abstract fabric collage over the two sessions. We will be drawing and working by hand using simple embroidery, darning and applique techniques to create a personal stitched response to your home or favourite room within it.

While we stitch, we will also look at examples of artists working within ideas of ideas of home, neighbourhood and community.

This workshop is suitable for anyone with a basic knowledge of handstitching/embroidery – the focus is on encouraging participants to work at their own pace and develop their own creative approach

Suggested materials and equipment:

• your choice of base fabric, for example calico, linen or cotton (no larger than 30cm x 30cm)
• a piece of batting or blanket
• a contrasting backing fabric (optional)
• a range of fabrics to incorporate into your collaged design (you may wish to include family fabrics or pieces gleaned from old garments)
• an assortment of threads in a colour palette of your choosing (we will be stitching by hand)
• basting thread
• your sewing kit to include: needles, pins and scissors (you will be cutting fabrics as well as threads)
• a notebook or sketchbook to plan and design your piece
• pencils and pens for sketching and planning your design
• a fabric pen or alternative method to mark your fabric (I prefer air erasable pens for small areas of stitching)
• an embroidery hoop or frame (optional)

You will also need to have some reference photographs or sketches of your home to work from. These could be on your phone, tablet or printed out and could include an exterior view, your favourite room, place to sit or a particular ornament or item. You might also like to think about representing your home’s floor plan in some way.

About Janice

anice Botterill is an artist, writer and tutor. She uses the techniques and processes of traditional embroidery and darning to make drawings, collages and quilts. Working towards a zero-waste practice, she works with pre-loved, repurposed or natural fabrics and threads. She prefers the slower, quieter practice of hand stitching, focusing on just a handful of signature stitches in her work. 

She is very interested in the crossover between textiles and other creative practices and in particular how contemporary artists, collectors and galleries are blurring the traditional barriers between stitching and embroidery (often seen as domestic and craft techniques) and fine art practices such as sculpture, painting and installation. 

She often combines her stitched work with writing and printmaking and is relearning how to use a vintage treadle sewing machine to expand her practice. She is a member of several South West UK textile groups and shares her enthusiasm and knowledge of embroidery and hand stitching through teaching and facilitating workshops. You can find her work and words on Instagram and Substack – just search for slowquietwork