Welcome to the brand-new blog for Stitch magazine! We're so excited to bring you more Stitch, more often. The heart of Stitch
is helping you to express yourself through sewing by taking patterns
and making them your own, and by helping you to improve your skills so
you get fabulous results with any project you sew. We'll bring you
ideas, tips and techniques, resources, and even stitch-alongs. If you
read Stitch, you know we believe in style, inspiration, and
information, and it's exciting to be able to bring it to you in an
interactive form. And if you haven't yet read the print magazine, we
hope you'll be motivated to pick it up or buy it from our online store and give us comments and feedback. We love to hear from you!
I've thought a lot about why sewing matters today, when we can buy
almost anything on the spot, often for less than it would cost to make. I
read that even actress Julia Roberts has a sewing room,
where she makes pillows for her three kids. Why would one of the
world's richest and most famous actresses take the time to sew? It's not
because she has to. It's because she wants to, for the same reasons you
do: creative satisfaction, love of fabric, and the joy of making
something entirely unique with your own hands. Whether you were taught
to sew as a child, as I was, or are just beginning to learn, sewing can
take you in a million creative directions and help you show the world
who you are and what you're made of--and what you make with it.
As we get this blog started, we'd love to hear from you about what
you like to sew, techniques you want to learn about, and resources you'd
like us to find for you. Tell us about your best sewing project ever,
or the one that stymied you, and what would have helped.
Check in again soon; we're planning to post regularly on Tuesdays and
Fridays, and grow from there. Once a month, we'll hear from Stitch's
amazing editor-in-chief, Tricia Waddell, another lifelong sewer and
designer with unmatched style and an eye for the best sewing designs
anywhere (see her gorgeous douppioni silk scarf below, and download free
instructions here).
Stefanie Berganini, Stitch's talented assistant editor, and
Katrina Loving, our creative and stylish project editor, will also contribute. As for
me, I've been with the Interweave team about a year, as a book editor
and a contributor to Stitch. Sewing has been my friend through my
whole life; I've made all kinds of garments, from silk dresses to
tailored jackets to unique pieced and beaded clothing; I've made quilts, accessories, and more. I embroider, knit, bead, and
print and paint fabric. I love fabric, textiles, and stitching in all
forms, and I can't wait to share ideas and news from the sewing world
with you.
Please introduce yourself in the comment form, and tell us what you'd
like to see more of here. If you'd like to submit an original design
for our next issue, take a look at our submissions page. Oh, and don't forget to become a fan of Stitch on Facebook. We're expanding everywhere, and we want you with us!
Embellished pincushion by Eva Hanusova (above right) and silk douppioni scarf by Tricia Waddell (left) from Stitch, Spring 2010.