Bags with Paper & Stitch

Bags with Paper & Stitch
By Isobel Hall
Published by Batsford
ISBN: 0713490349
Price: £18.99
Reviewed by Diana Ching

For the contemporary textile artist/embroiderer seeking new ways to create exciting surfaces for their work, this book is a gem. Books describing “alternative” materials and processes are starting to infiltrate the more traditional “embroidery” themes, and this one certainly deserves a place amongst the very best. To turn page after page and see glorious bags made up with the author’s paper-based materials is like opening a huge box of luxury chocolates – they all look delicious and you don’t know where to start!

Just one thing: while the instructions are not exactly difficult, they may be a tad confusing for beginners; at least some previous knowledge is required. I’d also say the title is a misnomer - it should be “Bags with Paper, Mixed Media and Stitch” because the techniques described are not all stitch-based. Many of the processes use materials that are relatively new to the market - eg TLS, Mylar Shimmer Sheetz, Tangle Tuff - not in the traditional embroiderers’ repertoire unless they work among very creative folk or go on courses where such products are introduced. But don’t let that put you off - there are also more homely “recipes”, such as making paper with onion skins, and the results can be just as effective. Experimenting with any of these ideas could open up a whole new world and the results can be amazing...and less fattening than the box of chocolates!