Silk Unraveled: Experiments in Tearing, Fusing, Layering & Stitching

Turning the traditional use of silk on its head, this book examines techniques for creating fabulous textural surfaces and blankets of patterns. Based on mainstream embroidery and covering deconstruction and reconstruction of fabric, appliqué, and reverse appliqué—all with a contemporary twist—the methodology calls for the manipulation of fabrics with techniques such as ripping silk into strips and fusing and layering it onto other pieces leaving unfinished edges and raveled threads. In addition to featuring 14 step-by-step silk projects that may incorporate the scrap fabrics and loose threads littering countless sewing rooms—including bags, a coat, pillows, quilts, a table runner, a vest, and wall panels—the book showcases hundreds of photographs from the artist’s trips to Malaysia and Turkey, as well as highlights her love of her Scottish homeland’s countryside, which served as the inspiration for her bold and experimental craft.