Thread Stories

Many of us have seen thread painting and have marvelled at the level of realism achieved. Now here is your chance to learn how to do it. All the basics are covered, such as the photo to choose, how to print and the threads to use. No special equipment is required, because the stitching is done on a regular sewing machine. The devil, they say, is in the detail, and Jennifer provides that detail to ensure the finished product is true to the original. The book has step-by-step help and guidance, so you don't have to be particularly experience to be able to achieve a great picture.

'Thread Stories' by Jennifer Day is a very large and very thorough book. If it were possible to give more than 5 stars to this book, I feel it could eqrn a 7 or 8! You won't believe it, but the portraits in her book are not photos, but are painted with threads. This book is for the serious student in thread sketching and free-motion stitching. Day uses fabric made for computer printed photos and supports this fabric with a type of burlap, instead of batting, which can still be used in special cases. She goes through the book, concentrating on various parts of the body and pets. The eyes are made first, because they are the most difficult to get right and if you're going to have to start over, you might as well do it in the beginning. She also concentrates on wrinkles, hands, hair and blending. These paintings take a lot of thread and a lot of time., although they are worth it in the end. Thread Stories is a lot like a beginning oil painting book that starts you at the very start, step-by-step and keeps training you all the way to the end of your painting. This is for serious quilt artisits, but check the book out anyway. You will be amazed at the quality of these thread-painted quilts! http://www.ctpub.com/thread-stories/

Day’s photo-realistic quilts have been displayed at national and international quilt shows, museums, and the UN in Geneva. Her technique, which uses machine-sewn thread painting on top of a photograph printed on canvas, yields extraordinary detail and surprising texture. The author takes quilters through the various steps of her process, from selecting, editing, and preparing a photograph to printing on fabric to techniques for stitching a variety of details, including eyes, hair, and skin. Unfortunately, there are a number of unanswered questions, since Day jumps from the basics of preparing to thread paint directly to working with intricate details. This may leave beginners floundering as they try to figure out where and how to begin. A gallery of work from Day’s students complements the numerous samples of the author’s own work. VERDICT Day’s quilts are inspiring, but the complexity of her techniques may be overwhelming, especially to quilters new to these methods. This distinct book is best suited to people with some background in machine-based thread painting.