Strutt, Laura – The Bell Bookshop

Simple Hand Sewing

Emma — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Feel the benefits of sewing by hand for your wellbeing and for the planet with these mindful and sustainable makes.

Hand sewing is a great way to practise mindfulness through craft. Laura Strutt has designed these 35 projects specially to develop your hand-sewing skills, but also to help you slow down, enjoy the moment, and appreciate the rewards of your work. Using a number of different techniques including visible mending, sashiko, embroidery, thread doodling, boro and abstract embroidery, Laura shows you how to incorporate these methods into making something useful, creative and sustainable. For the home, you can make a boro bowl from scraps of fabric, or adorn a simple cushion cover with an embroidered mandala. From your wardrobe, revive a beanie hat by adding some floral embroidery to the rim, or use sashiko stitching on fabric-covered buttons for a new look. Decorate your home with a floating embroidery design in a hoop, or a simple banner using colourful couching stitches over twisted rope. Think of the planet as you upcycle a blouse with detail stitching and new sleeve trim, or make elbow patches to cover the holes in your favourite sweater. Whichever project you choose, take time to enjoy the process and simply sew.

Fix Your Fashion

Emma — Thu, 12 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Fantastic fashion that won’t cost you the earth.What is a ‘fashion footprint’? What’s the problem with fast fashion? And is there any alternative to it? This inspirational guide is your sustainable sourcebook full of activities and practical tips on how you can cut ties with unethical fashion practices and form new fashion habits that work for you – all without compromising your signature style! Author Laura Strutt will help readers identify the approach that will work best for them – are you a seasonal clothes swapper or would you rather get crafty? Covering topics such as motivational mindset changes, trusted brands to try, buying and selling secondhand clothes, inspiration for upcycles, mending techniques and questions to ask companies before you shop, this is the ultimate book for the closet-curious who want to create a wardrobe that doesn’t cost the Earth.

Modern Embroidery

Emma — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Colourful and contemporary embroidery for the modern stitcher.

There’s something magical about embroidery – some thread, some stitches, some time, and suddenly a plain piece of material is transformed into a picture, a pattern, or a piece of geometric art. Embroidery today is moving away from the traditional to the modern, with motifs including everything from cacti to crystals, simple white stitching on coloured cloth, decorative stitches on denim, and mandala patterns as wall art. Laura Strutt has designed 35 modern makes taking you from the simplest of stitches to more sophisticated techniques. Each make has full step-by-step instructions and there are coloured charts where needed for you to recreate the look exactly – but of course you can always choose your own colours if you prefer. With tips on everything from finishing pieces to colour theory, and a techniques section covering all the stitches you will need to know, you can hand-embroider any of these projects with confidence.