Literary Threads No. 1 : Jane Austen embroidery pattern

One of the projects I am working on this year is a series of embroidery patterns based on famous books or authors. I am a bit of a nut for books and just love curling up with a good read and a quilt. I always loved to read as a child and a lot of my favourite books go way way back. I first read Jane Austen in my early teens and have always loved the dramatisations and films that have regularly graced the screen. Such is our thirst for her stories and insights that the latest adaptation of ‘Sandition’ was in fact an unfinished novel. The fact that Ms. Austen has finally made her way on the £10 note is testament alone to her standing in the world of literature and an acknowledgement of her well deserved place in our national conscience. Why is it that her writings still have such popular appeal today? Perhaps it is her keen observations on human nature and interactions that are still relevant in the 21st century or perhaps it is because her charming stories of the pursuit of love are comforting and allow us to escape into a time when there were no mobile phones or computers. Modern tv and even novels are full of bad language, graphic sex and anything the creator can think of to shock the audience, but is it really necessary? The popularity of Jane Austen would rather suggest it is not. Whatever the magic ingredient is, she is much loved by millions and seems the obvious choice for my first embroidery. I started with the literary themed idea last year with my mini typewriter pattern (I’m a typewriter nut too).

I also designed a quilt pattern ‘Typeset’ which is perfect for diving under with the kindle on these chilly winter afternoons.

Even my interpretation of Amy Butler’s weekend bag did not escape a sprinkling of literary dust either.

But the real nitty gritty of literature is harder to think about in terms of sewing projects. What I have discovered though is that you can stitch most things if you think of it as sort of ‘colouring in’. Filling in larger areas of a design with a mix of long and short stitch is really quite effective, especially after you have pressed it and the threads meld together to form a solid colour area. This technique is perfect for stitching tiny clothes and you can have enormous fun with the costumes. The design is not complicated at all and would be suitable for a relative beginner to embroidery.

The lovely thing about embroidery is that it is a small, portable project and doesn’t require a lot of equipment or space. Once it is stitched it would look perfect on a book cover, a bag or a cushion or just up on the wall like mine. You can of course customise it easily to show your favourite quote and books. You can find the pattern as a downloadable pdf in my etsy shop and kits will be coming soon. I hope you will pop back soon to see the other designs in the series.

Happy Stitching x

You can read about the Mini Typewriter quilt here, the Typeset Quilt here and the Amy Butler Weekend Bag here