Mystical Stitches: Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment

Explore personal transformation through the stitching of dreams and intentions. Anything but ordinary, Mystical Stitches combines the beloved and accessible craft of embroidery with a spiritual element, introducing a rich treasury of 200 magical symbols you can use to set an intention and create personal icons to wear or embellish items in the home. Christi Johnson offers unique patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, zodiac signs, and mythical beasts, for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson’s folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form.

ISBN-13: 9781635863345

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Storey Publishing LLC

Publication Date: 06-22-2021

Pages: 208

Product Dimensions: 8.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.70(d)

Christi Johnson creates mystical garments that blend elements of botanical dyes with handcrafted stitches. The resulting textile talismans honor the body, its boundaries, its extensions, and its relations to the world and cosmos around us. She works from the belief that through self-expression, we discover our power to transform our worlds. Raised in tropical Florida, Johnson studied Fashion Design at Otis College of Art and Design. She worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles for nearly a decade, most notably designing “cosmically crafted” limited-edition embroideries for boutique brand Coast-Wide’s denim workwear, and now lives in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. As a teacher, Johnson also offers workshops in natural dyeing and embroidery and has created kits and booklets for students and DIYers. Her garments, booklets, kits, and embroidered artwork have sold at maker studios and boutiques across the nation.

Table of Contents

The Discovery of Creative Liberation
1 Intention
The Magic in the Creative Act
The Power of Symbols
What Is a Talisman?
The Science of Slowness
Transformative Qualities of the Creative Process
Tools for Accessing Creativity
2 Materials
Fabric
Needles
Thread
Setting Up Your Hoop
Marking Tools
Transfer Paper
Tracing Methods
Getting Started with Thread
3 Stitch Methods
Anatomy of a Stitch Illustration
Traditional vs. Quick Methods of Stitching
Tips as You Begin
Foundational Stitches
4 Treasury of Symbols
Geometric Forms
Platonic Solids
Numbers
Planetary Magic
Moon Phases
The Zodiac
Animalia
Mythical Beasts
Botanica
Forces of Nature
Human Forms
Our Tools
5 Creating Your Talisman
Color Harmony
The Color Globe
Choosing Colors
Mystical Color
Tips and Tricks
Exploring Composition
Transcendent Talisman
Enliven Your Closet
6 The Art of Ritual
Setting Your Intention
Building an Altar
Preparing for Ritual
Charging Your Talisman
Closing Your Space
Developing Your Creative Ritual
Ritual in a Bag
Be Kind to Your Body
7 Stitch Key
Resources for Final Exploration
Acknowledgments Show More