Master the art of storytelling through stitch and create your own deeply personal embroidered treasures, with innovative multidisciplinary artist Aitor Saraiba.
Using treasured fabrics and personal memories interwoven with embroidery, mending and natural dyeing, discover 12 contemporary projects designed to unlock your creativity.
In this sumptuous, inspiring guide, Aitor Saraiba invites makers of all skill levels to transform fabrics and threads into deeply personal, meaningful objects. Drawing on his childhood in La Mancha, where sewing was a vital thread in the fabric of community life, Aitor combines the philosophy of zero waste with contemporary design.
This book is a toolkit for self-expression, designed to help you slow down, look inwards and craft unique and deeply meaningful items. Discover:
- 12 stunning creative textile art projects: follow step-by-step instructions to create scapulars, framed appliqué pieces, textile books and snippet rolls; for truly personal home décor, create warm, inviting pieces like mini throws, scatter cushions and a whimsical heart pincushion.
- Guidance on sustainable mending: embrace the beauty of repair. Learn the Japanese art of Boro to help you customize existing clothes, and turn ‘wear and tear’ into artistic expression.
- Natural dyeing made simple: a complete, approachable guide to creating your own dye palette using logwood, tea, onion and iron.
- Includes essential resources: featuring a curated guide to sewing materials and Aitor’s favourite stitches, plus full-scale templates.
- A stunning yet practical coffee-table book: the hardback format and sumptuous finish make this a perfect gift and a treasured collectible.
- Your complete textile art workbook: an all-in-one resource covering mending, natural dyeing and creative embroidery the perfect guide for holistic crafting for sewists of all abilities.
Embroider, Mend and Sew strips away the illusion of ‘perfect’ crafting, encouraging you to use whatever is at hand to create something beautiful and meaningful.
This book is a translation from the best-selling Spanish title, Cose, zurce y borda by Aitor Saraiba.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
TEXTILE PROJECTS
Scapular
Framed appliqué
Boro
Heart pincushion
Forest dwellers
Mend and customize
Mini throws
Scatter cushions
Appliqué
Textile books
Snippet rolls
Block printing
NATURAL DYES
Campeche or logwood dye
Tea
Cochineal
Onion
Iron
SEWING MATERIALS
FAVOURITE STITCHES
EPILOGUE
TEMPLATES
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About Aitor Saraiba
Aitor Saraiba lives and works in a stone cabin in the valleys of Cantabria, northern Spain. He has been working in drawing, textile art and ceramics for two decades, and his work has been exhibited all over the world, from Los Angeles to Tokyo, including Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Africa and several cities in Spain.
Aitor Saraiba's textile work explores different traditional techniques and brings them into his own unique world. He has revived traditional wool-working processes with his flock of sheep, in the mountains where he lives, uses natural dyes with silver, and employs all manner of darning and mending techniques to create stunning, unique artworks.
In 2022, the newspaper El País awarded him the ICON Artisan of the Year prize for his work in textiles and ceramics. He has also collaborated with numerous museum across Europe and beyond.
In Embroider, Mend, and Sew, Aitor explores his textile process, wherein personal history and creativity intertwine.
