To accompany my recent exhibition at Hidcote Gardens, I produced several accompanying products: an illustrated book, Drawn to Stitch, showing the works and how I developed them. My design process can take many weeks, sometimes months to complete and usually to a deadline. I find it is of interest to people to see how my original works and ideas are developed into commercial products, this keeps my personal practice viable and refreshed. So I make no apologies for this long post……

Above is the first idea for my Topiary design – as a paper collage of photocopies from my old garden designs, next to it is the finished stitched canvas cushion cover, as seen in the new Ehrman catalogue.

And here is the way it happened: First I found some of my old stencils, and I printed them over a collage of older drawings and embroideries of topiary birds. Eventually making a rough version of the new design on Japanese shoji paper, this is both strong and lightweight and can be easily stitched, it is proving very interesting to work with .

The next step, after slowly developing the complete version of the drawn, stencilled and collaged design seen above, is to trace and paint the chart for stitching the wools onto canvas. First things first – choose the yarns to match the colours for the painting the chart in gouache.

A detail from the Ehrman Tapestry section in my studio shelving, with samples of previous designs next to the range of Appleton’s wools. And on the right the range of colours I chose to sample stitch the flowers and leaves.

The original drawing is translated onto graphed tracing paper, then copied and painted onto 10 to the 1inch regular graph paper, matching with the gauge of the canvas.

Once completed, the finished design with the yarns and their painted coloured samples are mounted and then sent to be stitched and printed and packaged……and now available for sale.

And below, as it appears in my book Drawn to Stitch with many more illustrated stories of how I develop my work.