Hillarys Craft Competition

A while back now I came across a blog post on Burkatron for a craft competition with Hillarys, and knew I would have to enter! Having studied in print design I thought I would have loads of crafty ideas of what to create for the competition... But turns out that seems all that I can design - prints - and not actually what I could use them for! Having racked my brain and drawing a blank for days, my little package of fabric arrived at the door. And oh boy what BEAUTIFUL fabric is was!

I picked the Patina fabric which is a woven classic houndstooth with a really luxurious sheen finish. I loved that although it was quite a neutral, classic design the purposefully uneven background colour gave it a modern twist yet aged feel at the same time. Now, I don't know if this is the print designer in me being attracted to all things patterned, but having awed over this beautiful fabric, something else then caught my eye - the inside of the envelope it was sent in! And to me, this graphic print coordinated just perfectly with my gorgeous fabric sample!

So, with materials and scissors in hand and taking inspiration the the modern yet aged theme of the fabric, I snipped, ripped, distressed and stitched my way to creating the pieces you see below for my Hillarys Craft Competition entry. Leaving the fabric edges to fray delicately, I hand stitched contrasting, modern embroidery boldly over the fabric to create simple yet unique, contextual pieces of textile wall art.

A bit different than your average cushion or such similar, but hopefully you and the judges like it!

To create this textile wall art you will need:
-Sample of Hillarys Patina fabric (and keep the envelope it comes in!)
-Embroidery thread
-Frames (mine are from IKEA)
-Needle
-Scissors
-And a love for craft :)