Source material
When I am reading and researching I frequently bookmark pages that I find inspirational and a source of ideas-museums, art galleries, websites, on line stores. I am intending to use this page to collect links to places I find inspiring that are additional to the blogs I read.
If you know of a site that you regularly look at for beautiful or inspiring images,clearly explained techniques etc, please let me know.
Museums
The V & A The great London museum. The link is to the image collection for textiles.
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Mingeikan Photo Gallery of Folk textiles, Japan.
The Lacis Museum of Lace & Textiles and here for previous exhibits
Fashion Museum-Bath museum of costume. Collections of 17th,18th and 19th century costume and corsets.
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (part of the Smithsonian) Beautifully illustrated on line exhibitions of art and global textiles. (My current favourite is the Imperial Ottoman Turk robes)
The Textile Museum Washington DC
Global Needleworking techniques
Indian Embroidery
Asian Embroidery by Jasleen Dhamija, Crafts Council of India Extracts from a Google book with features about Kantha work and photographs of Indian textiles.
African textiles
New York Times slideshow of contemporary textiles-from Red Thread Studios.
Smithsonian Institute’s Discovering mudcloth description of how Malian mudcloths are made and fun “make your own mudcloth game.”
Japanese techniques:
Kogin work
How to work Kogin embroidery with free downloadable sampler
Central Asian Textiles
Cetinkaya Gallery in Turkey for images of Ujbek suzanis etc
Historical embroidery
Historical needlework resources
Jacobean enbroidery
Project Guttenberg book of Jacobean embroidery
Needlework websites
Stitch with the Embroiderers Guild. Inspiring projects and a stitch dicitionary.
Antique and out of print needlework books available on-line (in whole or part)
Art in Needlework-a book about embroidery by Lewis F Day. Day was an English designer and contemporary of William Morris.
Embroidery and Tapestry weaving by Grace Christie. Freely downloadable book from Project Gutenburg.
The Encyclopaedia of Needlework by Therese Dillmont
Stitch Dictionaries
Arts and Designs A Scottish shop, art centre and provider of a good stitch dictionary with illustrations of how to.
Embroidery stitches by Mary Webb. A Google book with extracts from Mary’s stitch dictionary.
Needle’n Thread Video Library of hand stitches Video demos of many stitches-just like having a tutor in the room with you.
Sharon B’s Stitch Dictionary Just about the most comprehensive list in one place.
Rissa’s Pieces stitch dictionary
American Folk Art Stitch dicitionary and useful especially for Hardanger, cutwork and other counted and drawn thread methods
NeedleCrafter.com Comprehensive dictionary of stitches, many illustrated.
Stitchopedia Just an encycopaedia of stitches, well illustrated and comprehensive
Making Art
Dictionary of art terms definitions for more than 3600 terms used in discussing art /visual culture
Symbols- a textile arts resource guide collected by Gwendolyn McGee. Links to Symbols and images from Africa, Buddhism, Native America,Colour etc.
Journals
Steppe-“an eclectic and inspirational guide to the arts, history, culture and landscape of Central Asia.” Twice yearly on-line magazine with some searchable pages. Winter 2007-2008 readily aceessible. Stunning imagery of Central Asian textiles-Kyrgyzstan, Uzebekistan, Ikats.
HandEye “An independent, international; publication which explores the nexus between design and develoment,culture and commerce, art and craft and environment and ethics.”
Making Textiles
Making Ikat cloth Illustrated story of making Ikat cloth from the V & A
The Natural surfaces Zine A Zine Dedicated to the Art of Surface Design Using Natural Dyes,
Earth Pigments, Ocher’s, Oxides and Rust!
Here’s a website with videos demonstrating a great variety of stitches that may be good to have:
http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/10/video-library-of-hand-embroidery.html
Thanks, Nellie. Link added.