Let’s Explore – A Joining Technique

Let’s add a clever joining technique to your toolbox!

We all admire Shirley’s skill with a needle and she has offered to share the clever way she joins her finished embroideries and patches. Remember that beautiful piece on the wall at the 2025 Out of Hand exhibition (pictured above)?

It’s a technique Shirley first saw in a book by Mary Sleigh. Those of us who know Shirley well can see how her work resonates with Mary’s artistry.

Mary writes: “I am a stitched textile artist, maker, tutor and author. Curiosity about people, their culture, practical skills and the marks they leave in their environment are a constant source of inspiration. Every place retains something of the people who live and work there. Finding those traces and connections are significant to my work. Much of the joy in what I create is in the actual making process, allowing things to change through construction, choosing and handling materials.”

This joining technique can be fine, subtle and almost invisible or bold and colourful, or anything in-between.