The document provides tips for overcoming creative blocks when sewing. It recommends changing your perspective by squinting at objects, which allows you to see new shapes and colors. It then suggests making fabric collages on croquis templates to play with textures and combinations in a non-committal way. This fabric play helps tap into unexpected ideas and inspires new designs. The process moves the creative process forward when inspiration is lacking.

1. technique spotlight
stitch fall 2015
22
{from within}
text ELIANE PINTO

2. sewdaily.com
23
Think good ideas can only come to you in lightning flashes? Not so!
Break through creative roadblocks by playing with perspective and making
fabric collages. You'll find your mind is actually an endless well of ideas.
Like writers, sewists draw
creative inspiration from all
sorts of sources—from color,
textures, fabrics, photographs, or even
from an emotion. Also just like writers,
sewists suffer from writer’s block from
time to time, except instead of searching
for the right words, they're staring at
beautiful fabrics hoping equally beautiful
designs magically enter their brains. So,
how do you find inspiration when you’re
stumped? You create it yourself.
Change lenses
What does it mean to create
inspiration? Stand still wherever you are
right now, look around, and scan your
surroundings. Whatever sticks out or has
lead you to do a double take—whether
it’s a street sign or a plant across the hall,
anything that catches your attention—
zone in on it and everything around it for
an extra few seconds.
Now, squint your eyes, squinting them
almost shut. Squinting allows you to look
at things from a new perspective. Suddenly
your eyes don’t focus on irrelevant details
anymore, and you’ll only see abstract
shapes and colors. Some shapes are more
dominant than others, and some colors
really stand out while others just blend
right into each other, creating perhaps
even more colors and shapes. (Try the
perspective check at right for practice.)
Take action
Don't make the leap from squinting
to sewing just yet. After squinting at the
world, use your fabrics to play with croquis
(from the French word "croquer," meaning,
"to sketch"), rough illustrations of fashion
silhouettes.
Trace off either of the croqui templates
provided here, then use fabric scraps or
even printed paper to create a new design
on your eager-to-be-dressed croqui. Play
perspective check
Look at the photos. Your brain will
naturally try to identify what they are,
but try to forget about that and only
squint. By looking at them with your
newly-found “squinted” perspective,
you’ll see how each individual photo
can be translated into something
much more inspiring than just, say a
leaf or a bridge. You might notice the
simplicity found in the lines created
by the bridge leading to the water, the
infinite color combinations within
the leaves and branches, and the
harmony between the organic shapes
and harsh lines found in the trees.
The lamppost may even start to
resemble a crystal appliqué against a rich print. The black and white pattern
from a butterfly’s wings can be translated into a printed purse paired with a
silhouette in muted colors. Even a spiral staircase, for example, starts to look like
a beautifully intricate black lace design.
around with the fabric; rip it, fold it, paint
it, layer it, shred it, and then place the
fabric at random on top of the croqui.
Even though ideas started taking shape
while you were squinting at the world,
you want to avoid marrying yourself to
a concept during this phase, too. As you
layer and play with fabric combinations,
that purse you saw in the butterfly
wings can still change and morph into
something new. Suddenly, the rose and
lace ribbons could take the shape of a 3D

3. technique spotlight
stitch fall 2015
24
appliqué A-line skirt with an intricately
embroidered midsection, for instance. Or,
a black leather trim and a folded paper
scrap inspires a pleated dress with a single
flower detail.
With a squinted perspective, playfully
pairing different fabrics with different
prints and textures can help you break
out of the go-to shapes you’ve grown
accustomed to seeing. So the next time
you’re (literally) drawing a blank on a new
design, fabric collaging can help you tap
into ideas you didn’t even know existed
within your imagination.
ELIANE PINTO is the technical editor of
Stitch magazine.
BUST
UNDERBUST
WAIST
HIP
croquis
GetthesecroquisFREEfrom
sewdaily.com
free
download
Above and left: After squinting at the world
and taking in new shapes and colors, fabric
scraps begin to form interesting new designs
on the croquis. These rose and lace ribbons
and folded paper, when applied to the croqui
in different ways, create the inspiration for a
beautiful dress.