Thread Stories: A Visual Guide to Creating Stunning Stitched Portrait Quilts

by Jennifer Day

Overview

A picture is worth a thousand threads Tell captivating stories in fabric and thread! Acclaimed quilting artist Jennifer Day invites you to create realistic portrait quilts with thread painting. Turn your own photos of people and animals into one-of-a-kind story quilts, as you learn to masterfully stitch in the details. This step-by-step visual guide takes you from photo selection to editing, printing on fabric, thread painting, and free-motion quilting. With just a home sewing machine, quilters of all experience levels can capture and quilt life's precious memories. • Step-by-step visual guide to realistic portrait quilts, using your home sewing machine • Print your own photos on fabric and tell one-of-a-kind thread stories • Thread painting techniques anyone can apply to get that WOW! factor • From award-winning quilter, artist, and teacher Jennifer Day

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617450549
Publisher:	C & T Publishing
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	263
File size:	84 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jennifer Day is an ASID interior designer, goldsmith, photographer, and art quilter. Using up to 300 different colors of thread in a single quilt, her technique has attracted interest from international galleries, museums, and publications. She lives in New Mexico. jdaydesign.com

Table of Contents

Introduction: Quilts Are Stories
Photographs That Tell a Story
Elements of a Great Photo • Editing the Photo
Tools and Supplies
Sewing Machine • Free-Motion Presser Foot • Printable Paper-Backed Fabric • Canvas • Batting • Scissors and Thread Snips • Ruler • Backing and Binding Fabric
Threads!
Gütermann Thread • Precencia Thread • Isacord Embroidery Thread • Silk Thread • Variegated Thread
Photographs and Cameras
Environmental Portraits • Cropping • Digital Cameras and Image Size • Copyright • Pixels, Megapixels, Resolution, PPI, and DPI
Using Photo-editing Software to Prepare Your Photos
Make Your Photo the Best It Can Be • Posterization • More Posterization Examples
Printing on Fabric
Types of Fabric • Sizes of Fabric • Poster Printing
Getting Started
Making a Quilt Sandwich • Blending is Key • Stitching Direction
The Eyes Have It
The Iris • The Whites • Stitching the Eyes • Highlights • Eyelashes
Blending Skin Tones
Auditioning Threads • Starting the Blending Process
Elisha (Diverse Skin Tones)
Judy (Older Skin)
• Texture • Lips • Eyes
Carson (Youth)
Hair
Dark Hair • Streaks of Light • White and Gray Hair • Blondes
Hands
Elderly Hands • Young Hands
Clothing
Using Free-motion Quilting • Completely Covering in Thread • Appliqué • Combination
Pet Portraits
Taking the Perfect Pet Portrait • Eyes • Mouth • Fur • Whiskers • Birds
Free-motion Quilting
Choosing a Free-motion Design
Correcting Mistakes
Don’t Bee Too Hard On Yourself • Using Appliqué • Cutting to Remove Bubbles • Covering Over White Dots
The Flip Side
Portrait Artists
Barbara McKie • Jayne Bently Gaskins • Laura Rocke… //fill in later
Student work
Additional Jennifer Day Quilts
Resources
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Day's photo-realistic quilts have been displayed at national and international quilt shows, museums, and the UN in Geneva. Her technique, which uses machine-sewn thread painting on top of a photograph printed on canvas, yields extraordinary detail and surprising texture. The author takes quilters through the various steps of her process, from selecting, editing, and preparing a photograph to printing on fabric to techniques for stitching a variety of details, including eyes, hair, and skin. Unfortunately, there are a number of unanswered questions, since Day jumps from the basics of preparing to thread paint directly to working with intricate details. This may leave beginners floundering as they try to figure out where and how to begin. A gallery of work from Day's students complements the numerous samples of the author's own work. VERDICT Day's quilts are inspiring, but the complexity of her techniques may be overwhelming, especially to quilters new to these methods. This distinct book is best suited to people with some background in machine-based thread painting.

Library Journal

Many of us have seen thread painting and have marvelled at the level of realism achieved. Now here is your chance to learn how to do it. All the basics are covered, such as the photo to choose, how to print and the threads to use. No special equipment is required, because the stitching is done on a regular sewing machine. The devil, they say, is in the detail, and Jennifer provides that detail to ensure the finished product is true to the original. The book has step-by-step help and guidance, so you don't have to be particularly experience to be able to achieve a great picture.

Down Under Textiles

Many of us have seen thread painting and have marvelled at the level of realism achieved. Now here is your chance to learn how to do it. All the basics are covered, such as the photo to choose, how to print and the threads to use. No special equipment is required, because the stitching is done on a regular sewing machine. The devil, they say, is in the detail, and Jennifer provides that detail to ensure the finished product is true to the original. The book has step-by-step help and guidance, so you don't have to be particularly experience to be able to achieve a great picture.

Issue 25 Down Under Textiles