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AmandeepKJohal

Back2Embroidery - Rediscovering Hidden Skills

There’s always something to do, mend or learn but I never thought the activities I do offline would be considered ‘cool’ or ‘interesting’. When I’d sum up everything I do as ‘I do things’, it pretty much simplifies everything in a nutshell because I could ramble about how I made this or that.

[ID: Cropped shot: a glass plate with silver spoon, there's a little bit of oil on the spoon. Most likely came from the small pot of my Mum's homemade pickles n onions which is brown in colour. There's also an aloo roti to the left peaking in and rests on a tissue. On the top of the image, there's material with a variety of stitchings my Mum has learned throughout her life. Mixtures of red, green, purple, orange strings in various patterns, crosses and a leaf design.] I’ve had the joy of creating clothes in the past so I wasn’t afraid of giving this a go.

[ID: Image of my light jean shorts showing the back pocket which has an embroidery hoop to stretch out the material so I can commence my BUTTerfly embroidery made from a variety of stitches I've come to learn including back stitch, bunion stitch. The outline of the butterfly is in multi-colour string with the wings filled in to start creating a sunset] My love for embroidery has grown throughout lockdown (maybe it’s because I did less beading more threading!). There’s still a long way for me to go when it’s comes to creating a complete look by myself and I’m lucky to have had a variety of tips and workshops along my way.

[ID: Outline of butterfly on short jeans with a brown string peaking out from the bottom.] Digging into my box of lovely pieces, mis-matched items and creations, I noticed it had been a while since making something from scratch. Perhaps I got a little addicted to sewing, for the most part each crystal is delicately popped on but the sequins, beads and additions had to be applied neatly. That's just my Burlesque life.

[ID: Close up of my previous Burlesque costumes I made. The top bra from my 'Warrior' act which has golden crystals and a gold and orange border around the cup. The bra at the bottom is from my 'Samosa' Act which features a range of green beads, gold flowers, gold sequins which flow into almost a mendhi design. Non of these were glued on so this was an epic challenge!]


There’d be moments where Mum would spend rainy days showing me a thread or two and quite often I’d watch her hum a little melody by the sewing machine. Be it baskets or table cloths, each pattern would tell a story and this is pronounced through a variety techniques. I must admit, these aren’t easy to remember at first hand so a lot of practise was needed to be a whizz with the needle. During the earlier moments of lockdown, I came across an artist on Instagram who created a wonderful collection of embroidery art that looked surreal and I can only describe and Punk Embroidery' from @ThatsSewnNicole on IG who also encouraged me to start using up all my little spare bits of string to add more definition. Not only did I pick up the needle but found a lovely book, highlighting not just how lingerie comes together but the way materials work across a variety of sizes. I’ve most likely shared this way too much but everything I love is worth repeating! I recommend getting a copy of ‘In Intimate Detail: How to Chose Wear and Love Lingerie’ by Cora Harrington. I also found a lovely embroidery pattern as part of her blog in collaboration with and had to send it to Mum ASAP.

[ID: Book cover of 'In Intimate Detail' pastel pink cover with black writing and a black lace underwear. I attached my black sequinned headband with a black feather to the corner. Background of one of my floral sequin dresses. ---- ID: Gallery image. 1. Midshot of me wearing my brown bodice. I am a brown woman with my black hair down and looking into the camera, my tattoo can be seen on my left arm. 2. Close up of my bodice which has pink and brown floral embroidery on the cups teamed with the floral embroidery from @itsquinne. 3. Close up of embroidery hoop showing the stems and brown flowers of the design.] Mum continued to message me different patterns and to be honest, I was surprised at her casual nature to sewing. When Mum rocked the Onion Bag masterpiece (which she is currently working on), it was a strong reminder of what we can do with the glorious bitz around us. Weaving designs on an Onion bag or stitching designs on old shirts, there was always something to make and it all became easier as the day went on! As much as I enjoy making these pieces, I wouldn’t steer away from a majority of Bespoke designers available at hand. I do think it’s important to save for the designer you admire or the creation of your dreams. This sounds cheesy but when you start creating your own pieces you then start to really appreciate the effort independent designers put in too. May this embroidery adventure be the first of many! Here's to rediscovering hidden skills you thought wouldn't be 'cool enough'.

[ID: Image 1. Close up of embroidery designs by my Mum, various colourful strings used to create patterns, hoops, leaves and lines - orange, red, purple, green. Image 2 Body shot of me wearing an orange vest and my light jean shorts holding my hair up to show the little butterfly i sewed on my back pocket. Image 3. Close up of butterfly design to show a sunset image within the wings using various stitching techniques]

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