Orts: Threads of Creativity
Sara Barnes
Orts is newsletter collecting small snippets of creativity: embroiderers, textile artists, illustrators, DIY projects, and how we can make time for our creative endeavors. Published every Friday.
More Orts! (+ a love letter to scissors)
One of my great joys is clicking around the internet. Going down rabbit holes of creativity, where I can discover the exciting ways people express themselves through art. I've done it for many years on my blog, Brown Paper Bag, and through my newest book, Threads of Treasure. But I especially enjoy doing it in newsletter form; email is an oddly intimate thing. Maybe it’s because some of life's best and worst moments exist in our inboxes, which while amazing, always unnerves me. (A quote from...
about 17 hours ago • 2 min read
A perfectly patched pair of jeans 👖 🤌
It's week three in a row of doing 5/5! A perfectly patched pair of jeans and a soaring dragon await. Keep on scrolling for five creatively inspiring things and five ways for you to DIY. 👉 ICYMI, this embroidery in a tree was the most clicked link in the last 5/5 email. ✨ 5 creatively inspiring things 1️⃣ If I hadn’t seen this embroidery in a hoop, I might think it was a real, shiny balloon. Lucy of Peacocks & Pinecones does an amazing job of stitching photorealistic objects with reflections....
8 days ago • 2 min read
Embroideries that “bloom" from trees 🌼
I know I said that 5/5 would be published every two weeks… but I have a lot of links to share! And, ya’ll have told me how much you enjoy 5/5. So, let’s make it twice as nice and share two weeks in a row. Keep on scrolling for five creatively inspiring things and five ways for you to DIY. ICYMI, this spotlight embroidery was the most clicked link in the last 5/5 email. ✨ 5 creatively inspiring things 1️⃣ At first glance, this bird nest looks real. But it’s not—the nest is fiber art by Megan...
15 days ago • 2 min read
Granny squares, but make them cats 🐱
Hi again! I’m back from Craftcation, where I took a beaded embroidery workshop, learned how to quilt-as-you-go, and successfully punch-needled my way into a new craft obsession. And now, it's time for 5/5! Beaded Starburst, purple paradise, and a “spotlight” embroidery await. Keep on scrolling for five creatively inspiring things and five ways for you to DIY. ICYMI, this tote bag-turned-chore coat was the most clicked link in the last 5/5 email. ✨ 5 creatively inspiring things 1️⃣ Embroidered...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Fri-DIY! Here’s how to make a needle minder 🪡
In February, I published my first supplies chat, sharing supplies you can use in your creative projects. (I began with stick and stitch stabilizer.) After sending that email, I received a message from someone asking about needle minders—namely how to make them. Well, asked and answered! Today, I've got an easy-to-DIY tutorial on how to make a button-style needle minder. You might see “needle minder” and it doesn’t mean much to you—especially if you don’t embroider or do any other needlework....
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
This animated embroidery will hypnotize you 🌀
It's 5/5! An impossibly tiny basket, tote bag jackets, and a “stitch by numbers” await. Keep on scrolling for five creatively inspiring things and five ways for you to DIY. 👉 ICYMI, this half-eaten embroidered cake slice was the most clicked link in the last 5/5 email. ✨ 5 creatively inspiring things 1️⃣ Embroidered animations always amaze me. Just thinking about how many frames are in one animation and all the stitching involved… it seems like a lot of planning and work. Check out this...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Spring has sprung on this upcycled skirt 🌼
Hello again, and happy Friday! I am thrilled to share the third installment of my series One Person, One Project featuring Tessa Perlow. Tessa is a textile artist whose work features embroidered and beaded garments and art. Prioritizing repurposed textiles and upcycled clothes, she imbues them with her exquisite visual language. I’ve long admired Tessa’s work, and I’m excited that she’s one of the artists featured in my new book, Threads of Treasure: how to make, mend, and find meaning...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Fake cake that looks real, real bread that looks fake
Welcome back to another edition of 5/5! Bread painting, Impressionistic embroideries, and "sad hamster" crochet awaits. Keep on scrolling for five creatively inspiring things and five ways for you to DIY. ICYMI, this cross-stitch mural was the most clicked link in the last 5/5 email. ✨ 5 creatively inspiring things 1️⃣ Is it cake? No! But it looks real. This is a sculptural embroidery by Heather Rios inspired by the classic confection. It comprises cotton yarn and fabric adorned with polymer...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
How to make, mend, and find meaning through thread 🧵
I wrote a book! It comes out in two months. Titled Threads of Treasure: how to make, mend, and find meaning through thread, it's a craft book that examines the idea of treasure as it relates to textile art. The book, published by Schiffer Craft (an imprint of Schiffer Publishing), will be available on April 28, 2024. Threads of Treasure is divided into three realms and examines textile art in three ways. They are: 1️⃣ Treasuring the things we love. In this section, I speak with artists whose...
2 months ago • 1 min read
This embroidery tells the weather 🪡
It's time for 5/5! Green witch gloves, Frog and Toad, and a cross-stitch mural await. Keep on scrolling for five creatively inspiring things and five ways for you to DIY. ICYMI, this 3D embroidered blep was the most-clicked link in the last 5/5 email. ✨ 5 creatively inspiring things 1️⃣ Wafa Ghnaim is a multi-hyphenate Palestinian dress historian and the founder of the Tatreez Institute. Tatreez is a traditional Palestinian embroidery technique that dates back 3,000 years. Wafa was recently...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Orts is newsletter collecting small snippets of creativity: embroiderers, textile artists, illustrators, DIY projects, and how we can make time for our creative endeavors. Published every Friday.