Making Time: Meditative Stitching
At the start of the year I committed to a daily practice of meditative stitching where I wanted to explore on one stitch technique per month and spend 30 minutes a day focusing on that technique and meditate. I’m here to tell you, that daily practice fell apart for me in February. I was unsuccessful in sticking to that commitment and really developing a habit and routine around it.
Despite not fully meeting that goal and intention, I had practiced meditative stitching throughout the year as a way to slow down and recenter myself when I am feeling overwhelmed and stressed—which has been pretty constant over the past 10 months. So, I wanted to share a bit of what that looks like for me and how it differs from all of the stitching I do as a regular part of my job as an embroidery artist.
When I am stitching to meditate, I turn off whatever music, audiobook, podcast, or tv I have on (when I am working I really appreciate having background noise) and settle into the silence. I relax my breathing and allow it to sync up with the rhythm of my stitching.
In a quiet room, each stitch becomes very loud: the slight pop as the needle pushes through the fabric and the soft ‘shhh’ sound of the thread following it. I try to focus on that sound and let go of the thoughts that are constantly bouncing around my head. My world shrinks and slows down to the act of making one stitch at a time.
I think embroidery is inherently meditative because of the repetition involved and the slowness of the medium. It is one of the things that initially attracted me to embroidery and it is a characteristic of the craft that I still deeply connect with. Now more than ever, I find peace in the process. Now more than ever, I have to work harder to find that peace and be a lot more intentional about it beyond the routine (for me) act of stitching my artwork and pattern samples.
Lately, I have been practicing needle weaving. So when I need to refocus and slow down, that’s what I’ve been turing to. Unlike the rest of my embroidery, which is all representational, my meditative stitching is more free form. I allow myself to gravitate to whatever color or material feels right in the moment and I am not concerned about the final outcomes or ‘finished’ pieces. It is all about leaning into the process and allowing for intuition.
If you want to give it a try here’s a little diagram to get started. Always remember though, especially if trying something new, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Keep trying, keep practicing, and it will get easier. Also, there is no wrong way to create or wrong way to guide your own meditation. This is about making time and creating space for you.
Thread your needle with as many strands of whatever fiber in whatever color you want (are you picking up on the freedom of this?!) and create a series of parallel stitches.
Next, using the same fiber or a different fiber/number of strands/color, bring the needle up from the back of the fabric and then weave it through your first set of stitches, going over one stitch and under the next.
On the next row of weaving you will want to switch up the over/under pattern so that you are going under then over to create that checkerboard effect you see on my stitching down below.
Relax and get into it.
