Sharing threads of creativity 🧵 Written by Sara Barnes

When I go dark, I really go dark. It's been *checks notes* seven months since I sent out an edition of Orts. It wasn't for lack of willpower. Nearly half of this year has been taken up by two craft book projects (both by me!) that will be released in 2027.

If you've read this newsletter for a while, you likely remember my 5/5 format. It was 5 things to inspire you, and 5 things to get creative. I'll level with you—it's a tough format. Finding the "inspiring" section was easier than trying to find new DIY projects to share with you, especially with AI slop infiltrating patterns on places like Etsy.

I want to make this a more sustainable format for me, but still share projects I think are really cool. Maybe they are DIY, but maybe they aren't! I'm pivoting from 5/5 to 5 Creative Things. And in no particular order... here they are!

1️⃣ Hannah Buechler has an approach to textiles I haven't seen before. Using loom bands—rubber bands that are popular in friendship bracelets—she strings them along wool strips and creates, essentially, "brush strokes." She then needle-felts them to a base, joining their fibers. The results have a maximalist vibe.

2️⃣ It looks like bread, but it's not actually bread. Lee Jimin creates delicate fabric sculptures of toast, croissants, and baguettes. From certain angles, the surface design makes them look real, but upon a second glance, the pieces are pillowy and translucent.

3️⃣ I profiled Janis Ledwell Hunt's work in my book, Threads of Treasure, and one of my favorite aspects of it is that she uses recycled marine plastic. A piece she created this summer is of a set of lungs. "They’re made with tightly-knotted-candy-coated colors of the Anthropocene," she writes, "but I still think it’s a dark piece."

4️⃣ A coat with windows! Designer Lirika Matoshi calls it the Arch Coat, and the front features six windows that act as see-through pockets. Here's a closer look.

5️⃣ I'm always impressed by embroidery artists who stitch on unconventional materials. Dianych Studio drew a deer on pine bark and covered the drawing in thread—except for the antlers... (Thank you, Melissa, for sharing this one!)

I'll be back with 5 Creative Things in two weeks. In the meantime, read what I've been up to in my studio practice!

Sara Barnes Embroidery illustrator and writer

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