Comm Tech II: SEW KEWL

Got this book from a car boot sale last summer, mostly because it was 50p but also because I've never looked at embroidery as a form of typography.



Iva Polansky, the author of 'Cross Stitch Calligraphy' starts the book by looking at 'The evolution of western lettering' which quickly leads her onto 18th century 'samplers' like the one above.





The book really celebrates embroidery as a way of creating typography, 'Needle calligraphy has its own rewards. The print-like quality and special texture of the letters are impossible to achieve by any other means.' says the foreword. Although this book was published in 1994, when digital design suites were not as developed as they are now, I still feel this statement still applies, and it would be interesting to work with embroidery to make my own typography.

When Channel 4 were advertising their docu-soap 'The Family', they had a campaign which made me wish I had got there first;




The idea of having a cross stitch to resemble traditional family life, then to see the stitches falling apart is a poignant one, and represents the concept of the TV show perfectly.





I'm not entirely sure how this poster was made, but it looks like a photo or scan of an actual embroidery. Cunning.
('The Family' photos taken from SUPERZIPER)

Heres a selection of more samples from the book. Some are pretty gay, but for back then, some of them are pretty cool.







I love the black shadow on the pink H here.