Needlepainted Plants and Pollinators: an insect lover's guide to silk shading embroidery - Embroidery book by Victoria Matthewson

My name is Victoria and I create fine silk embroidery using a needlepainting technique. Needlepainting, sometimes called thread painting or silk shading, is the art of creating three dimensional images by using long and short stitch to blend colours, rather like a painting. This slow form of embroidery can be incredibly therapeutic with the gentle placing and pulling of thread that gradually allows the image come to life as you stitch.

Working from my small garden summerhouse in South Wales I am inspired by insects and wild flowers, particularly the delicate environmental balance that exists between them.
Using fine silk floss thread I create both embroidered art and kits. I aim to inform and educate through my work highlighting the worrying decline of our varied pollinators and the importance of even the most divisive of insects such as wasps.

My love of embroidery started as a child but my focus on silk shading came later in life with a desire to create more detailed and informative work. Each piece starts with studying the subject and creating a template, the design is transferred onto a tight weave fabric such as silk dupion or cotton poplin and I then use a magnifying lamp to help create the tiny stitches. Each piece can take weeks to months to create. For those that wish to try this technique I have created kits that contain everything you need to start stitching including hoops (if required), needles, fabric and silk floss thread (which can sometimes be tricky to source). Some embroidery experience would be helpful but not entirely necessary.