Give the gift of relaxation with Our slow stitch kits, which have been collated to include over 15 pieces of cotton or linen fabrics which coordinate in a theme.
Perfect for meditation and slow stitching.
Stitching effect on the brain
The repetitive motion of hand stitching helps your brain release feel good chemicals.
These chemicals reduce stress and boost mood.
Studies have even shown that embroidery can lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate.
ASMR
The sound and feeling of thread passing through the fabric can also have an ASMR type effect for some people.
It is well known that some people watch embroidery videos where there is no speech, to aid relaxation and sleep.
A study published in the Journal of Occupational Therapy International (Collier, 2011) highlighted how handcrafts like sewing reduce stress, anxiety and depression by creating a “flow state”.
A psychological space where time seems to dissolve, and the mind focuses entirely on the present moment.
Meditational Stitching Scroll
Meditation stitching scrolls use only a running stitch, making it a very mindful act, connecting you with the tactile value fabric and thread.
The use of natural fabrics in our kits make stitching easier.
There is no finishing of seams and raw edges, in fact the raw edges lend themselves to the tactile nature of the pieces.
Single threads are easy to work with, they do not need to be split into strands and stitches do not need to be exact.
This video by Sarah Homfray is an excellent demonstration of meditation stitch scrolls.
Slow Stitching
Slow stitching and meditational stitching are very different to embroidery and no stitching or construction skills are required, making it accessible to all abilities and ages.
In fact it is a great way to start youngsters on their stitching journey.
Slow stitching uses different stitches with a little more focus on design and layout.
Combining different materials in collage format.
Projects can still be in scroll format or created as pages which you can make into a stitch journal.
Each page can be dedicated to one particular style of stitch, making these a great way to learn new embroidery stitches.
You could dedicate each page to a shape, such as circle, squares, waves or zen shapes.
Snippet Rolls
We cannot discuss meditation and slow stitching without discussing snippet rolls.
These are very similar to meditation scrolls but are usually a long backing strip with small fabric waste pieces, lace and trims all sewn to the backing fabric.
These can be cut into pieces when finished to make ephemera for junk journalling or for adding to larger slow stitch projects.
What to do with the finished piece.
With meditation and slow stitching scrolls or pages, you are not trying to make anything, it is all about the process and connecting with the feel of the thread and fabric.
That said…if you make pieces that are about 10cm or more wide, then you can easily turn your scroll into a needle roll, needle book cover, book mark or make it part of a bigger collage.
These are all relaxing and fun ways to use up fabric scraps, old clothes and bed sheets.