Textile Artist: The Art of Felting and Silk Ribbon Embroidery

Learn and create 16 beautiful embroidered silk and felt pieces by world renowned artist Di van Nierkerk

Internationally renowned ribbon artist, Di van Niekerk, has brought the textile and embroidery worlds together to create a unique book that combines the two mediums, with fabulous results. Working in close association with felt specialist Toody Cassidy, and featuring art by felt designer Razaan Jakoet, this is a book to delight and inspire beginners keen to work with the striking fusion of felt and silk.

Learn to make flat nuno felting and felt surfaces, using wool, wool and silk and paper silk, and adorn these with exquisite silk ribbon designs. Beginning with detailed instructions on the felted backgrounds, followed by a step-by-step section on how to make the flowers and creatures in silk, the book then introduces readers to 16 stunning projects, from pieces to hang in your home through to accessories you can wear and keep, to practice and apply your newfound embroidery skills.

An artistically inclined mother and a keen interest in all things beautiful got Di van Nierkerk off to an early start as an embroiderer. Her love for this discipline soon became her livelihood and starting an embroidery business was just another natural progression for this talented crafter. She opened her first shop in the Natal Midlands and when the family decided to uproot and move to Johannesburg, along went the business. After four years of running one of Johannesburg's most successful embroidery shops, the family's urge to settle in Cape Town became too strong to ignore. Di now lives in the Mother City where she runs two successful embroidery shops. The end product of her latest interest, hand painting her own range of silk and organza ribbons for embroidery, is marketed to retail outlets worldwide. She is the author of 5 currrent titles with Search Press.

One of the founder members of the Cape Embroiderers' Guild, Toody Cassidy is an avid felter and creative embroiderer who loves to share her passion for fabric, fiber and thread, patterns, colors and design with others. She has hand-dyed and sold different types of threads and fibers, including cotton, silk and wool, and mastered the art of silk paper making. Toody and Di have worked together over more than 15 years.