Mystical Stitches Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment

Explore personal transformation through the stitching of dreams and intentions. Anything but ordinary, Mystical Stitches combines the beloved and accessible craft of embroidery with a spiritual element, introducing a rich treasury of 200 magical symbols you can use to set an intention and create personal icons to wear or embellish items in the home. Christi Johnson offers unique patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, zodiac signs, and mythical beasts, for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson’s folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form.

Christi Johnson creates mystical garments that blend elements of botanical dyes with handcrafted stitches. The resulting textile talismans honor the body, its boundaries, its extensions, and its relations to the world and cosmos around us. She works from the belief that through self-expression, we discover our power to transform our worlds. Raised in tropical Florida, Johnson studied Fashion Design at Otis College of Art and Design. She worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles for nearly a decade, most notably designing “cosmically crafted” limited-edition embroideries for boutique brand Coast-Wide’s denim workwear, and now lives in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. As a teacher, Johnson also offers workshops in natural dyeing and embroidery and has created kits and booklets for students and DIYers. Her garments, booklets, kits, and embroidered artwork have sold at maker studios and boutiques across the nation. 

The Discovery of Creative Liberation
1 Intention
     The Magic in the Creative Act
     The Power of Symbols
     What Is a Talisman?
     The Science of Slowness
     Transformative Qualities of the Creative Process
     Tools for Accessing Creativity
2 Materials
     Fabric
     Needles
     Thread
     Setting Up Your Hoop
     Marking Tools
     Transfer Paper
     Tracing Methods
     Getting Started with Thread
3 Stitch Methods
     Anatomy of a Stitch Illustration
     Traditional vs. Quick Methods of Stitching
     Tips as You Begin
     Foundational Stitches
4 Treasury of Symbols
     Geometric Forms
     Platonic Solids
     Numbers
     Planetary Magic
     Moon Phases
     The Zodiac
     Animalia
     Mythical Beasts
     Botanica
     Forces of Nature
     Human Forms
     Our Tools
5 Creating Your Talisman
     Color Harmony
     The Color Globe
     Choosing Colors
     Mystical Color
     Tips and Tricks
     Exploring Composition
     Transcendent Talisman
     Enliven Your Closet
6 The Art of Ritual
     Setting Your Intention
     Building an Altar
     Preparing for Ritual
     Charging Your Talisman
     Closing Your Space
     Developing Your Creative Ritual
     Ritual in a Bag
     Be Kind to Your Body
7 Stitch Key
Resources for Final Exploration
Acknowledgments