In Issue 06 of Yarnologie, we chatted with the very talented and inspired Kasia Jacquot. Kasia is a successful artist and teacher, making a living from sharing her love of embroidery with others. Kasia has drawn from her Polish heritage to create a style unique to her, stitching her designs using wool, rather than the usual cotton.
From the story inside Issue 06:
“In Poland, I lived in a very small village. I was surrounded by art and craft, it was just part of normal daily life. They weren’t hobbies as such in those days, in the ’70s. Women knitted because we needed jumpers and scarves for winter. Embroidery was an expectation; a woman should know how to embroider because you were expected to keep beautiful table linens especially for special occasions like Christmas and Easter, holidays and weddings." Kasia says, "So I grew up around all of that, it was a very rich decorative element to every body’s homes. Village life was very different from city life, so I think the way that I see it now, is very much, that when you decorate something you honour that object and look after it more. When you embroider something you’re not going to throw it out as easily as a t-shirt from Target. As a kid, I did many crafts. Paper cutting is very popular in Polish folk culture and it holds a place in religious festivals too."
Kasia’s stitching style is unique; her use of wool makes the stitches stand out. Asking Kasia about her embroidery, I discover that it is very much something she’s developed over the years. “It sort of developed in response to what I wanted to see. I like to stitch and get results quickly. That’s one of the reasons I use wool because it gives you such chunky stitches. You can fill a small flower petal with five or six stitches in wool, rather than 20 stitches with cotton," Kasia says.
You can continue reading the full 8-page story in Yarnologie Issue 06, along with Kasia's tutorial on how to get started with your own embroidery using wool yarn.