Michelle of Witch's Garden Crafts and I sat down for a virtual interview and I'm so excited to share our conversation! I feel like I've known Michelle forever, like she's always been a part of the stitching community. We have been included in many of the same charitable collaborations, helping to raise money for Reproductive Rights, and a handful of mystery subscription boxes. If you've been paying attention to any of my pattern releases in the last couple years, you'll notice that I stitch mostly on Michelle's fabrics. I'm such a fan and I feel like our connection goes way beyond the collaborations we've participated in.
Last year, we discovered that we are both die-hard Cure fans, and we were attending the same concert in Atlanta. We met at the venue, and I was so excited and nervous! It was like meeting a celebrity, but Michelle is just Michelle, collected, thoughtful, and just as sweet as you can imagine. P.S. That Cure show was amazing.
Michelle is a pattern designer, a fabric dyer, a notion maker, a green witch, and a creative advocate rolled into one amazing human! Let's dive into her process and creative magic!
A = Amanda M= Michelle (Click the images to find these patterns / fabrics)
A: Michelle! You do it all! And I'd love to deep dive into everything you do! Let's talk about your designing journey! What got you into designing patterns? What's your typical design session like?
M: So I have enjoyed stitching since college, so about 40 years now. And I love a witchy aesthetic, but I am not so much into horror—I am a green witch by practice. I spend a lot of time working with plants and gardening, and I didn’t see many patterns with that kind of witchy vibe that I wanted to stitch, so I thought I would make some!
I am not a trained artist but my patterns are usually inspired by things that I like, that I think other people will like too.
A: How would you describe your design aesthetic in 5 words?
M: Nature | witchcraft | divine feminine | books | seasons
Which they are all kind of intertwined for me. So under witchcraft are things like divination/tarot, spells, etc. I am addicted to gardening and reading so those things kind of flow into my patterns too.
A: How interconnected do you think stitching is with witchcraft?
M: I think that stitchcraft and all other forms of creation are inherently magical. I can’t speak for anyone else, but sometimes when I am designing, it feels like there is a sacred flow that I can ride and it feels effortless and magical.
And I think that is true with stitching, as well. The act of creation is an innately sacred act.
I also think that historically female pursuits—like witchcraft and stitchcraft—are often not given the respect that they deserve because they are so heavily linked to women.
A: I get that completely. With the internet, I feel like so many more people are doing stitchcraft in various forms. Stitching today is not what it was 20 years ago. How do you see fiber arts like this evolving?
M: I love the evolution of fiber arts! It’s so exciting to see the new ways that younger fiber artists are enlivening this ancient practice! I hope that this creativity and freshness continues in the future!
One thing I have loved seeing is more stitchers of color enjoying stitching and contributing new ideas and thoughts to design. For instance, way the work of Nuri of Shaded Stitchery is rethinking the sampler.
A: Their designs are gorgeous, and overloaded with meaningful stitches. You're so right, designing and stitching can be elevated to fine art, and hopefully more people recognize that.
M: I also have loved seeing the contributions of Palestinian and other Middle Eastern artists because art always has been political! And we need that now more than ever.
A: Right? I recall seeing ages ago these projects stitched by a man who had been imprisoned in a concentration camp, and was able to cross stitch. In order for the guards to let him continue stitching, he tried to make the samplers traditional looking, but all the while, he was hiding Fuck Nazis everywhere in the sampler bands. (Source: https://makezine.com/article/craft/subversive_finds/)
M: That’s amazing!! It’s incredible to live at a time when our favorite art form is preserving cultural traditions and simultaneously innovating.
A: I hope more people are empowered to be craftivists. Not only to help us process our own feelings, but to share them and the impact of modern issues.
Ok, back to your designing journey! How similar is your first draft of a pattern to your final draft?
M: So I do my first draft using pixels. I would say that in general once I have an idea, I can get a rough draft finished pretty quickly but then the time consuming thing is polishing the design so it looks the way I should. I have some great people who moderate my Facebook groups that usually see early drafts of a pattern and give feedback and I listen to their thoughts because they are all expert stitchers. Sometimes the finished product is relatively close. Sometimes it looks quite a bit different but the general idea is still there.
So I have designed a series of animal patterns that I have only released a couple of and they were helpful to say things like “that fox looks like a cat and not a fox.” And they were right so i spent a lot of time tweaking the fox until it was actually a fox.
A: That's awesome that you have that trusted circle of experienced stitchers. Sometimes as designers, we're in a vacuum and it's hard to know if what we are designing will be appealing for others to stitch.
A: You cover a lot of witchy themes in your stitchalongs, Tarot, Chalices, Goddesses, etc. Can you tell us a little about this process for your stitchalongs? M: So with the stitchalongs, I usually have a general idea of the direction I want to go in, but designing is a little different.
I spend a lot of time researching goddesses or tarot cards in the design process. I try to incorporate what I consider to be key elements while also leaving room for divine inspiration. Probably the hardest design I have done was for the goddess Kali. I looked at lots of pictures and spent a lot of time reading and thinking about her. When I finally got into doing her design, I really felt like she influenced the design quite a bit. And when it was done, I could really see the magic in it.
A: I remember that! It's so cool that you felt her influence in that design. I love that you allow energy and intention into your workflow. It really shows in everything you do.
M: It was somewhat the same with the tarot designs I have done so far. Probably the hardest to design were the swords cards. I was talking to another witch about that and she reminded me that swords cards deal with weighty and difficult subjects and I really felt that in the design process.
A: Thanks, Swords, for making everything difficult.
A: I can tell by looking at your social media that you're a huge advocate of community and kindness. Can you tell us about the time you released the Sunflower Seeds for Ukraine? What was that like for you? How much have you raised for charity with this design?
M: The Sunflower Seeds for Ukraine design process was pretty incredible. I was so inspired by the woman who was interviewed, she is totally who I want to be as an elder, and I sat down one evening and it just flowed out. Then I got up at around 5am and worked on polishing it based on feedback I got, and then released it. I often find that when I have a strong emotion behind the design—in this case, anger—it comes out in the design. I was so inspired by the way the cross stitch world came together and supported that goal of raising funds for Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons. The pattern raised over $20k that was donated to UNHRC. I am consistently awed by the kindness and supportiveness of cross stitchers!
A: That's AMAZING! The outpouring of the community at that time was unreal.
M: I was very lucky to be able to channel that process—but the magic of the kindness of the people who donated is the real magic.
A: Do you ever have an opportunity to stitch for yourself?
M: Rarely! It's funny because I love to stitch so much but the business has gotten so busy (mainly with the fabric I sell which is very time consuming to produce) that I only rarely have time to sit and stitch. My stitching time now is taken up with cutting and packaging fabric, I do that in the evenings when I used to stitch.
But I am incredibly fortunate to get to do what I do, and it’s a very similar and Zen kind of activity.
A: I feel like all the fabric you dye comes out as artwork, and when I'm stitching on it, I hate covering up the vivid colors. In the end, every design I've ever stitched on your fabric has been elevated. Do you want to tell us a little bit about your dyeing process without giving away your secrets?
M: Thank you so much for saying that! So most people can probably tell that I do immersion dyeing, which is probably the most common way to dye. I work in small batches using a standard recipe and mix my own dye blends. I work in small batches because I actually dye in my kitchen (I have to be really careful).
A: I've always imagined you over bubbling cauldrons, stirring the dye and fabrics
M: You are not far from accurate. I have a fabric of the month club which is actually what I use a lot of times these days to get new ideas for colorways and try out new little dye experiments. When people ask me how I get such intense colors, I say witchcraft most of the time but it’s really about doing small batches and giving the dye time to permeate the cloth fully.
A: Witchcraft is a valid answer! Have you dipped into any natural dyeing since you have that big garden in your yard?
M: I actually have tried with natural dyes—avocado seeds were probably my favorite and I sold that in my shop. It just adds a layer of time and complexity because wiry natural dyes you are not only dyeing the fabric but using large quantities of natural ingredients to make the dye itself—which doesn’t have much of a shelf life. I don’t really have the floor space to do that. I would need more of a factory set up.
A: Can you imagine? A studio space dedicated to just dyeing.
M: We are currently working on rehabbing our garage so I will be able to dye out there but that is a long process because my husband and I are DIYing it. It would be amazing and will hopefully happen at some point.
A: Any hints about what's next?
M: I am just about to start dropping teasers for an Edgar Allen Poe stitchalong during October that will have daily releases and all of the items are inspired by his stories and poems!
A: WHAT! YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS M: LOL
A: Well hoodoggy, that sounds really cool. It touches on Halloween and the gothic vibes that modern stitchers love. M: I love Poe and so does my dad. He asked for a Poe book for Christmas last year and I was leafing through it and thought “this could be really cool.”
A: Lots of the recent SALs have been educational, and people seem to love those. You stitch a part, and get an infodump at the same time.
M: Yes, that’s what I have started doing with the goddess and tarot patterns and did for the witch’s cabinet stitchalong I did last year—people seemed to love learning more about what they are stitching.
A: Do you have any advice for aspiring designers or dyers?
M: I think it is important to figure out what your aesthetic is and what you personally like to stitch, rather than just looking at what someone else is doing and copying their work. I think of you as someone who has a very specific aesthetic and point of view. I can always tell when I am looking at one of your patterns. I also think it’s important to remember that designing or dyeing is not a road to instant success. It takes time and a lot of consistent work to build a customer base, and I never take those people for granted. Anything you are doing is worth taking the time to do it properly. Do the work, be patient.
A: People want to support you! What's you're preferred way for people to engage and support you?
M: So I am probably one of the rare people who does most of my fabric sales through Etsy—I have severe ADHD and would have a difficult time managing multiple shops with shipping deadlines, etc. My Etsy shop is witchsgardencrafts.etsy.com. I also have a presence on Gumroad for the types of sales that Etsy doesn’t do well—my fabric of the month subscription and my active stitchalongs—which is tarotsal.gumroad.com
Thank you so much for sitting with me for this interview! I'm such a fan! And for the record, Nebula is my favorite fabric and I stitch 70% of my patterns on it. And thank you, dear reader! I appreciate you reading! If you like what I do, feel free to subscribe to blog updates! I love validation! Click me to submit your email address! Want more BAD Stitch? Join my Patreon!
EAP SAL! what what!
Two rad humans. Loved reading this!