InterviewTextile designer and artist Heather Ross has recently released her second book full of DIY projects, printable designs and instructions for creating your own crafty prints.

Heather Ross Prints include cheerful and enchanting projects for interior decoration, small gifts and garments that are an inexpensive, easy and exciting way to introduce yourself to crafts or delve into new projects if you’re a DIY veteran. An entire chapter of the book is dedicated to demonstrating the textile print design process so that you can create your own textile designs with sketches and a little help from Photoshop and an included DVD.

Heather’s philosophies on sharing the inspiration, skills and processes for making your own beautiful objects are a leading example of the tools that todays very able but technologically sedated society craves and needs. EcoSalon caught up with the enthusiastic author to hear about her views on crafts and the importance of understanding the continuous learning curve that makes up our lives as creative beings.

What was your starting point for writing the book Heather Ross Prints?

I have this library of pattern designs and so I wanted to figure out a way to take all my textile designs and build projects around them to make them very accessible and inexpensive. I wanted to put art in the hands of the readers and inspire them instead of going through a licensing process. I didn’t want to do the lengthy processes I was being approached because those projects seemed to be creating unusable stuff and it didn’t really feel like we need a lot more stuff – what we need is to learn how to make things ourselves.

Through the book you’ve openly shared your prints and processes for any one to utilize. What do you think the benefits of open source design are?

People in the craft community are always willing to share their ideas, resources and connections and I wanted this book to be part of that world. I wanted it to be just as easy to open a book as it is to go online and find a craft idea for your daughter’s birthday party. I get to have my art out there and have it utilized, while the people using it see that it is possible to make your own designs or use my designs to make your own things. I grew up with very little in terms of money or things, and so I’ll take every opportunity I have to give something away.

We live in such a visual era and it all gets shared anyway, so why not build it as a resource rather than just an image?  I wanted to create a way for people to make something they see that inspires them and they keep and use it rather than just looking at it for a second online.

Some people think if you have a handmade item it has to be claimed as one person’s art, but if you look a the collaborative processes of making a book or building a fashion line, there are a lot of creative people involved. I don’t see why I can’t be the designer while someone else is the illustrator, someone the maker, and someone the user so that we can all contribute.

What is your favorite project from the book? 

The wallpaper! The idea that I could have an image in my computer, build it into a repeat, send it to someone in LA and a week later get a giant, giant box in the mail and Google how to put up wallpaper for my daughter’s bedroom was so exciting to me.

I also think the paper projects in my book are really fun. I always wanted to do a stationery line, and making designs where people could go in and change the text to personalize it is also really exciting to me.

I wanted to incorporate projects for things you wouldn’t find elsewhere. A lot of the sewing projects are very simple because I wanted to make them accessible. The pride people feel in making things is the side of craft that really appeals to me – where people realize how possible it is for them to make things by hand.

What is it about fairytale aesthetics that fascinate you? 

I lived on an incredible piece of property as a child and it really felt like there were all of these semi-invisible, magical creatures that inhabited it. My childhood was difficult and so this imaginary world was an escape from having to cope with the very adult issues that were part of my life. Our property was paradise with waterfalls, moss so thick you couldn’t see your feet in it and dark corners of the woods, and I think all of that was my salvation and foundation.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m writing a book of essays about my childhood and how it contributed to my career in the same sort of DIY, imaginary world.

I’m also working on some illustrations for picture books, as well as the Crafty Chloe series, which is really fun. I’m hoping the series lasts for a while because I’ve just fallen in love with the character – it’s nice to have an alter ego that’s this crafty, 6 year old redhead for who the quality doesn’t matter, it’s the effort that counts.

I am also planning on coming into the retail fabric market next year with designs that were made with my home in mind.

How important do you think crafts are in today’s society?

There is something innately satisfying about making things yourself, whether through cooking, crafting or something else. In this very impersonal, online world, something that you can touch and see is important.

There is also this whole other side of craft that is letting us care for ourselves and provide for ourselves. We are the first generation of American women for whom Home Ec was not a given and whose mothers were not necessarily providing us with those skills because they were working. So in the last 20 years there’s been tremendous demand for those skills, and I feel like that has made us a very dependent generation. I feel the more stuff we can do for ourselves, the stronger and more independent we can feel. Filling your home with things you’ve made turns your home into a space that’s an extension of yourself. I love walking into people’s homes and seeing their quilts on the bed and their art on the walls because you feel like you instantly understand a bit of who that person is.

Why do you think there’s been a revived interest in crafts and DIY?

The first thing I think when I see something I like is: How is that made? Could I make that? Maybe a lot of people started thinking that and realizing how good it feels to make something beautiful yourself.

Martha Stewart, Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt and Anna Maria Horner all know how to make DIY beautiful and know how to show the thrill in thinking that you could live in a home with your own recipes, paintings or quilts. Since the 80s all the small stores and manufacturers have been disappearing and everything is about large retail and everyone dresses the same, so our lives are becoming branded. I think crafting and DIY is a reaction to that because we are all looking to build an identity and stand out and feel like we understand who we are outside the culture we belong to. Maybe making things is the easiest and most satisfying way to do that.

Technology has made a range of crafting activities more accessible. How do you foresee new technology changing the way we make things?

Anything you can imagine is possible, and technology is supposed to be one step ahead of our imagination. For creative people, that makes things limitless. That was a huge part of this book – to say that I’ve been printing my Christmas cards on a 200 dollar printer for five years, and I can show you how to do it. Spoonflower allows us to print our own fabric, and that is so amazing. There was a great story in the Wall Street Journal about a woman who found a vintage blouse, picked it apart, uploaded the pattern to Spoonflower and made a tablecloth out of the material she had printed. I think that shows how amazing technology is.

What does sustainability mean to you?

To me it means things are so well made that they last and you can work on them and fix them. My sewing machine is 65 years old and my car is 25 years old but I understand how they work. Things should last for a long time and when they break you should be able to fix them, so you should know enough about them that you can fix them.

A couple of years ago my husband and I bought a completely abandoned 100-year old house in the Catskills. We could see that it was a solid house, and knew we could bring it back. We know that things used to be made to last, and they’re not any more, which is incredibly sad to me.

What does your dream home look like?

I’ve never had a distinctive vision for a particular space, it’s been more about filling spaces with things I love. When I imagine an ideal home I imagine the view from the windows instead of the interior – I’m obsessed with spaces that bring the outdoors in. We’re really trying to turn this house in the Catskills into its original splendor with an Arts and Crafts and Beaux Arts feel. Although it isn’t what my husband or I ever envisioned, it is becoming our dream home now because we have this special stewarding relationship with it.

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Gretchen Hirsch recreates Vogue staples with a new book.

Gretchen Hirsch, owner of the wildly popular Gertie’s New Blog For Better Sewing  has recently authored a fantastic guide for the most essential  garment sewing techniques. Hailing from Beacon, New York, Gertie calls herself a sewing enthusiast and pens a bevy of tips, inspiration, tutorials and discussions on sewing and all the cultural facets related to stitching your own. Having compiled her knowledge into a nifty vessel, Gertie’s New Book For Better Sewing is the culmination of her  commendable journey through Vogue’s New Book For Better Sewing.  The featured wealth of skills in a range of garment sewing techniques are perfect for the home sewer with a thirst to learn how to create pieces for her own wardrobe. Showcasing some of the most iconic fifties outfits, readers are provided with paper patterns and detailed instruction for re-creating the original Vogue sheaths, skirts and blouses. Gertie’s book launch tomorrow evening at the Sewing Studio in New York will be a refreshing retro affair, so don’t miss your chance to make a stitch in time.

Your book is FULL of technique – how long did it take for you to learn everything you’ve written about?

I had a really good foundation for sewing because my mother’s a sewer and I knew how to use a machine so it wasn’t like I was starting from scratch. When I decided I wanted to learn garment sewing, it took about 3 or 4 years to get to where I am now. But I had to completely immerse myself in it to the point where I was reading sewing magazines in bed.

What kind of readership is the book meant for?

For people that have gotten into sewing and feel like they have moved beyond beginner level and are hungry for more in depth knowledge about garment sewing. I feel like there are a lot of resources out there for people that are just starting out, but if you want to go further you have to pull resources from a lot of different places. So I wanted to collect all of these garment sewing techniques in one place.

What is you favorite project from the book?

The strapless party dress – it’s made from this amazing cotton organdy that’s embroidered with little flowers, which is the kind of fabric that you just don’t find anymore. The whole idea of the dress is such a throwback to the fifties with the fabric, the silk taffeta lining that makes it look really crisp, and the boned bodice.

Why do you think vintage silhouettes featured in your book are considered so fabulous?

I think its sort of a backlash to today’s fashion that’s pretty drab and anemic. I think women are looking for colorful clothes that make them feel happy and girlie. The silhouettes that are on the runways right now don’t really speak to the average woman, whereas vintage silhouettes do because they have a more feminine shape. The current trend in the fashion industry is towards models that basically provide a clothes-hanger effect. Several of these models are 12 or 13 and to hear a designer say that a pre-pubescent girl is their muse is rather off-putting for a woman in her 30’s that has curves and is interested in fashion.

Why do you think there has been a revival in crafting and home-sewing?

I think that it kind of started with knitting with the whole Stitch n’ Bitch movement. For some reason it spoke to people like me through the whole tactile experience of working with different fibers and knitting needles as something that we don’t really experience in the modern world when spending all day at our computers.

Once knitting blew up, people were hooked on crafting and they wanted to see what else they could do. Sewing is related to knitting – you’re working with textiles and fabric so the roots are in the same desire to put down the iPhones and do something tactile and satisfying with our hands. It has become an addiction that lets us escape from our careers and technology.

Do you think the revival in crafting will expand so that home-sewing and other craft activities will become the norm?

Once people realize they can make a dress exactly the way they want in the fabric they want and see how satisfying it is, hopefully they’ll start making more of their wardrobes. It’s a really interesting counterpoint to the fast fashion world because you might just go to H&M to get a party dress, but there’s a lot of concern around where that dress came from and under what conditions it was made. If you can make that dress yourself you can bypass some of those concerns and feel really good about what you’re doing. Shopping only has a certain amount of enjoyment to it, where as you can really enjoy time spent making something with your own hands.

Do you like to use any modern technology or do you prefer hand-stitching and vintage sewing machines?

There are definitely things I like about modern technology and its funny to have gained recognition as a vintage seamstress through the Internet, because that’s a contradiction in itself. With current technology we have the opportunity to make all of the things we want to make and the research I’m doing now is looking at how to use easier, modern techniques to achieve vintage finishes. While I really appreciate couture sewing, I think it’s also important to think about what’s currently accessible.

What does sustainability mean to you?

To me it’s about educating yourself as much as it is about doing it yourself. I think when we get to the point that everyone has more knowledge on how to make your own clothes or how to source your own fabrics, that we will have a much more sustainable fashion industry.

Do you think sewing with vintage patterns is more sustainable than sewing with modern patterns?

To a certain extent, yes, because they are existing resources, but vintage patterns can also use a lot of fabric. It’s very hard to get some of the full silhouettes of the 50’s otherwise. I just designed a line of patterns for Butterick and the coat design I made has a full circle skirt and it uses like 7 yards of fabric. If you want to make these types of garments it’s about figuring out alternative uses for the scraps like filler for pet beds. While we wont be able to get to a point where we can cut a circle skirt with no waste because we just don’t make fabric that wide, I think we can use the waste responsibly and come up with creative ways to use it.

What inspires you?

The majority of my inspiration for the blog comes from vintage patterns and research on home sewing. I think home sewing patterns are such an interesting glimpse into the lives of women in the 20^th century because they can show their fantasies and bits of their daily lives. It’s so cool to buy a vintage pattern and find a swatch of fabric or a recipe tucked into it – these tokens show much more than couture fashion.

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