Fragments by Anna Scott

Design inspiration can come from anywhere. Many designers keep scrapbooks, mood boards or journals to record ideas. These things are usually filled with photographs, colour swatches, sketches or bits of fabric.

A lot of designers speak of the pleasure that comes from leafing through their journals, and suddenly feeling that burst of inspiration that leads on to the next design. The secret is to keep and collect anything and everything that appeals, as you never know what might ignite the next spark.

Anna Scott had a piece of fabric in her collection that had always appealed to her. It was a beautiful piece of silk with a large, striking print worked in reds and blues. She always wanted to design something based on the fabric but was waiting for the right commission and the right moment. 

When we approached her with the concept for our book The Design Collective | Pincushions, she knew it had arrived, and Fragments was born.

Anna selected a limited colour palette that featured the bold reds and blues of her silk fragment. Using crewel wool and a range of surface stitches, she created something that beautifully crosses the border between traditional Jacobean crewel and a more modern feel.

Although the space on this pincushion is necessarily limited, Anna has offered the embroiderer a wide range of stitches to try out. This ensures that your interest will be captured from the first moment you thread your needle until you finally start the construction. 

There are some 18 different stitches hidden within the flowers and leaves of the design. Furthermore, rather than using solid colour wools, the choice of Gumnut Yarns means that each skein has a subtle variegation. This creates a gentle gradation of colour within each motif.

Anna opted to construct her pincushion as a simple, practical pillow. She didn’t want it to be too big as, she admitted, she has a habit of putting needles into her pincushions. If your pincushion is too big, your needles get lost inside and then you have the rather terrifying process of trying to find them without them going into your fingers!

Fragments is an ideal project for you to tuck into your stitching bag or sit next to you on your stitching table.

The bright, beautiful colour scheme ensures that you can see it, and the shape and size are just right. Whether you are making it as a gift for a friend or relative, or you are stitching Fragments for yourself, you’re sure to enjoy the process from beginning to end.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Fragments by Anna Scott is a Jacobean-style crewelwork design of flowers and leaves atop a pleated pillow.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Fragments includes everything* you need to re-create this gorgeous crewel work pincushion: Fabrics (unprinted), ivory sewing thread, fibre-fill, embroidery threads and needles.

*Please Note: To cater for flexibility of purchase, instructions are not included with our kits. For step-by-step directions on how to create this project, please refer to the book.