Emily Ryan Stark

Soft Sewn Structures: Trapunto & Cording for 3D Surfaces

Emily Ryan Stark

March 28 – April 4, 2026

$235 for members
$275 for non-members

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Explore the dimensional possibilities of fabric through trapunto and cording—two sculptural quilting techniques that create richly textured surfaces. Trapunto, often called “stuffed quilting,” adds raised forms by layering and padding selected areas, while cording introduces ridges and channels that build depth, structure, and shapes.

Designed for intermediate and advanced sewists, this workshop assumes participants have sewing experience and can comfortably operate sewing machines. Students will learn how to design and stitch trapunto motifs, route cords through fabric pathways, and strategically layer materials to develop pronounced relief. Through guided demonstrations and hands-on practice, participants will experiment with composition, motif scaling, and surface shaping to create a variety of 3D fabrics.

By the end of the two-session course, students will have completed a set of sample studies. Techniques will be presented with flexibility so the resulting surfaces can be developed into soft sculptures, wall compositions, or garment elements—providing a versatile foundation in trapunto and cording that inspires future projects and tactile surface explorations.

Supply List

All sessions will be held online over Zoom and recorded. Recordings will be emailed to participants within 24 hours of the session. Recordings are available for one year. This workshop features 2 hour instruction sessions on Saturdays and a midweek meetup to troubleshoot, share progress, and gather in community with other participants. Live sessions are scheduled as follows: 

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About Your Instructor

Emily Ryan Stark is an artist and bookworm from Western Montana. Her pieces explore the interplay between esotericism, gender studies, and ritualistic craft practices. She received an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, a BS from the University of Oregon, and a BA from the University of Montana. She was awarded a 2023-2024 Windgate Artist Fellowship and Creative Research Grant from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. Recently, she has been an artist-in-residence at Vermont Studio Center, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Open AIR Montana. Stark has participated in numerous exhibitions and served as a Visiting Professor of Fiber at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Skidmore College, and the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design at Georgia State University. As an INFP daydreamer, she is drawn to the surreal, the strange, and the mysterious.

Stark engages in a process-focused practice that emphasizes craft and detailed surfaces. Her work is rooted in fiber and consists of soft sculptural objects, garments, and woven structures. Her whimsical pieces explore inner landscapes, intuition, and embodied ways of knowing. She is influenced by occult and contemplative practices, glamour magic, and gender theory. Stark examines the ways in which we experience materials—both in a felt sense, and as complex carriers of histories, and how the systems and norms we are entangled in influence our emotions, relationships, and attachments.