A closer look at the Jane Austen’s Heroines fabric book

I had unrealistic expectations.

Let's just start there.

A fabric book spread for each of Jane Austen's heroines excited my imagination: English countrysides, manors and mansions, the hopes and dreams of each girl, all depicted in fabric, thread, and notions.

Uh, yea.

I started the first spread with great enthusiasm. Sometime late in the process, and late in the night, I remembered that I hate embroidery (translation: I'm terrible at it) and I'd never learned to appliqué. Oops.

EMMA WOODHOUSE, heroine of Emma

(1) The metaphorical sun shone too brightly on Emma (maybe that's why her chest ornamentation swelled?)

(2) Emma treated Harriet and Mr. Elton and everyone else in her universe as puppets (sticks between their legs are puppet handles, ya dig?)

(3) It may be another of Emma's flights of fancy, but it is Harriet who has been sent over the red/pink moon yet again.

(4) There was no pink cat in Emma but there should have been.

Somewhat sobered by my challenges with the Emma spread, I decided to try a more scrapbook approach and moved on to...

FANNY PRICE, heroine of Mansfield Park

(1) No one said Fanny Price had red hair but they never said she didn't have it, either.

(2) Fanny's keepsakes: a fish from the docks where her parents live, the cross her brother gave her, and the necklace she was manipulated into wearing. Keepsakes, right?

(3) Fanny has her eye on the dangers just outside the curtained window - birds of prey coming to eat her cousin Edmund's morals.

Hang on, I need a front cover for this book, right? I nearly forgot.

THE COVER

(1) At this point we realize that all the girls look the same. Including the author. But maybe that's just how they did things in Regency Era England.

(2) No room for the rest of the title. Ah well.

I took a little break and returned to the book with a new determination to try some other better techniques. Good idea, right?

ELIZABETH BENNETT, heroine of Pride and Prejudice

(1) Elizabeth is on it like a Jane Austen bonnet.

(2) I'm ridiculously proud of the foundation paper pieced LIZZY. Ridiculously.

(3) The squirrel is mocking Elizabeth with "what fine eyes!" but she never heard Mr. Darcy or Miss Bingley say the line so she doesn't get it.

With only three of the heroines' spreads completed, I was already running out of steam. Next up: one of my favorites but I was depleted of inspiration. I had to go with belabored symbolism.

ANNE ELLIOT, heroine of Persuasion

(1) Off-center in her own life? Typical.

(2) Her little halo of family wealth protects her from the fate of her friend Mrs. Smith.

(3) Poor girl, her window for reconnecting with Captain Wentworth is narrowing! (Get it? The fish? Get it?)

(4) The Captain is so worldly now. See all that exploration stuff? That's what that means. Plus he's kinda bitter but we have read that into it on our own.

ELINOR AND MARIANNE DASHWOOD, co-heroines of Sense and Sensibility

(1) Sister-heroines Elinor and Marianne exist together, contrasts of each other. Elinor is in a dark and worrisome space.

(2) The calmness of Elinor's exterior, like the calmness of the sea, will be broken only by the shocking confessions of Lucy Steele's fiancé. (Has anyone checked on Hugh Grant lately?)

(3) Who put her in that dress?

(1) Marianne is partying in Hawaii.

EXTRA HEROINES FOR THE JANE AUSTEN FABRIC BOOK?

I had already put six Jane Austen Heroines in a fabric book but there was room for three more. Yes, true, I skipped Northanger Abbey but, let's be honest, most of us do. So I went ahead and promoted three lesser characters to heroine, beginning with...

CHARLOTTE LUCAS, honorary heroine of Pride and Prejudice

(1) Charlotte Lucas, the only heroine to have her full name included on the spread. Who ever referred to Charlotte Lucas without saying Charlotte Lucas? No one, that's who.

(2) Mr. Collins is not good enough for Charlotte Lucas and this graph proves it

HARRIET SMITH, honorary heroine of Emma

(1) Harriet is caught in a minimalist rainstorm.

(2) Framed like a piece of art here, she is not a real human girl. She's the Mona Lisa.

(3) Can this fabric book be over now, please?

MARY CRAWFORD, dis-honorary heroine of Mansfield Park

(1) Look at Mary in her decadent bordello. Ooooo, naughty!

(2) She was pissed about being partially hidden behind a curtain while the horses got the title page but I was making a point: she shouldn't have bogarted Fanny's horse.

Oh man, are we done yet?

BACK COVER

(1) Gah, more embroidery?

(2) “Never again,” I wailed, not realizing I was lying. (See the Great British Bake Off quilt video*.)

THE FABRIC BOOK PATTERN

Who came up with the idea for this fabulous fabric book? Ann Wood. The pattern and instructions are available in her blog. The pattern is free but toss her some dollars if you can. Support genius. https://www.annwoodhandmade.com

Videos of the book being made:

Front cover, Emma and Fanny video

Lizzy, Anne, Elinor and Marianne video

Charlotte video

Harriet, Mary, back cover video

*Great British Bake Off quilt video