The Paint With Fabric Workshop with Hannah Austin

Imagine walking into your living room and seeing a breathtaking sunrise landscape hanging on your wall. Golden rays bleeding into deep berry pinks, gray-blue mountains catching the first light, wildflowers blooming across the meadow below. And you made it. Not with paint. Not with pastels. With fabric from your craft room that has been sitting in a bin for months.

Your friend stops mid-sentence the first time she sees it. "Wait... you MADE that? That's not a painting?" And you get to watch her face when you tell her it's fabric. That you followed a template, one section at a time. That the leftover floral print she watched you shove into your scrap bin last year? It's the wildflower meadow in the foreground.

The fabric does the talent part. It shows up already beautiful. Someone dyed that sunset into the batik long before you ever picked it up. Your job is deciding which piece goes where, cutting it, and pressing the edges into the board with the back of a seam ripper. Choosing and tucking, that's the whole craft. Hannah teaches you the tucking, and the choosing turns out to be the fun part.

Same Technique, Different Fabric

Every Piece Is One of a Kind

Both of these came from the same Sunrise Over the Cascades template. Hannah simply changed the fabric: deep berry batiks and dusky florals on the left, bright sunrise golds on the right. Pull different colors from your own stash and the same template turns into something completely yours.

Two finished kinusaiga landscapes from the same template side by side: berry sunset batiks and golden sunrise batiks, with Hannah's tools in front

Why This Looks So Impressive... And Is Way More Doable Than You Think

The first time you see kinusaiga (kee-noo-SYE-gah), it doesn't even look like fabric. It looks like a painting. And your first thought is probably: "That's beautiful... but I could never make that."

Kinusaiga is a young art form with deep roots. It was created by Japanese artist Setsu Maeno in the 1980s, building on the centuries-old kimekomi tradition of tucking fabric into carved grooves. Hannah credits Maeno at the very start of the course, and what she teaches is the process she has worked out over her own years of practice.

You could make this, and here's why. Nothing gets drawn or painted. You carve shallow grooves into a foam board along a printed template, lay fabric over each section, and tuck the raw edges in with the back of a seam ripper. The edge disappears, the fabric pillows up like a tiny quilt, and section by section the picture appears.

And you can do it with fabric you already own. That strange orange batik you impulse-bought five years ago and never used? That's your sunset glow.

Your scrap bin isn't leftovers. It's a palette nobody else has.

Meet Your Instructor

Hannah Austin

Hi, I'm Hannah, and I'm so glad you're here! I'm the sole artist behind Needle OR Thread. I've been a full-time artist for seven years, and I've been practicing kinusaiga since 2022.

Kinusaiga was created by Japanese artisan Setsu Maeno, and I teach it with deep respect for where it comes from (you'll hear me credit Maeno in the very first video). The process I share is my own, built through years of exploration: my method, my tips and tricks, and a lot about my own process.

I normally teach this art form in small live virtual workshops, around 40 seats at a time, tied to a date on a calendar. This workshop is everything I teach live, filmed up close, so you can learn it at your own table, on your own schedule.

And here's what I most want you to know: you don't need to be "artistic." The fabric brings the color, the texture, and the pattern. Your job is to choose what you love and tuck it into place. If a fabric caught your eye once upon a time, that's reason enough. Being able to finally pull it out of the bin and turn it into something beautiful feels like such a win.

That's what I love sharing inside this workshop. Not just the technique itself, but that wonderful moment when someone steps back and realizes, "Wait... I really can make this."

Introducing: The Paint With Fabric Workshop

The Paint With Fabric Workshop course shown across desktop, tablet, and phone

The Paint With Fabric Workshop is a complete, step-by-step video course that takes you from "I've never done this before" to holding your own lovely, framed 9" x 9" fabric landscape. You'll learn kinusaiga, the Japanese fabric art created by artist Setsu Maeno, using your own fabric plus a few inexpensive supplies.

Every module is built around doing. You'll follow along as Hannah builds her actual piece on camera, cutting, placing, and tucking every section while explaining what she's doing and why (with time-lapses through the repetitive stretches). By the time you finish the final module, you'll have a frameable piece of art on your table and the confidence to make as many more as you want.

And the best part: no two pieces ever look the same. The fabric you choose, the way you cut it, the scraps you pull from your collection, all of it makes your piece completely one-of-a-kind. There's no "wrong" fabric and no "right" color palette. There's just your version of this landscape, and it will look like nothing anyone else has ever made. You'll even print your pattern from the same 9" x 9" template Hannah designed for this piece, with her fabric recommendations written right on it.

What's Inside

What You'll Learn

Five hands-on video modules, plus Hannah's welcome video and her printable 9" x 9" template.

Module 1

Materials, Board Prep, and Your Template

Everything you need and how to set it all up. By the end of this module your board is cut, prepped, and ready to carve.

The exact one-inch insulation foam board Hannah uses, where to find it at the hardware store, and the score-and-snap trick that cuts it perfectly to size
Her real toolkit, laid out simply: a precision knife, sharp scissors, double-sided adhesive sheets, and the couple-dollar seam ripper that does all the tucking
Which fabrics make each section shine: batiks for the glowing sky and mountains, printed florals for the meadow, and how much of each you need
How to mount your printed template so every line stays put while you carve

Module 2

Practice the Technique Before the Real Board

You learn every skill on a scrap board first: cutting, tucking, corners, curves, and edges. By the time you touch your real piece, your hands already know the moves.

The slow sawing cut that gives you clean, controlled grooves, and why dragging the blade through a dense spot of foam is how lines wander and fingers get nicked
Hannah's pinch-and-slide tucking method that makes every raw edge disappear into the board
How to handle corners, curves, and the outside edges of your board (and why the sides don't need to be perfect once it's framed)
Simple rescues for every common mistake: bunching fabric, ripples, lifted adhesive, and fraying edges

Module 3

Plan Your Fabric Like an Artist

Choosing fabric is the longest, most personal part of the process, and this module is Hannah sitting with you while you do it: sky, mountains, and meadow, section by section.

Why batiks make the sky glow, and the difference between mottled and striated batiks so you get the exact effect you want
The light-to-dark mountain layering that creates real depth, Hannah's forced-perspective trick for making the far peaks feel distant
How print size fakes distance: tiny florals in back, big blooms in front, and suddenly your meadow looks a mile deep
Why Hannah skips color theory entirely (in her words: flowers don't look around themselves to see if they match) and what she does instead

Module 4

Build the Sunrise Sky

The sky is two-thirds of this piece, and it's the part nobody believes is fabric. Hannah cuts and tucks all nine sky sections on camera, from the center glow outward, and you build yours right alongside her.

Why Hannah starts at the center of the sky, the focal point that guides the direction and colors of every section around it
How to cut through the paper template cleanly so every groove lands exactly on the line
The gentle-pressure technique for the narrow rays near the center, where the foam is most delicate
How Hannah keeps her grooves nearly invisible, the detail that gives kinusaiga its quilted, painted-with-fabric texture

Module 5

Mountains and the Wildflower Meadow

The most detailed cutting in the piece (that jagged Cascades ridgeline), followed by the easiest part: filling your meadow with flowers.

How to carve and tuck the mountain ridgeline without collapsing the narrow foam sections it shares with the sky
Layering gray-blue batiks from light to dark so the Cascades recede behind the glowing sunrise
Working with floral prints: directional patterns, looser weaves that fray more than batiks, and how to place the exact blooms you want front and center
Hannah's final once-over: re-tucking loose edges, smoothing ripples, and snipping stray threads so your piece is frame-ready

Included Free

2 Free Bonuses (Included Today)

FREE BONUS Bonus 1: Hannah holding her finished kinusaiga piece in its shadow box frame

$37 Value. Yours FREE

Frame It Right

A complete video lesson on framing and finishing, taught by Hannah with her actual finished piece, and why she reaches for a shadow box instead of a ribbon edge.

The exact shadow box that fits this piece (9 inches, with a one-inch internal depth) and how to prep it before your piece slides in
Why Hannah removes the glass from every frame she uses, and what that does for the texture you worked so hard to create
How to seat your piece snugly, secure the backing, and care for it long-term: keep it out of direct sun and lint-roll it clean

FREE BONUS Bonus 2: timelapse frame of Hannah tucking the alternate colorway's striated batik sky

$37 Value. Yours FREE

Alternate Kinusaiga Sunrise Template

Hannah builds the same template a second time, in a completely different color scheme, filmed as one continuous sped-up video. Watch the whole piece come together, or pause at each step and build alongside her.

See how much the fabric changes the mood: a whole new palette on the exact same sunrise design
One continuous timelapse from first cut to framed piece: carving, placing, tucking, and framing in order
Made for follow-along pacing: pause anywhere, work your step, then press play for the next one (no scrubbing through long lessons to find your place)

For Just $47 You Get Everything

The full price of The Paint With Fabric Workshop will be $97. But that's not the price you'll be paying today.

Hannah normally teaches in small live workshops. Seats are capped at around 40, they're tied to a date and a time zone, and when a session ends, it's gone. This workshop is the first time her complete process has ever been available on demand: every cut and every tuck on camera, yours to keep forever.

Because the on-demand version is brand new, we're opening it to a founding group of 100 students at $47 instead of $97. In exchange we ask one thing: tell us what you think. Your questions and feedback (a real person reads and answers every email) will shape how this workshop grows. If this page is still live, founding spots are still open.

Everything included in The Paint With Fabric Workshop shown across devices

✓ The Complete Paint With Fabric Workshop $97 value
✓ Bonus: Frame It Right $37 value, FREE
✓ Bonus: Alternate Kinusaiga Sunrise Template $37 value, FREE

ONE-TIME PURCHASE. LIFETIME ACCESS FOREVER.

$97 $47

Start Creating Your First Fabric Landscape Now

Lock in the reduced beta price before the first 100 spots are gone.

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Maybe You're Thinking...

"But I'm not artistic." You don't need to be. You're following a step-by-step process, not painting from a blank canvas. Cut, place, press, tuck. If you enjoy working with your hands, you can do this.

"My fabric scraps aren't nice enough." They're probably more perfect than you think. A tiny floral becomes a wildflower meadow. A muted green turns into distant hills. Kinusaiga has a way of making overlooked fabrics shine.

"This looks too complicated." It looks detailed when it's finished. The process itself is just a few calm, repeatable motions. It's the kind of craft that looks advanced from across the room, then makes perfect sense once someone shows you what to do.

30-DAY GUARANTEE

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

You don't have to make the final decision now. Get instant access to the full Paint With Fabric Workshop right now and try it out. Watch the videos. Follow along with Module 1. Pull out your scrap bin and start choosing your fabric. If at any point within 30 days you decide it's not for you, for any reason at all, just send a quick email and you'll receive every penny back within 24 hours. No questions, no awkward conversation. You either love what you create or you get a full refund. That's it.

Frequently Asked Questions

The moment you click the button and complete your purchase, you get instant access to every module, every video, and every bonus. The course is completely pre-recorded, so you can start right now at 2 AM or next Saturday morning, whatever works for your schedule. Watch one module a day or binge the entire thing in one afternoon. There's no schedule to follow and no deadlines to meet.

None at all. This course was designed for people who don't consider themselves artists. You don't need to know how to draw, paint, or sew. If you can cut fabric with scissors and tuck it into a groove with the back of a seam ripper, you can do this. Hannah's live workshops are built for complete beginners, and this course teaches the same way: one small, doable step at a time.

A one-inch insulation foam board from the hardware store (Hannah names the exact product she uses), double-sided adhesive sheets from the craft store, sharp scissors, a precision craft knife, and an ordinary seam ripper, the couple-dollar tool that does all the tucking. Add a 9-inch shadow box if you'd like to frame it. For fabric, raid your stash: quilting cottons and batiks work beautifully, and Hannah shows you what to look for. Starting completely from scratch, most people spend around $25 to $40 on supplies.

The course walks you through Hannah's 9" x 9" Sunrise Over the Cascades landscape, framed in a standard 9-inch shadow box with a one-inch internal depth (she shows you how to prep it, including why she removes the glass). It's real wall art, not a tiny craft project. And the technique itself scales: once you've learned it at this size, the same method works on larger boards whenever you're ready.

Absolutely not! And this is the best part. The whole beauty of kinusaiga is that each piece is completely unique based on the fabric YOU choose. Hannah shows you the technique and placement principles, but you use whatever fabric you have available. Your scraps, your colors, your patterns. That means your finished piece will be one nobody else could ever replicate, because nobody else has your combination of fabric.

Give yourself a relaxed afternoon for the build, and don't rush the fabric choosing (that's half the fun). Hannah's advice through the whole course is that it's not a race. Some people finish in a day, plenty spread it across a weekend, and you can pause at any point and pick up where you left off.

Yes. One hundred percent a one-time payment of $47. There are no monthly charges, no subscriptions, no hidden fees, and no 'premium upgrade' waiting on the other side. You pay once and you own access to the entire course and all bonuses permanently.

You're covered by a full 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not happy for any reason any reason at all just send one email and you'll receive a complete refund within 24 hours. No questions asked. No hoops. No awkward conversation. We take on all the risk so you don't have to.

Forever. Lifetime access means exactly that, you can watch and re-watch every module as many times as you want, whenever you want, for as long as the internet exists. If we ever update or add new content, you get that too at no extra charge.

The entire course is video-based, and the camera stays close, so you can see every cut and tuck as Hannah does it, with time-lapses through the repetitive stretches. You also get Hannah's printable 9" x 9" template PDF with her fabric recommendations printed right on it, plus the bonus videos. Everything works on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Free videos are a great way to discover kinusaiga, and Hannah shares some herself. But short videos are snippets by nature: a few minutes of one step, without the whole process around them. This course is the complete build, start to finish. You begin with a blank board in Module 1 and end with a finished, frameable landscape, with Hannah explaining what she's doing and why at every step, plus her printable template and her fixes for when something goes sideways.

Completely. Your payment is processed through a secure, SSL-encrypted checkout page using trusted payment processors including PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and others. Your financial information is never stored on our servers. It's the same level of security you'd experience buying from Amazon or any major retailer.

Ready to Turn Your Scrap Bin Into Your First Piece of Wall Art?

Thank you for taking the time to learn this art form from someone who has been practicing it for years. I can't wait to share my method, my tips and tricks, and to get you to that wonderful moment where you step back from your board and realize: I really made this.

Hannah Austin, Needle OR Thread