Laurie Latour of Future Christian Homemakers is quite an enthusiast when it comes to hand embroidery on gingham. If you have not seen her Gingham Museum on her website, it is worth taking a look at, especially if you are interested in elaborate "chicken scratch" embroidery that is unique and really beautiful. She has quite a collection of embroidered aprons, and they're all detailed with close-up photos and commentary.

Laurie's been experimenting with gingham lately, coming up with several Christmas designs that are really attractive. I especially like this series of Christmas trees she's been working on, so I was very happy when she said I could share them with you.

Traditionally, embroidery on gingham is worked in white or in the color of the darkest square on the fabric. Laurie played a little with this, but found that contrasting colors worked best on this series of trees.

The trees are embroidered on 1/8" homespun fabric (available online through Jubilee Fabric), and their finished size is approximately 3.25" tall by 2.75" wide - the perfect size for an ornament or a Christmas card.



This first tree is worked with a combination of dark green and sparkly white thread - although I like it, I have to admit I like the trees worked in colors that contrast with the fabric better. Laurie used two strands of DMC 890 (green) for the tree, and two strands of Treasure Braid Petit High Gloss (P410) for the circles and x's.




I like this tree a better, with the green stitched on the red homespun. She used the same color green as on the tree above, but instead of the white braid, she used Treasure Braid Petite (PB68), a multi-colored sparkly thread. It's hard to capture the sparkle in the picture, but you can imagine how nice it looks if you're familiar at all with Rainbow Gallery's Treasure Braids (pictured down below).



This tree, I really like. I like the kelly green floss on the red, with the gold braid! It's very pretty, and oh-so-Christmassy.



This tree, however, is my absolute fave. I love the contrast of the bold red stitches, and I like the dark geen with the gold braid.

Which is your favorite, of the four trees above?



Although this isn't a full tutorial, if you are interested in working up some similar trees, in the photo above, you can see the "skeleton" pattern for the design. For further directions on gingham embroidery, you can check out some tips for embroidering on gingham at the Future Christian Homemakers website.



This, by the way, is Treasure Braid. You can find it at most local needlework shops that carry cross stitch or needlepointing supplies.



While wandering through Laurie's website, I came across this little book that Laurie publishes, Classic Prayers for Children. It is a sweet book of prayers and poems for children, beautifully illustrated. It struck me as a perfect stocking stuffer or First Communion treasure for little kids.

I love the work of preservation that Laurie is doing with gingham embroidery. She is building quite a collection of vintage gingham embroidery and documenting them so that we can see the unique designs and stitch combinations used in the technique. If yuou get a chance, make sure you check out her website!

Have a terrific weekend!

Labels: Christmas, embroidery for children, Embroidery for the Home, embroidery tips and tricks, gingham embroidery, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, October 30, 2009
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My Mom was cleaning out some stuff the other day and came across a few little needlework-related items that she handed over to me, which led me to thinking about different needlework projects Mom has done over the years.

Many folks are lucky enough to learn their needlework skills from their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. In my case, I'd say I learned the proclivity towards any kind of crafty-artsy stuff from Mom, but not necessarily specific needlework skills. My Mom, who turns 75 this weekend, was rather the artistic type when she was younger. She took up painting at some point in her eary married years, and even enjoyed showing her work at an art gallery at one point and selling it. She also taught art in a private school in the San Francisco Bay Area for a bit. She was dabbler in lots of things - sewing, painting, needlework, crochet, etc., and most of her kids have ended up being dabblers in one (or many) creative way or another. We dabble. We flit about. What can I say?



These are the pieces that instigated this post. They're needlepoint versions of Pinkie and Blue Boy, famous paintings by Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Gainsborough, respectively. They're not finished. In fact, I think Mom picked out the background stitching and never finished them.



I like them - they may be salvagable, though I don't know what I would salvage them into, except framed pieces.



They're worked in two sizes of stitches on Penelope canvas - the detailed faces are smaller stitches, and most of the rest of the figures are worked in larger stitches.



I always thought Blue Boy looked a bit jaunty.



I like his little shifty eyes. He's definitely checking out Pinkie...



My Mom has always had a penchant for Things Pinkie-and-Blue-Boy. These statues were with us in every house we lived in - and we lived in Many Houses, all over the country!

Studying the Pinkie and Blue Boy canvases led me to another work of my Mom's from her early married days:



I never knew a time when this wasn't on a wall of our homes growing up. It was made from a stamped cross stitch kit Mom bought two years after she was married (so that would have been in 1959, making the piece exactly 50 years old).



Let's see if I can get it right: the stamped fabric cost her 59 cents, and the thread for it cost 30 cents. An 89-cent project - 50 years old - not bad!



She paid $20 to have it framed four years later.

The year Mom got married, she made this baby quilt:



This was another kit - stamped embroidery, featuring Peter Rabbit and Company.



The piece features several stitches - mostly cross stitch, but also a good smattering of satin stitch, stem stitch and daisy stitch.



It's funny to look at this now, when these types of vintage embroidery patterns have become pretty popular once again.



There are a couple stains on the Peter Rabbit section. One of these days, I'll try to remove them!



Nice little watering can... The quilt top was pre-printed with the pattern when Mom bought the kit. She did the embroidery, then put the blanket together.... almost 52 years ago! She was expecting my oldest sister at that point.



I like the little bird...



...but the pink eyes are a bit freaky!



The cottontails are little cotton pom-poms that have held up really well for this many years and several babies' usage!

Later on in life, Mom took up counted cross stitch, and vestiges of her efforts can still be seen around her house.



Mom has always liked birds.



This was one of my grandmother's favorite prayers (my Mom's mom), and subsequently one of Mom's. Mom said she almost kicked herself when she finished the piece and realized she had not cut her fabric large enough for the type of framing she wanted. Still, this has been a nice piece in her house for the past 25 years or so.

Like Pinkie and Blue Boy, the St. Francis Prayer is a recurring theme in her house:



My grandmother gave my Mom and Dad this plaque (which is only about 4" x 6") as a gift many, many years ago - another thing I remember always being on a wall in our homes across the country.

Mom's present needlework pursuits involve crochet only, and she makes some pretty nice doilies, tablecloths, and filet crocheted lace for church use.



Mom didn't make this, but it was in among her needlework things - a souvenir from a one of her trips to Hong Kong many years ago:



She says it's a baby carrier. Her escapades on this trip to Hong Kong were pretty funny. It was her first time abroad, and she had no idea how money exchanging actually worked. When she exchanged money for the first time, she couldn't believe how much they gave her back! So she had fun shopping with it!



The embroidery is machine embroidery; I think it's kind of neat! This has seen several appearances on kids in school plays, costumes, and so forth. I don't think she ever actually used it as a baby carrier!

Mom's needlework adventures also included afghan-making, quilting, sewing children's clothes, making things for the house, and so forth. She's always been a project woman! And it's always heaps of fun, going through her old pattern books and needlework items!

Happy 75th, Mom!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, crochet, embroidery for children, needlepoint, needlework pictures, personal, pictures, vintage embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, May 15, 2009
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Subonnet Sue is one of those almost-iconic figures in needlework. She's shown up lots of places over time, in many different forms, sometimes sophisticated and sometimes juvenile, but always with a following. A while ago, I embroidered a square for a baby quilt using an old-fashioned Sue pattern, and I've had lots of requests since then for the pattern or similar patterns...

This is my original embroidered quilt square, which I called Sunbonnet Garden:



I've blogged about it previously, so if you've been around for a while, you might find this redundant. I really enjoyed doing this piece! I'm not really die-hard Sue fan, though I do like these "baby Sue" drawings better than the other Sues that have developed over the years. Still, I really enjoyed stitching this particular piece, despite the fact that I'm not that much of a Sue follower. Well, I wouldn't say I dislike Sue - I like Sue ok - but I'm not a Sue-a-holic, if you know what I mean!

These Sue patterns belong to the earliest origins of Sunbonnet Sue, drawn by Bertha Corbett who was later Bertha Corbett Melcher. She's the "mother of the sunbonnet babies." Her pictures that illustrated primers at the beginning of the 1900's have been popular every since, and they've taken on all kinds of different looks. But the characteristic thing about Sue is that generally she has a large bonnet on (sometimes a hat, as she developed later), and you can't see her face. This larger, floppier bonnet in my garden version above and the puffy sleeves and simple arms are characteristic of Mrs. Corbett-Melcher's original Sunbonnet Babies, and they're the style of Sue that I like best.

Thanks to Denise at Needlework News, I discovered another great needlework blog out there called Lace 'n Ribbon Roses, where you can find several of these Sunbonnet patterns available for free.

Right off, if you visit Lace 'n Ribbon Roses, you'll notice that CC's header is the same Sunbonnet Sue as mine above. The difference is the garden. I think in the original pattern I had, Sue's apron was actually full of chicken eggs and she had chickens scratching around her. I just made a few minor adjustments!

If you're looking for these old-fashioned Sue patterns, you might want to start, then, with CC's website. You'll find Sue and Hannah playing with a kitty, Sue and Hannah feeding the chickens, and Sue and Friends dancing in a circle. All three are sweet little patterns of this old-fashioned Sue. While there, check out her embroidered Sue pillowcases, too - really cute!

On a different note, you'll also find this old pamplet on chicken scratch embroidery (embroidery on gingham) on Lace 'n Ribbon Roses, so if you like chicken scratch, check that out, too!

News 'n Such

If you haven't signed up yet for my October Stash Give-Away, called Autumn Abundance, don't forget to do so some time today! The give-away ends tomorrow morning (Tuesday, October 14, at 5:00 am CST). All the details are on the original post.

I intend to get some serious stitching done this week! I'll keep you abreast of anything I accomplish. I hope you have a great Monday, and plenty of time this week to enjoy your needle 'n thread!

Labels: embroidery for children, embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns, needlework pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, October 13, 2008
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Usually, my embroidery classes for kids end when the summer comes to a close, and I don't really think about children's embroidery projects again until the following spring. But that changed this year, with the phone call of a friend.

I have a friend who is a teacher's aid for a fourth grade class of 29 students. She thought it would be fun for the kids to do a little embroidery project for art class, so the other night we met and bounced around some ideas, using scraps of felt and bits of thread leftover from last summer's classes.

Since she's thinking the project would be good for the last three weeks before Christmas break, we migrated towards the idea of little individual tree ornaments made out of felt.

I didn't have a lot of felt on hand, since we used it up last summer, but I did have a length of dark brown wool felt that served for mucking about on. This is what we managed to stitch up while we were discussing possibilities:



The colors are not, overall, too appealing for fourth graders, but that can be adjusted. But the concept is there: basic embroidery on the front in a cute design (not necessarily this one!) backed by a second piece of felt, and buttonholed all around. Simple enough.



We only used three stitches, really: whipped running stitch, daisy stitch, and buttonhole or blanket stitch around the edges.

But this is the thing...

My friend has never (that's right, never) embroidered before! So ... not only will this be a crash course in simple embroidery (she won't have a problem with that), but also a bit of a crash course in how to organize for such a project and how to teach it in a logical and ordered way to a class of 29.

These are some of the pointers I've given her:

1. Limit their options. As we were talking and enthusiasm was abounding, we came up with all kinds of possible shapes for ornaments: gingerbread folk, houses, trees, hearts, ornament shapes, simple bird shapes, simple flower shapes, etc., etc., etc. Oh, I agree they'd all be cute... but with 29 students on a first-time project, limiting the students' choices will help minimize confusion.

2. Limit the number of stitches for instruction, and keep the stitches simple. I suggested instructing on no more than four basic stitches.

3. Limit the number of colors for the projects - again, I'd limit them to four.

4. Pre-design the ornament, drawing out the design on it. This is where there can be some variation - draw different designs on the ornaments, so that they aren't all exactly the same. This will give the students a sense of individuality, but it won't leave the burden on them for deciding "what to do" on their ornament. If the designs are pre-printed on the fabric, they can start on the projects a whole lot faster!

5. Plan everything well in advance. Make sure all supplies (felt cut-outs, threads, plenty of needles, etc.) are all on hand, and divide up a little package or kit for each student. Use zip-lock bags, so they have something to keep the project in. Plan the instruction out in step-by-step increments, allocating enough time to each step.

6. Print out a picture diagram for each stitch, and give a photocopy of each to the students. Maybe even make blown-up copies of the diagrams to use while instructing on the stitch. If they can look at the diagram as you walk them through it, then they'll be able to understand the diagram better and can refer to it for help on their own (whether at home or in the classroom).

7. Plan for small group instruction. While the whole group is occupied with a task, break off into small groups to give more individualized instruction.

8. Make sure to plan in enough quiet stitching time, in which you can circulate and help individuals, and in which the students can get the "rhythm" of the stitch down.

9. Although there will be two instructors in the room, perhaps consider finding one other assistant to help out. 29 first-time little stitchers will have lots of unthreading needles!

So those were my recommendations. I'll be teaching her the basics of embroidery over the next couple weeks, and we'll narrow down ideas and make supply lists for this series of embroidery classes.

My question to you: Any other suggestions for this venture? Or any alterations on my suggestions above that you think would be helpful?

I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Other news:

If you haven't signed up for my October stash give-away, don't forget! The deadline is Tuesday morning, 5:00 am my time. See the details on the original post.

In Country Bumpkin's e-mail newsletter that I received this morning, they also mentioned the advantage for overseas shoppers that I mentioned yesterday. A year's subscription to Inspirations is averaging just over $50.... much better than $70 and higher, so it really is a good deal!

Enjoy the weekend!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, needlework pictures, pictures, wool felt

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, October 10, 2008
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Remember my needlework carrots? One of them is embroidered baby booties. I started them, and this is what I've done so far. Some parts I'm happy about. Some, I'm not.

First off, I decided to use flannel. I had some scraps of pink flannel, and some scraps of a periwinkle-ish-purple with white polka dots. I decided that the polka dots would be the inside lining, and the polka dot sole would be on the outside, for the fun of the contrast.



You can see the turn-down there on the cuff. I used mistyfuse to fuse both pieces of flannel together, and it worked really well. Still, they may be a bit stiff. I don't know yet!



I started with a lot of colors - but I narrowed it down to predominantly white and purple and green, with yellow French knots.



I'm not drawing out any pattern - I'm just going to randomly cover the whole thing with white and purple flowers (mostly white, with a few purple and little tiny purple accents). I'll be throwing in a few little green specks for leaves.



Unfortunately, I didn't have the right color of purple, and that's kind of bugging me. I went through every kind of thread in my stash (every kind) to find a matching color... but nary a match.

So I went ahead with the purple I had. And. I. Don't. Like. It.

But - I keep telling myself it's just a sample... it's just a test! Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to get back to them for about 5 days now - and I have a nagging suspicion it's because I don't like the purple. I keep telling myself it's because I haven't had a chance, but deeeeeep down, I think I would have made a chance if I liked the purple!

I'm going to machine-sew the soles on, then stitch over the seam. I'll let you know how the finish goes on this!

So there's another carrot underway! Anyone ever make baby booties? How 'bout sharing some ideas or advice?

Labels: baby booties, embroidered clothes, embroidery for children, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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The results of this summer's children's embroidery classes keep trickling in! This project is another towel, embroidered with a butterfly and flower design. The project was worked by Josephine, in the age 7-9 class, and I think she did a terrific job! You just have to check out her chain stitch...

The towel below is embroidered with perle cotton #5. The kids picked out their own colors, though some had a little help with coordinating colors, if they tried to get a little too ... whacky!



I like the bright colors that Josephine chose! On the towel, the kids worked six kinds of stitches: stem stitch (around the butterfly), backstitch, French knot, chain stitch, daisy stitch, and straight stitch.



She did a perfect job with her stem stitch around the butterfly. On the lines inside the butterfly, I had them work backstitches to cover the lines, rather than longer straight stitches, which would have been the normal choice for the lines. I was afraid that, if the towels were used, long straight stitches might catch on things.



The petals on the flowers were worked with daisy stitch, and then filled with a straight stitch in a contrasting color. Adding a straight stitch helps hide the pattern marking. On this pattern, which I traced on each towel using a light box and micron art pen, the petals for the flowers were marked with a straight line. The daisy stitch "surrounds" the straight line, leaving it visible - hence, the straight stitch! Besides, I like the "full" look of the petals with the contrasting color inside, don't you?! And, right smack dab in the middle - a French knot! The kids did a good job with French knots!



My favorite part of the towel is probably the base of the design here, because I associate it with a remark made by one of the kids in the class: "They look like cacti." Cacti? You're 8, and you're pluralizing cactus into cacti? I thought it was funny! And she was right, they do, in a thickish sort of way!

BUT - check out her chain stitch! Isn't it nice? It's so even and snuggly fitted!

Excellent job on the towel, Josie - now.... what's your NEXT project?

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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One of the kids from this summer's embroidery classes showed me her finished final project, and ... golly! I was really impressed. I took some pictures, and I thought I'd show them to you...

This is a baby pillow case hand embroidered by a 13-year-old. I have to admit, I think she did a really nice job.

The last project for the 12-14 year old class was a "pick your own," and among the blanks I had (some of which were meant more for the adult class!) were some very nice linen baby pillowcases, which I got from All About Blanks. They have a little drawnthread (hem stitched) edge.

So, this student picked her own blank (the pillowcase, for a new baby sister), her own design (which she transferred by tracing it with a light box, using a pencil), and her own colors of thread. When she was finished, she wanted an "A" in the middle of the design and asked me to draw it in for her. That's the only thing I did on this whole piece - everything else was left up to the student!

Here's the pillowcase:



And here's a bit of detail:



The stitches she used are French knots, daisy stitch, satin stitch, bullion knots, and stem stitch.



I think she did a good job on everything, but I was particularly impressed with the bullions (and there are lots of them!) - bullion knots don't generally fall in the "easy" category.



There's the center motif with the initial. Her satin stitching looks good, too - she worked some French knots on top of the satin stitch on the side flourishes (blue satin stitch, yellow French knots).

The whole design was embroidered with two strands of DMC stranded cotton.

Nice job, Anna!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, Embroidery for the Home, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, August 02, 2008
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My embroidery classes for children are coming to a close. I have one more class next Monday morning! So the projects are rolling in, although I don't think I'll see all of the completed work by the end of our last class. I thought I'd give a little recap of the different projects worked this summer and share a few photos of some embroidery projects completed this week.

For the 2008 Summer Embroidery Classes for Children, we worked the following projects, divided into groups by age:

Group A: Children 7 - 9 years old (mostly - there were a couple 10-year-old newbies in there, too) worked the following projects:

• Two stitch samplers - a butterfly and a flower, both filled with lines for practicing different line stitches
• An embroidered felt bookmark
• A white towel, embroidered with a butterfly and flower scene (no photos of that one, yet! Hopefully, next Monday we'll see some completed towels!)

Group B: Children 9 - 10 years old (with a 7 year old thrown in for good measure!) worked:

• A stitch sampler - the lined butterflies
• Embroidered felt bookmark
• Embroidered checkered dish towel (pictures below)
• Embroidered greeting card

Group C: Children 11 - 14 years old (with some younger ones thrown in for good measure here, too!) worked:

• Embroidered Flour Sack Towels
• Embroidered Greeting Cards
• Embroidery project of their choice - linen handkerchiefs, bookmarks, or pillow cases

The kids picked out their own threads and colors for the various projects, with the exception of the stitch samplers, the check towels, and the felt bookmarks.

In all the groups, there were several stitchers who finished all their projects by the end of the last class, but most of the students still had a little bit left to do on their final project, so they were able to pick out enough thread to finish up the projects and take them home to finish during the slow summer days.

Here are a few photos of projects that came in this week:



This is one of the blue checkered dish towels. Originally, they were going to work chicken scratch embroidery on the checked towels, but the checks were bigger than I thought they would be. Still, I like this little design. It reminds me a bit of the Pennsylvania Dutch look.



And here's one of the red checked towels. These towels are Really Nice quality towels. I got them from All About Blanks.



Here are three of the kids' flower sack towels that came in. This was another great find in good towels - these particular flour sack towels came from Embroider This. The designs are the Java Break and Wine Country patterns from Aunt Martha, which you can find at Colonial Patterns. Most the stitching was done in simple line stitches: back stitch, whipped back stitch, stem stitch, and some chain stitch.



This is a larger photo of one of the more complex ones! I was so happy to see them finish these, as they were bigger projects than the Java Break designs, but they seemed to like doing them and were proud of the finished results.



This is one of the select-your-own projects from Group C, done by a 12 year old. These handkerchiefs (from All About Blanks) make really pretty monogrammed hankies. And I think she did a great job, using simple stitches and nice colors. Her tiny stitches, actually, are really perfect.



She used French knots and backstitch - I was really impressed with her even backstitches!

I'm still eagerly waiting the butterfly towels done by Group A, some of which should be done when the come to class on Monday! There are also a few of these towels out:



This is one of the class samples I made up, but didn't finish stitching before the classes started.



I think a reader asked previously about this pattern - it's found in the Repeats and Borders book I reviewed earlier. It's a fun pattern to work, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the kids' results with it.

I was really very happy with this summer's embroidery classes. We had five two-hour sessions for each group, and I think they had fun, I know I had fun, and although it's a lot of work, I really think it's worth it! If you have the opportunity to instruct children in needlework of any kind, grab it! It's a wonderful chance to pass on to the next generation a love of handwork. You also have the opportunity to give children a hobby that will make them happy for years to come, if they keep up with it! And you never, never know what they'll do with it.

If you are interested in teaching children, but you don't know how to go about establishing a venue or getting the word out, I suggest contacting your local library to see if they have any summer programs for youth that they're looking for volunteers for.

If the other projects show up on Monday, I'll share some photos of those, and then that's it for the kids' classes until next summer! Though I was thinking it might be fun to take a day over Christmas vacation and do an ornament class or something... I'll have to muse a bit over that one!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroider on paper, embroidery for children, embroidery for fun, Embroidery for the Home, Embroidery Projects, iron-on embroidery transfers, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, July 17, 2008
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One more week of kids' embroidery classes for this summer! And as they wind down, I'm taking photos of the embroidery projects from this year. Yesterday, I assembled the last of the finished bookmarks that the kids embroidered on felt, so they're ready for them to take home. I thought I'd share a couple photos - they're quite colorful!

These bookmarks are embroidered on wool felt, which is great for kids to work on. It's sturdy stuff - more so than your typical craft felt. Wool felt withstands a lot of abuse, and still looks great!

I get my wool felt from Wooly Thread, usually, although many of these colors I picked up from Twining Thread before it went out of business. I'm glad I did! The variety of colors was half the fun! But you can find good wool felt at Wooly Thread, in heaps of colors, and in pre-cut sheets. You can also buy sample packs from them, which are great for small projects.

I've already gone through the basic instructions for making these bookmarks, so you can check those out if you want. I won't bore you with the repeat information!

To finish the bookmarks, I used Pellon "wonder under" fusible web, cut to the size of the embroidered part of the bookmark and fused to this part first, then peeled and fused to the back of the bookmark. The back of the bookmark, by the way, was cut on my paper cutter, with the scalloped wheel attached. I'm sure there's a reason I shouldn't use my paper cutter that way, but it worked fine. I suppose the corners could be set up a bit better...?? How does one align scallops when cutting with a rotary cutter?



It didn't take too long to finish these up - about a half an hour all told - but I was relieved once they were done, because I know the kids are eager to take them home!



Pretty! Most of the designs are the same. When I was setting up the bookmarks, I free-handed the design on it, and pretty much, it was whatever popped into my head. I stuck with the wavy flower design for the majority of them, because it was easy and because it would give them the opportunity to practice the first five stitches: running stitch, backstitch, whipped stitch, daisy stitch, and French knots.



I just think the kids did a great job on these, don't you?

More photos of more projects soon!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, July 11, 2008
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Previously, I showed you how I set up a children's embroidery class, and today, I want to go a little more into detail on how I conduct my embroidery classes for kids.

First, I want to thank everyone for their insight and ideas about conducting a children's embroidery class, including dealing with stitchers of various levels of ability and age, as well as with what I call "Lagging Stitchers." If you haven't read the comments, you can find them on last week's photo update of embroidery class projects. Lots of good ideas there, and good advice! I also received several e-mails with further ideas, so I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to discuss teaching children!

What I want to give you here is just a run-down of how I conduct children's classes, in case you are ever in a situation where you can volunteer in your own community to teach a class, or even if you are simply tutoring your own child, or a relative, or even another adult. You'd be surprised how many people out there would like to embroider! So go teach someone!!

In the first classes, I set up the individual "place settings" for each student, so that when they arrived to class, all new materials were in front of them. As the classes progress, I prepare for each class by laying out supplies. This is really important if you want the class to run smoothly. To have to stop in the middle of instruction, or to hold up individual questions, while trying to cut open skeins of thread or find another needle is a pain in the neck. Always prepare in advance by having your class supplies ready.



We're at the point where the children have their projects and now, as far as class supplies are concerned, it's just a matter of needing extra threads or new needles. I cut all my threads to stitching length and lay them out next to my teaching area. The older children can help themselves. With the little kids, I distribute the threads as they need them. For one thing, it helps conserve thread, and for another, it keeps the thread a bit neater.



A typical class session goes like this:

Once everyone's in a seat and settled - projects and sampler cloths out - I begin with the "instruction" portion of the class.

[A little teacher point: take a short pause before you begin to teach, to make sure you have everyone's attention. This moment of focus is essential - it's a waste of time to repeat yourself six times during the beginning of the instructional period, and it causes frustration for yourself and for your attentive students. Do that "effective pause" thing until you have everyone's attention... and usually, in classes like this, it's pretty easy to get and hold their attention!]

Ok, you have their attention. Begin by telling your students the goals of the day. Today, we're going to learn two new stitches, and you're going to be able to add them to your sampler, and then add them to your project. The stitches are...

We'll take chain stitch for the example here. First, I pass around a sample or two (towels or whatever) that have the chain stitch worked on them, and I point out that this is the stitch we're going to learn. They feel it, look at it, turn it over...

I begin the instruction period with whole group instruction. I ask them to listen and watch me while I work the stitch twice. I work the stitch facing them, with my hoop in front of me, also facing them (so I'm looking over the top of the hoop, and, in essence, I'm working the stitch backwards, but they are seeing it as if they would see it in front of them). As I work the stitch, I talk through the stitch with a kind of rhythmic phrase that condenses the progress of the stitch into a few key steps.

With the chain stitch (after the initial stitch), I'd use words like this:

"Up in the new loop, pull it forward, down in the same hole. Up in the new loop, pull it forward, down in the same hole..." If they get accustomed to hearing this, they keep the steps in their heads while they stitch.

So once I've instructed through the stitch twice, with their attention on me - not doing the stitch themselves - then we try it "together." They bring their needle to the front of the fabric, and I talk them through the stitch the same way, still working it out so they can look up and see it. I do that a few times, and then tell them to complete the line on their sampler.

While they're working the line on their sampler, I give individual instruction, going around the room to see that they're getting it. Some, I just have to pass behind and say "Very Good!" Others, I'll stop and help a bit. By the time I've seen everyone's, most are finished with a row on their sampler cloth. Then I tell them to work another row, concentrating this time on making their stitches a little smaller, or a little more even.

While they're working the second row, anyone who needs help will come up to my spot, or those who finish really quickly will come and ask if they did it right, or what they could do better, or "Does this look good?" etc.

After they've worked two rows on their sampler cloths (these are the little butterfly or flower shapes I prepared before the first class), they transfer to their project and start adding the chain stitch to the chained stitched areas on their projects.

Now, they have "chatter time" while they're stitching. I help with any trouble-shooting that needs to be done with individuals, but for about 15 minutes they get a chance just to gab, giggle, and stitch.

Then, I call up their attention, and we move back to the sampler cloth, and I introduce the second stitch. I go through the same process with the second stitch. This all takes about an hour. The classes are two hours long...

So at the end of an hour, we have a break:



With cookies and something to drink (ice water! - it's summer!!), they head outside for five or so minutes. There's a small swing-set in the back yard and some picnic tables where they can play or visit. They can also take advantage of the time for a bathroom break in the house! While they're outside, I'll do any straightening up that needs to be done.

For the group A class (7 - 9 year olds) I have two very helpful mothers who are there the whole time - they thread needles and help give individual instruction - so often during the break, this is our chance to chat a bit, too. In the other kids' classes, it's just me, so I use the short time to "refocus" and clean up.

In the second half of the session, we work on projects. This is their time to put some concentrated effort into their individual projects and make headway on them. They also might pick out new colors for the new stitches on their project, or they might come up for individual help on a stitch that they didn't quite get right, or whatever. It's a good time for trouble-shooting with individuals and for everyone to relax and stitch and be social.

In the last 10 minutes of the class, I recap - I ask them to tell me the names of the stitches they've learned so far, can they describe them ("up in the new loop, pull it forward...") Then we cover what they should work on to make progress during the week until we meet again, and I tell them what we'll be doing next time.

And that's pretty much how the classes are conducted. It works pretty well, actually. The occasional Lagging Stitchers usually get caught up in the second half of the class.

This week, I'll show you some good progress on the kids' projects... and I'll show you how I'm managing the project I set up on the slate frame last weekend - I rigged an amazing frame stand! It's oh-so-ingenious... and I've got another monogram towel I'm working on, with a new little monogram design that's really pretty. I'm also planning (if all goes as planned in the last two days of my vacation!) to get some new video stitches done! I had to crack down and purchase a new hard drive (750 G should be helpful!) and dock, some new video editing software, and a gorgeous new microphone (called a Snowball!) - all of which will hopefully help me produce some better quality videos. Oh, and some new lighting. Also, there's the July Stash contest to announce.... So, some exciting things coming up!

In the meantime, back to my needle 'n thread!

Labels: embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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Last night I finished week three of this summer's hand embroidery classes. Well, I call it week three, even though yesterday was just Wednesday. All five classes are packed into the first three days of the week. Would someone please remind me not to do that next year??!! I've got a few photos here of some of the class projects that have been finished...

With five embroidery classes going for different age levels - and different levels of ability - all crammed into the first three days of the week (Mon - Wed), by Wednesday evening's class, I'm mixing up embroidery threads, fabrics, projects... In my Wednesday evening class, for example, half the class is working with DMC stranded floss on flour sack towels, the other half is working with DMC Satin Floss (rayon) on embroidered greeting cards, and one younger youngster is working with pearl cotton on a felt bookmark.

Now, you may rightly wonder why things aren't more organized, but there are a couple little difficulties:

The first obvious one is that the children tend to work at entirely different speeds, with entirely different levels of enthusiasm. Some go home and stitch their hearts out and finish each new project before the next time we meet. These fast little stitchers - who are usually the enthusiastic and meticulous kids with real interest and talent - are ready for a new project each week practically!

Then there are what I call The Lagging Stitchers - the kids who don't do anything on their projects during the week. They come into class forgetting what they learned in the last class, because they haven't picked up their needlework at all. This requires me to "reteach" some of the students in every class, which is inconvenient for me and for the other students, and hampers the progress we could make otherwise. I haven't figured out how to handle this yet, and yet, I've faced this every year.

And finally, in some classes, there's a real disparity in age. Some of the children come from Really Rural Kansas, and to make the extra drive into town each week is a hardship on the parents. So if there's an older and younger child from the same family signed up, they often come to the same class, despite their age difference. The disparity in age is reflected in the disparity in development - there is a vast difference between the level of physical development (think fine motor skills!) of a 10 year old and that of a 7 year old. Which means I have to have the Little-Little Kids' projects going in the Medium-Little Kids' classes and in the Big-Little Kids' classes as well. Take, for example, the Wednesday class. There are 11 students, and their age range is supposed to be 12 - 14, but it's really 10 - 14, with a 7-year-old thrown in for good measure!

Whew.

But - really - it's a blast! And there's nothing better than seeing the results start to come together. Here are some needlework developments from the classes so far.

First, an embroidered dish towel. This is stitched by an 11-year-old. The towel's already been laundered, hence the wrinkles.



These are the Aunt Martha designs from the set called "Java Break." She worked the whole piece in stem stitch.



And she does a really nice job on her stem stitch!



Her stitches are even and neat.



Three embroidered cards were finished last night... the embroidery was finished on several more, but the cards haven't been assembled yet.



The pattern for these three cards was selected from one of Erica Fortgens's books on embroidered greeting cards. I've got all her books on my shelves, so the kids flip through to see what they like when it's time to delve into a project. They're super-terrific books!



And here, one of the kids from the 7-9 year olds' class is showing off her embroidered butterfly towel as it progresses.



And here's another kitchen towel... actually, I stitched it. It's a project sample. A couple of the kids are working on this design right now (in the Medium-Little Kids' class - ages 10 & 11). I'm looking forward to seeing the results on this one!

So, there's progress for you!

As each summer passes, I learn something new about teaching these classes. This year, my reflection is going to include trouble-shooting the age / level disparity problem and figuring out once and for all how to handle Lagging Stitchers.

Any ideas on those subjects??

Labels: embroidery for children, Embroidery for the Home, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, July 03, 2008
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So do you LOVE them, or do you HATE them? Vintage Vogart embroidery transfers have made a big come-back in popularity, and a lot of younger generation embroiderers are not only stitching them, but are also collecting them.

There are many resources online about vintage Vogart embroidery transfers, but the nicest resources are the ones that provide cleaned up versions of the patterns, with a good index. By far the best one I've seen online is Floresita's "Hoop Love" page. The index includes mostly Vogart patterns, and some Walker's as well. Not all the patterns are cute little animals - floral motifs for bedroom linens can be found in there as well.



Here, you'll find vintage Vogart transfers cataloged by number and name, with a link to the website that hosts the design.

I've discussed these kinds of embroidery patterns with many embroiderers over the years - and what it boils down to, it seems to me, is that there are two schools of thought on them. They're either loved, or they're hated!

Perhaps I should say there are three schools of thought, because I fall somewhere in between. While I don't normally use the designs myself for my own projects, I do like them. I like their simplicity. I like the fact that they make embroidery accessible to beginners and that they give beginners and beyond a fun way to embroider something light.

I like the fact that kids LOVE these designs. They do! My little students in the summer really go for these, and it's so fun to see them get excited over them!

I like the fact that you can go a little further with them - you can embellish them beyond their original design. For example, I took a similar old Sunbonnet Sue pattern (not necessarily Vogart, but the concept's the same) and embellished her to the gills for a baby quilt, adding a garden and a bee and decorating her dress and bonnet. It was fun.

So I think it's a great thing that the patterns are collected and made available to you and me through the generous efforts of people like Floresita!

Think of all the people over the past decades who have really enjoyed stitching those patterns! Think of all the embroiderers who have developed a life-long love of stitching because they started on these patterns when their fingers were just learning to hold a needle! Think of all the grandmas who have stitched quilts for their grandchildren using the Vogart patterns, or the expectant moms, making their first Embroidered Something for their Little On-coming Offspring!

Yep. I belong to the third camp. And I like them.

Now, talk about controversy... what do YOU think? Are you first camp (love them), second camp (hate them), third camp (like me - you see something valuable in them, but don't necessarily stitch them for your own pleasure or purposes), or... are you completely and entirely indifferent to them???

I'd love to hear your opinion, your thoughts, your feelings, your observations, your experiences, and your reasons....!

And remember, you can always comment anonymously! ;-)

Labels: embroidery for children, embroidery for fun, embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns, miscellaneous embroidery musings, vintage embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 29, 2008
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As I prepared for my first kids' embroidery class for this summer, I realized that organization really IS everything. Whenever you teach a class - or prepare a new embroidery project - or cook a recipe - or anything that requires multiple parts to come together smoothly and conveniently, preparing in advance is essential. Any good school teacher knows this. Even if you're running a casual summer embroidery class, the rule holds true. I found that out this morning!

My preparation for my summer embroidery classes began weeks ago, as you know. I've talked a lot about it (I hope I'm not boring you to death!), and I've done a lot of thinking, stitching, writing notes, ordering materials and all the stuff that goes with getting ready to get ready. And that's just it - that was just the background work. Then the real work comes!

As the first class date approached, it was time to actually put everything together for a smooth beginning. So this is what I was looking at this past weekend:



I spent a couple days cutting fabric, separating threads, and putting together each "kit" project for the first class of the first week (I have three kids' classes I'm doing this summer - this is only one of them!) for the first group (ages 7 - 9 years old).



Yeah. The front view wasn't so bad - it's the side view across the room that becomes a bit discouraging!

But no worries!! All the background work is absolutely worth it. After the felt, threads, needles, and everything were sorted, pieces cut, designs drawn, everything was cleaned up and put away, the floor swept, and each child's place set up.

When the children came in this morning, they were met with this:



Nine chairs for nine children - each place with a sampler cloth and a bookmark kit.



Here you have the "place setting."



To the top right, the blue square is a piece of 3 mm. craft foam, cut in a small rectangle. This has one threaded needle stuck in it, ready to go.



The red square to the top left of each place setting is also 3 mm thick craft foam. I used a single hole punch, and punched out about a 6-hole hole. In that hole, I looped their sampler threads. You may be familiar with thread rings, thread keeps, and so forth. Well, this is thread foam. I made it up, but it does work! I wanted some way to keep their threads more organized than just stuffing them in a plastic bag, so, modeling the foam on the idea of thread cards and thread keeps, I tried it, and I liked it! More on this concept, up close down below.



Above the place setting is the bookmark kit, ready to go. It contains the felt front, with the design drawn on, the felt backing already cut with the scalloped edge, a needle, and coordinating threads.



The sampler is a piece of medium weight (clothes quality) linen (I picked up 5 yards on sale for practically nothing!), with a butterfly outlined on it, and the butterfly has lines across the wings. I'll give you specifics on these little practice pieces when I have some finished ones to photograph! As they are here, they're rather plain.



And finally, just to go back to my thread foam a bit... this is a great way to keep thread ready for class use. After punching the holes in the foam, I folded the collection of threads in half and stuck the half fold in the hole, forming a loop. Then I put the ends of the thread "rope" through the loop and hitched it to the foam.

You might think that every time you want a thread off such an apparatus, you have to undo the loop, but not so!



You simply select the thread you want from the front of the looped threads, and pull it straight out. You don't have to undo your loop - you just pull it out, and there it is!

I know it's a simple concept, but I'll tell you why it thrills me. I've lost more money on threads over the years, because kids tend to stuff them in bags or just put them in their sewing box, where they automatically mix up, generally into a knotted mess. This way, I have quantity control over the threads, and the kids are more careful with them, too.

Using the craft foam to make these thread keeps was a last minute idea. Craft foam can be puchased at any craft store for about 79 cents a sheet. The sheet can be cut into multiple small rectangles - and it's much sturdier than regular poster board or card stock for holding threads this way. I had a bunch of the foam on hand, because I'm using it as paper-piercing mats (for embroidered cards) with the older class. While I was setting up the place settings, I mused over how to solve my thread dilemma - and the idea of the foam popped into my head. I had so much fun setting these little things up, and I really think the kids like them, too!

So there's a cheap way to organize threads for a project. I haven't tested the colorfast qualities of craft foam, nor do I know the long term effect it might have on threads, but for this short term use, it seems like a great idea.

So that's the set up for classes. The first day, the kids learn three stitches: running stitch, whipped running stitch, and backstitch. They practice all three on their butterflies, and then they apply what they learn to their bookmarks.

The two hour session today went really well, and I think that goes back to organization. The kids made good progress. Alas, I took no photos! Next week, next week.... Now, if I could only get the next classes that ready, I'll be really happy!

If you've got any nifty organizational ideas or anything that you think would be useful to know in classroom situations, please share! I'm all ears!

See you tomorrow!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, embroidery tips and tricks, hobby room, needlework pictures, organization, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, June 17, 2008
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I've begun working up my samples for my summer embroidery classes, which are looming in front of me and I, unprepared! I cheated a bit on this one - my 7-year old niece was my test subject! I had her come over and "help" me. She embroidered while I .... helped her!

Actually, except for the first two stitches of each new embroidery stitch, and a couple "fix ups" here and there, my niece did the whole thing on her own, which was good because I saw that it is an easy enough project for my youngest group of kids (8 & 9 year olds).

Now, it isn't going to go quite this way in class! We started by selecting colors - but the bookmarks with designs already on them and coordinating threads will be ready for the kids when then get to class. They won't have to labor over choices of colors of felt or thread, or over design! I know it sounds a bit restrictive, but trust me. The slowest process of teaching kids is not actually teaching them to stitch. It's helping them make choices on colors or designs. To move the classes along this year, this decision-making has more or less been eliminated. On their last project that they work, the kids will have some lee-way, but by then, they'll know what stitches they like and their little hearts will already be set on their favorite color schemes.

This is how our little test session went:

First, we picked out two coordinating colors of felt: pink and periwinkle. Emma wanted pink and green, since they are her "favorite" colors, but the green just didn't go. So she "settled" for the periwinkle, which is actually a very pretty color.

Then we picked out four colors of thread: periwinkle, light blue, yellow, and green.

Then "we" decided on a design. Emma wanted an "E" for Emma ("It should be in cursive!") and some flowers.



So that's the design we settled on. The running stitch border is marked out in even stitch spaces, which is a good thing to do for children who are just beginning to stitch. It takes more time to mark out the stitches, but they get the hang of even stitches much better if they begin with specific stitch markings.



The running stitch border was worked first.



We're using #5 perle cotton for all the stitching. It's much easier, when working with kids, to use embroidery threads that are one strand, that don't have to be stripped and put back together again.



She worked stem stitch for her flower stems, and I was rather impressed! I showed her only two stitches, and she did the rest. When I showed her the stem stitch, I didn't pull the thread all the way through, but I left a big loop hanging down, so that she could see where to put the needle in, and so that the working thread remained below the needle. I told her to make sure her thread hung in a Big Smile, and that's how she'd know it's in the right place. And it worked - she remembered, and I didn't have to correct anything on those lines. Good job!



Yep, it took concentration!



The "E" was worked in backstitch in periwinkle and whipped over with light yellow. There's a bit of wobbly stuff going on there. Kids get uptight when stitching, and will often compensate for their awkward motor skills by making their stitches too small. It takes a while for them to get the hang of spacing, and even then, it isn't necessarily easy. Some of the backstitches were too small and a little cock-eyed here and there, which led to a wobbly whipped backstitch. But you know what? She's 7 years old, and it's the first time she's ever done this! So under the circumstances, I was pretty pleased!



You can see the wobbles a bit better here.



The leaf was worked in plain backstitch. I was duly reminded, "Don't forget to draw a line in the middle of the leaf." Of course! Every leaf has a line in the middle!



The lazy daisies took a little more work (by the time she was working on those, she wasn't saying, "This is SOOOO easy!"). Missed loops and a couple knots on the back slowed it down a bit, but the end result was very good! She stitched the petals in blue with a yellow straight stitch in the middle.



All in all, the back is not bad! She got the hang of starting and stopping threads without knots without a problem, but the wrapping and weaving through the back threads did cause a little bit of build up. Still, not bad!



Perhaps I should skip my trimming story. It was not meant to be trimmed quite so close to the running stitch border, but... well, I'm a lot like my dad when he goes out to trim the hedges. A little more here, a little more there, a touch here, a snip there, until the hedges are gone! I didn't have my rotary cutter and mat available, so I just eye-balled it. Remind me to get the cutter and the ruler out!

We had a good time, actually - I told her stories from books I had read when I was a kid, and she told me stories from books she's reading now. And we both persevered for four hours. Close to the end of the four hours, I tried to teach her the French knot, but that was pushing it! So we called it a day!

I'll be taking Joey's advice and fusing this to the second layer of felt, then using scalloped scissors, if I can find some, for a decorative edge.

This is a nice project to work with a little kid, so if you're looking for something fun to do this summer with one of the kiddos, try it!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, June 13, 2008
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Last year in my summer embroidery classes for kids, the children embroidered notebook covers on wool felt. I learned a lot during those classes which I'm implementing in this year's classes. For a couple projects, we'll be using the felt again.

Wool felt is nice for embroidery - for kids or adults - for at least a couple reasons: 1. it is stiff enough to be held in hand, without a hoop; 2. In most cases, even with lighter yellows or greens, you can still get away with some thread carriage. For kids, this is important. While you do want to teach them from the very beginning the importance of keeping the back of their work neat, on small spaces if they have to start and stop a lot, they get easily frustrated or bored.



So, for example, when a kid is embroidering a purple lazy daisy daisy, carrying the purple thread from one petal to another is no big deal. On a light fabric like muslin or linen, it could very well be unsightly. On felt, not really! Who would know?!

This year, we're making two items out of embroidered felt: a bookmark and a little coin purse. They are both very simple concepts - no sewing machine is required or really any "extra" finishing. They are also small enough to be managed in a couple classes.

The coin purse is simply a tri-fold piece of felt, with angled corners on one end (for the flap). We'll use either a snap or velcro catch (I don't really like the idea of using velcro with felt or embroidery), and the pouch will be lined with a coordinating calico that is fused onto the felt. The edges are stitched up with a close buttonhole stitch or overcast stitch. I'm started making the sample and it's coming along ok - I'll post pictures when it's finished.

The bookmark is another question: it's extremely simple, as there's no folding involved, and edge stitching is not required (but could be done, if desired). The bookmarks, finished size, are about 3 inches wide and 7 inches long. Only the simplest pattern will be worked - I've got a couple very basic patterns that I'll have already on the felt before the classes begin.

The problem I was running into was the backing and how to apply it. It seemed to me that an extra layer of felt made the bookmarks really thick. But if I wanted fabric beyond the edge of the embroidered front of the bookmark, it had to be something stiff, and felt seemed the only option - after all, the edges don't require finishing. All I knew was that there absolutely had to be something to cover up the back of the booksmarks! So these were the original questions besetting me as I prepared these projects.

You can imagine how delighted I was, then, to come across an embroiderer who is actually testing the making of felt bookmarks in different ways! If you have not checked out Alicia's blog, Curiosities 808, you really should! There are a couple things I really like about it: 1. She does some things the way I do them - like tracing a bottle cap from eye drops for circles on her fabric! 2. Her photography is really nice. And 3. She's exploring thoroughly this question of felt bookmarks. She begins with her plan for making felt bookmarks to try out different stitches, and then she progresses through the making of them. She'll be testing out different suggested backings, too. So that will be really interesting to me.

I've already decided on my mode of backing, but I'm always open to new and better ideas!! If any of you are familiar with making bookmarks on felt, what do you use for a backing? Heck, even if you're not familiar with it, do you have any ideas?

As you can tell, my biggest preoccupation right now is the summer instruction. I hope it doesn't bore you too much! To break the monotony, I promise something Monumentaly Interesting (!! maybe a bit of an exaggeration !!) in the next couple days. And I'll be taking a bit of time off work shortly, so that will give me more time for photos and progress reports!

Have a terrific Thursday!

Labels: embroidery for children, embroidery for fun, fabric for embroidery, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 05, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, May 19, 2008
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Here's a quick post updating you on what's going on in my needlework world. I'm making a sign!

This summer I'm teaching kids' embroidery classes again - 3 classes for different age groups. I'll tell you all about them once I finish getting them together. In the meantime, I'll start advertising them on the bulletin board, so I thought I'd dress up the sign.

Here's my sign!



The photographic quality isn't so good - I'll give you a better picture when I make some progress on it! (Too busy - or is that lazy? - to set up the equipment for pictures right now...)

Coming up this week, I'll have the May embroidery stash give-away (lots of reasons why I haven't done it sooner), and I'm going to review a new floss from DMC, Satin Floss, which I mentioned a couple weeks ago. I'll also tell you about making your own paper embroidery patterns (for cards, gift tags, scrapbooks, etc.).

I'm facing a hectic two weeks, so bear with me!

Labels: embroider on paper, embroidery for children, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, April 27, 2008
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This past weekend, the summer embroidery projects from my kids' embroidery classes were displayed at a fall festival. I thought I'd share a few photos, and then call that whole episode done, since the school year is now (!) underway.

I made a couple posters for the display and then laid out the embroidery projects across the table. Unfortunately, many of the girls didn't finish their embroidered bags! It's too bad, because they really were darling, and the kids who did finish them, loved them!



After putting together the first bag, and after realizing that I had plenty of lining material available, since only about one third of the students finished them, I decided to play around to see how I could get the lining to show a bit better. I managed to fiddle with the pattern until I got the kind of edge I wanted at the top of the bag. You can see the green one in the photo above - it doesn't have a lining showing. It was the first one I put together. I still think it's darling, and, in fact, it won a first place ribbon at the judging!



A few more embroidered drawstring bags...



There's one of the display posters, with pictures of the two classes I taught this summer, and in front are a few of the felt notebook covers.



And there's another part of the display, with the other poster and more book covers and bags. No people there yet...!



Some of the felt notebook covers a little closer...

And there you have it! Another summer embroidery class comes to a close, and a new school year launches.... and I'm already feeling behind!

I'll post an update on the silk work sampler from the adults' summer classes soon. We didn't really seem to get very far, but it's all relative, I guess!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, September 05, 2007
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This is the last of the four embroidery patterns the kids chose from for their drawstring bags. It's a little sampler, employing many of the stitches learned in their embroidery classes this summer.

If I remember correctly, only one student chose this pattern. It's a little more complicated than the other three patterns (see cirles, daisy garden, daisy wreath), but I thought it would be fun to work, since it employed different stitches.

The irony is that the one kid who picked it, didn't really work the stitches learned. Ah well. I think she had fun working on it, anyway.

Here it is. You can click on it for a larger image, then save it to your computer and resize it. Sorry about the scratchy look - it was drawn on graph paper and scanned.



The first row is fly stitch, tipped with a bead or a French knot. The long sides are simply straight stitches, or they could be daisy stitch. The second row is stem stitch stems, and then whipped daisy stitch, to cover the petals with a ribbed edge, like the ribbed spider web. The third row could have been fly stitch, or even a double herringbone, with daisy stitch or bullion knots, which should cross over and "couch" the fly stitch down - and French knot centers. The bottom row: flowers worked in lazy daisy stitch, with French knot centers and chain stitch stems, set in a row of herringbone or fly stitch.

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, free embroidery patterns

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, August 22, 2007
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Another pattern that the kids in my summer embroidery classes used on their drawstring bags was this very simple daisy wreath pattern. They embroidered an initial inside the wreath.

This was probably the most popular pattern for the kids' embroidered drawstring bags. The other patterns include circles of sorts, a dancing daisy garden, and a little "sampler" pattern, which hasn't been featured yet.

You can click on the image below for a much larger version, which you can save to your computer and shrink to the size you want!



Shortly, I'll be adding some more photos of completed work by the kids. The bags are turning out really pretty!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, free embroidery patterns

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, August 19, 2007
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Here are some photos of the kids' latest embroidery projects - the designs on their drawstring bags. I think they're doing a really good job! Some of the patterns turned out nicer looking that I realized they would!

The way we did it was this: I drew up the embroidery designs on graph paper, photocopied them, taped them to the classroom windows, and then let the kids pick the color of fabric they wanted to use for the outside of their bag. We taped the fabric to the pattern in the window, and they traced the patterns with water soluble markers.

Many of the girls finished their projects and decided to do the back of the bag as well, since they have one more week to work on the embroidery. Here are some photos of the work they've done so far.



For the kids who picked the daisy wreath (like this one above), I drew their initials onto the pattern. The water soluble marker will (hopefully) disappear after I've soaked the pieces. When they're dry, I'll starch and iron them and sew up the bags.



This is the sampler pattern. It's a bit more complicated. The girl who is stitching this bag decided to do the same pattern on the back, which means that I'll have to line up the seams very carefully so that they match.



Another initial in the daisy wreath. This one is going to look really nice with the lining, which is the same color as the initial!



Here's the little dancing daisy garden underway. This and the daisy wreath are perhaps the quickest patterns as far as stitching is concerned.



And yet another daisy garden. She decided to take the quicker route and backstitch the leaves rather than fill them.



I like the variegated threads used for the stems and for the daisies!



Here's one of the circle patterns being worked. It looks like a fun pattern to stitch - there can be a lot of variation in the stitches used. You can see a ribbed spider wheel there in the small circle below the hoop.



Another daisy wreath with an initial - this was a very popular design, and I thought that, by the time we finished, we'd have practically the whole alphabet!



And another "C" embroidered here - it's very pretty, I think!



And, finally, an "M" in green and white! I love the colors on these. They're very delicate. I can't wait to see them sewn up into bags!

So there's some progress so far. Only one more week of classes - it's been fun, but it sure makes for a hectic summer!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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Continuing with the subject of the drawstring bags that the kids are makingn in our summer embroidery class, here's the second of the four patters we're using. It's a daisy garden.

This is the second most popular embroidery pattern for this project. The kids like it for a couple reasons: they love the lazy daisy stitch, the pattern is simple and doesn't require many different types of stitches, and therefore, it's quick to work. This morning, we have our second class since starting these projects, so I'm eager to see what they've accomplished at home in a week!

Here's the embroidery pattern. It's another sketched-on-graph-paper-then-scanned deal, so it's a bit scratchy, by you can still get the idea. If you want to save it, you can click on the image to get a larger size, then right click on that and save it to your computer. Then you can resize it however you wish.



For this design, the stem stitch works great on the stems (!), the lazy daizy works for the flowers (although you could dress them up with other stitches as well, like bullions worked in loops, which would give more texture), and the center of the flowers are French knots or beads. The leaves are fishbone stitch, or they can simply be outlined in stem stitch. For the younger children, the backstitch is preferred to the stem stitch, but the design looks really nice with the stem stitch.

This pattern looks really good on the light green, the light blue, and the light purple bags, especially because the linings on those have daisies or other flowers on them and the colors of the flowers are easy to coordinate with the colors of the lining.

Stay tuned for photos of the kids' work - I'll snap a few pictures during class today!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, free embroidery patterns

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, August 13, 2007
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In my kids' summer embroidery class, the last project is a drawstring bag. I thought I'd share the patterns that we're using to embroider the front of the bags. I just made quick sketches on graph paper, so this is a scan of a sketch - nothing fancy, but fun anyway.

This particular embroidery pattern for the front of the drawstring bag matches (at least a little bit!) the lining I picked out for the pink drawstring bags. It's not a great sketch at all, admittedly, but it served the purpose. We taped the patterns to windows and taped the fabric over the patterns, and the kids traced them using water soluble markers.

Here's the pattern. If you want to use it, you can click on it for a much larger version, and then resize it.



Well, it doesn't look like much, does it? The stitches used in it are the stem stitch for circle outlines, the buttonhole wheel, the lazy daisy, and French knots or beads where the dots are.

Here's the photo again of the pink bag with the lining. We selected threads that match the overall color scheme, and some of the kids added a few "extra" colors to brighten things up.



The bags are about 7 inches across, so the pattern should be about 6.5 inches wide when sized correctly.

As soon as we start sewing up the embroidered bags, I'll take photos and put together a little picture tutorial. They're surprisingly simple and really fun!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, free embroidery patterns, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, August 12, 2007
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This week in my kids' embroidery class, we began our second summer project, embroidered drawstring bags. I picked out five colors of cotton broadcloth, and four patterned cottons to use as lining.

The embroidered design will be worked on the front of the bag only, since we don't have time to do a front and back pattern. So I drew up four patterns, which I will scan so you can see them, and I'll work up a short tutorial so you can see how easy it is to put together a lined drawstring bag, with "finished" seams on the inside.

I searched all over online for just the right pattern, but I didn't find anything that was exactly what I wanted. There was one pattern in particular that caught my eye, and I remember liking it, but I can't find the website! So I stuck with the simple rectangle, folded in half, with the lining tucked in, and actually, I like this pattern better. It's the perfect size for the kids to embroider, without being too big to take too long.



This is basically what the bags will look like when completed, although I'm going to do double drawstrings, so that they are easy to open and close. They'll have two strings coming out on the other side of the bag as well, then. They'll also be embroidered! This was just the sample I worked up to make sure the idea would work!



This is the lining in the light pink bag - I love the bright fabric! For the casing for the drawstring, I worked a backstitch around the bag in two parallel lines, so you're seeing the back side of the backstitch inside the bag there.

I think my favorite part of the bags so far is the fabric!



I've got a light blue with a purple and light blue flowered lining (although most of the linings can be mixed and matched).



Then there's a light purple with a yellow lining, with little purple flowers and pink roses.



And the same lining looks great with the dark pink bag, too! I also like the bright yellow and pink lining in the light pink bag above, with the dark pink.

I've got an aqua broadcloth as well, which looks incredibly good (believe it or not!) with the purple flowered lining.

My 13-year old niece helped me pick out the lining fabrics, which was good. I didn't want to end up with anything "fuddy duddy" that the kids wouldn't like! She did a great job, and the kids are really excited about their last project.

The designs I drew up are relatively simple - a wreath of lazy daisy leaves and flowers, to put their initials in; a row of daisies; a geometric "sampler" type pattern for the girls who like to dress things up a lot (and who spend time at home stitching!); and a pattern of random circles (worked in buttonhole wheels and stem stitch, etc) with lazy daisy flowers, to match that bright yellow lining on the bag above. I think (I hope!) they are all quick to work - and I think they are, as most of the kids not only traced all their patterns in class today, but got a good bit of stitching done.

Only two more weeks of classes (two a week, for two different age groups), so all in all, this summer, we will have had nine weeks of classes, or 18 classes altogether. Not bad!

I can't wait to take photos of the whole display of completed bags and notebook covers! It should end up being 76 completed projects! WOW!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, August 08, 2007
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I'm trying to post at least one photo of each of my students' projects. So here are a few more. These are the last ones from the older kids' class (I've got 9 - 12 / 13 year olds in there). Today, I have the little kids (7 - 10), so I'll be photographing their progress so far, too.

Embroidery is a great thing to teach children - it gives them something to do while developing a worth-while skill, a "discipline" to follow, a sense of beauty, and a great sense of accomplishment. If you have time to do it, teach a child to embroider!



Here's a close up from the last notebook cover on this page of photos. This is the double chain stitch. It makes a great border.



This one's developing into a vine-covered bird house on a post, with (of course!) a bird....



On this one, the design was almost entirely drawn on the back, and the girl stitched from the back to the front. She ended up making a rather interesting chain stitch that way!



Here's one with a patriotic flair. Notice the variety of stitches. This student practices every stitch on her notebook cover, and any stitch that can be explained to her, she tries, whether we're covering it in class or not. So she really has a great variety!



I like these French knot and daisy clusters in the corners:



I love clustering French knots together for a textured fill, and this corner looks especially good.

So, that's it for now. I'm really excited to get into the younger kids' class this afternoon to see what they've done this week!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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Here are a few more photos from my kids' embroidery classes. Their embroidered notebook covers are going to be darling!

Next week, we'll be getting to the finishing stage of the first summer embroidery project. They'll be stitching up the edges and adding the ribbon that ties the book closed. I can't wait!

In the meantime, here are some more photos from class:



This is a close up of one of the flowers embroidered by one of the youngest girls in the 9 - 13 group. Her daisy stitches and French knots are great, but she really does an exceptional job on her perfectly even backstitches!



Here's a little dog pattern. This one was an iron-on as well. They started adding beads yesterday, so you can see how they're used in the middle of the flowers and as part of the eyes!



A close up on a flower worked in lazy daisy with a bead center.



Here are some initials worked in whipped running stitch, with greenery and large flowers. All the kids love the whipped running stitch, since it makes a two-tone line that looks like a rope (or a candy cane, depending on the colors!).



Here's a cute butterfly on the back of a cover - you can see that the whipped running is really a favorite, as well as the lazy daisy.



Here's the front of the butterfly notebook cover, with initials and flowers. She did a great job on the stem stitch filling!



And here's a close up on the spine of that book cover - an interesting approach to stem stitch. She threaded two colors in the same needle.



Bears are embroidered on this one - an iron-on transfer was used to good effect. The designs are small enough to give the stitcher plenty of room to embroider spontaneous embellishment.



I think the honey pot is really cute!

So there are a few more updates - hope you enjoy looking at them! The classes are going really well. I've got two of them going this summer for local children, aged 7 - 10 and aged 9 - 13. These pictures are from the 9 - 13 class. They're making embroidered notebook covers out of wool felt, working in #5 perle cotton. The designs were completely up to them, and what I do is basically teach them a stitch, give them an opportunity to practice it on their "scrap" fabric until they've got it down, draw (on the board) a few ways it can be used, and then they incorporate the stitch onto their notebook cover. It's a great way for them to keep track of which stitches they've learned, and it will supply them with a visual "diary" of each stitch for reference... And - they're making something they can use when school starts! (Summer goes too quickly!)

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, July 24, 2007
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The children's embroidery classes I'm teaching are progressing pretty well! I thought I'd share some photos of what the kids are up to with their embroidery projects.

This embroidery class has children from age 9 - 13 in it. They're working on embroidered notebook covers right now. They'll be doing the finishing touches on them through next Monday, which will be our last class on the notebook covers. Then we're going to work on little draw-string bags.

The embroidered notebook covers are made out of 100% wool felt in various colors. The thread they're using is #5 perle cotton. The covers will fit on the Mead brand "fat little" notebooks.

I can't include all the photos in one article (I've got 30 from today's class alone!), so I'll split them up here and there... but I thought you'd be interested to see what little kids can produce when they're having fun with needle and thread and a little imagination!



I love the little watermelon slice worked in stem stitch and french knots. The round item to the right of the watermelon is working into a straw hat with a ribbon on the band. The hat and the watermelon are sitting on a table covered with a table cloth (backstitched). On the back of the notebook cover, she's embroidering a bird cage in chain stitch and back stitch. She just started adding some beads down the "spine" of the book cover, along the chain stitched wavy line.



Here's a big butterfly! The outline is chain stitch, and it's filled with white French knots, with buttonhole wheels at the base of the wings. The body is worked in a whipped running stitch. There are bunches of grapes next to the butterfly, as well as some backstitched hearts.



This is a sunny little scene on a flowery hill. She's still working in the rays of the sun, and adding little beads among the grass and flowers.



This is the same book cover, only the back, with a little embroidered flower and a bee trail. The bee's coming...



Here's a chick and a barn and a fish! I love the barn in the background - she's working on the roof of it now.



And here's a close-up on that happy fish, which is outlined in chain stitch and the scales are embroidered in long straight stitches in two colors.



I love all the buggy critters and flowers on this one! I also like the squared off patchwork pattern, which is worked in different colors in chain stitch.



There's the front up close. The center picture is a dancing bug.



And here's the little caterpillar and bug on the back. The caterpillar is worked in buttonhole stitch and laced running stitch.



Here's a lion and a kangaroo. These are both iron-on transfer patterns, which work really well on felt. The stitching is really well done - and I think she's the youngest girl in the class!



Here's the lion up close - worked in backstitch. The flowers are clusters of lazy daisy and French knots.



And here's the kangaroo up close, worked in whipped running stitch. The band at the base is double chain stitch.

So far, so good! The kids are doing a great job on their projects! I'm excited to see them complete the book covers! Next up, is a drawstring bag, using regular embroidery floss. That will take only 3 weeks (meeting each class once a week), and then the summer will be over! *SIGH*

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, July 23, 2007
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I planned to have this embroidered notebook cover finished by the time I went to bed on Sunday, but sometimes things just don't work out the way we plan them! The first kids' embroidery class was Monday morning, and I wanted to show this to them as a sample. Although I didn't finish, I did make progress, so I thought I'd share some photos...

The kids love the thing, by the way, and are excited to make their own. They learned three stitches on Monday: the running stitch (we always start with that one!), the whipped running stitch, and the chain stitch. I jump straight into the chain stitch because it's just a short step to the detached chain (lazy daisy), which is always received enthusiastically because they can make flowers with it.

We also talked a little about needles and scissors, keeping track of supplies, clean hands, and such. They learned how to hoop up their fabric (we use white cotton twill for practicing). Then they picked out two colors of cotton perle, we learned the stitches, and then they picked out the felt for their embroidered notebook cover (four different colors were available) and three pre-cut strands of three different colors of cotton perle, which they rolled up and put in their sewing boxes. I showed them where to stitch the running stitches to mark the sides of the notebook cover, and they practiced their stitches, and that was the whole two hours! Fortunately, I have two gals from our guild helping with each class - so in this class, which had 17 children in it, each of the adults were able to give some one-on-one help with each stitch.

It was fun! The next group meets on Wednesday afternoon.

So this is the notebook cover so far, which I have every intention of finishing today, depending on how long I have to be at work!



The spine is marked by the wavy line in the center, although the spine doesn't really have to be marked at all - the design could continue across the whole space. I realized it doesn't really matter which side is which, either - on this, either side of the spine could be the front cover!



This is what I accomplished on Sunday. The wavy line in yellow down the spine is a laced chain stitch. The stitching on the inside of the waves is a variation on Algerian eye, with French knots at the tips. The fan in the top right corner is worked in whipped back stitch (the ribs), and the two bold lines defining the arch are Portuguese knotted stem. The yellow between the ribs is fly stitch in yellow ribbon. The edge on the outside is fly stitch worked in three strands of DMC stranded cotton, with a little green detached chain between the peaks of the fly stitch.



I added these little hand-painted buttons to the part that I had already finished before Sunday.



The vine here is worked in stem stitch, dotted with little ribbon leaves. The flowers are daisy stitches and French knots, for the most part.



The buds that rest in the vine intersections are actually oyster stitch, covered a little by some ribbon.



There's a little French knot at the base of each bud.



This is backstitch laced with a wide and loose silk ribbon. It's a scrap of ribbon that came from an orts bag from Yodamo silk. These are little $4 and $6 bags of miscellaneous ends of silk ribbon which are great for scraps and such.

You can find pretty much all the stitches used above in my Video Library of Stitches.

I plan on posting exact instructions for making the cover - it's not complicated at all, and it's a great and relaxing project for any kid - no matter how old!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, Hand embroidery stitches, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, June 26, 2007
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I'm finishing up the sample of the embroidered notebook cover that we're making in our summer embroidery class for kids. I haven't finished the sample yet (first day of class is tomorrow!), but in the meantime, I thought I'd share some photos of the concept so far. I'll finish the sample up today...

I'm working on wool felt from Wooly Thread. I ordered twenty of the 12" x 15" pieces, and cut those length-wise so that we would have forty 6" x 15" pieces, enough for 36 students. I wanted the materials to be as economically feasible as possible - and wool felt can be rather expensive! - so the point was to find a notebook small enough to cover with a six-inch wide piece of felt. It so happens that the Mead Five Star Fat Lil' Notebook is perfect.

So I measured out the strips and marked the inside with lines where the cover, spine, and flaps would fall. I stitched the lines with running stitch in #5 perle cotton, so that they are visible on the front. I left a 3/4-inch space in the middle of each edge of the turn-under for the flap, where I will cut slits for the ribbon ties.



You can see the running stitch up the left side, marking the spine area. The ribbon is inserted through the slit on the right side.



I worked a simple overcase stitch around the edges of the slit. The stitching here isn't too neat, but ... I photographed it anyway. (Hint: if you plan ahead, you don't have to rush when working up your samples! Saves a lot of frustration.... rrrrgh.)



To secure the flap, I worked an overcast stitch over the two edges of felt (still using perle #5). I think we'll use buttonhole stitch for the edges when we do these in class. It's a little more decorative, and they don't have to be worked this close together. We could also just use a whip stitch.



Again, here you can see the running stitch up the left side of the front cover area, marking where the spine is. The whole stitching design was completely random. I didn't plan anything particular for the cover. But when I work through this project with the kids, I want them to sketch up their ideas for their covers first - or at least the general layout.

I realize the stitching here is a bit advanced for beginning children. They will practice their stitches first on cotton twill, and once they learn each stitch, they will work a little bit of it on the felt, in any design they want, embellishing the felt as they progress through the class. The finish work will come at the end.

The stitches they will be learning and using on their felt covers are the running stitch, the whipped running stitch, backstitch, stem stitch, chain stitch, detached chain stitch, buttonhole stitch, fly stitch, and a little bit of couching. I'll also show them how to do a ribbed spider wheel, buttonhole wheels, etc., which can be used as individual accents on the covers. We'll probably throw in a few beads and ribbo here and there, too.

I'll be working with 36 children, divided into two classes. The ages range from 8 - 10 and 11 - 13. Now, I know it may be a bit adventurous to undertake these with the younger kids, but I think they will be able to do it. Last year, they were chomping at the bit to produce something like this, and they learned really fast! I can't wait to see what they do this year.

When we finish the notebook covers, we'll move on to a simple circular drawstring bag. I'll keep you posted with pictures!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 24, 2007
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 23, 2007
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 10, 2007
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As usual, this summer I will be teaching free embroidery classes to children, as a "community project." I'm batting around ideas about what kind of projects would be good for relatively young children (9-11) and for children a little older (12-14).

Last summer, my children's embroidery classes didn't produce much in the way of finished projects. I taught them basic stitches, but we didn't produce a "finished" piece.



They worked simple designs that they drew out by hand or that they traced onto the fabric using cookie cutters. The design above was a lesson on buttonhole wheels and fishbone stitch. You can see buttonhole stitch (technically, blanket stitch) as the grass, and a line of chain stitch underneath. They also incorporated stem stitch and French knots in this little practice piece. You can find other pictures of what they did last summer at Embroidery for Children: Small Projects.

But this is the thing: I think, when teaching children, it is good for them to enjoy the success of finishing "something." A whole, completed project is better, I think, than many practice scraps (although the practice scraps are necessary, too!), especially when it comes to boosting confidence and awakening interest. It also teaches them the discipline of finishing what they start, which I think is good for any child to learn.

So I thought I'd ask the world-wide embroidery community for suggestions! What do you think would be a good idea for a project, and do you have any good links or resources that would be helpful as I plan this summer's classes? Input would be greatly appreciated!! And you never know who else you may help - or what child may benefit!! Thanks heaps!

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery for children, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, May 09, 2007
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