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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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, July 21, 2007
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The silk work sampler that our embroidery group is working on is coming along. After spending a lot of time on set-up, we're finally stitching! Here are some photos of progress on the embroidery sampler so far.

We started with the middle flower, working it in long and short stitch. This was an adventure! I chose to do my flowers in reds, and first, the plan was to work from light on the outside to dark on the inside. I worked the first petal that way and didn't like it at all, so I picked it out and worked from dark on the outside to light on the inside. I liked it much better!



So, the center flower and the top left leaf are worked in long and short stitch. The idea is to work towards the "growth point" on flower petals, leaves, etc., when working with long and short stitch. Down below, I'll show you some close ups where I messed up!



This is the center of the flower. The image is a bit fuzzy (!) This is how I stitched it: I began with a light gold Soie d'Alger, and backstitched around the circle. Then, inside the backstitch (so, on the inside of the circle), I stitched one layer of loose satin stitch in the Soie d'Alger. Then, I satin stitched the whole circle (going outside over the edge of the backstitch) in a flat silk, in gold. Then, I worked a square lattice in the dark red, and couched the intersections with the lightest coral in the flower. Then I worked a stem stitch around the circle, using two strands of Soie d'Alger in the medium red.



Here's an odd angle on the flower, so you can see the "dimension."



The leaf is worked in long and short stitch in three shades of green, light on the outside, and darkest by the central vein. The whole leaf was first outlined in the light green in a backstitch. The long and short stitches should be directed towards the central vein, and slanting downwards (to the growth point of the leaf). If you look closely, you can see where I messed up! But if you can't see it here, you can here:



The central vein is worked in a stem stitch, in the darkest green. The problem in the leaf is in the lower left-hand corner of this photo. I marked the difficulties in red in the photo below:



The three middle red lines show how the stitches angle too far up. I should have taken that out and restitched it.... but I had too many layers in before I realized how far off it would go. In the scheme of things, it's not "too" noticeable, but it still bugs me! Live and learn!

So that's the progress so far... Next, we'll be working the flower on the left, which is worked in satin stitch, in flat silk. The shades change according to the lines in the pattern, and there's a "voided" line between each shade. The satin stitching will be vertical, without any radiation, so it will be a completely stylized flower. I'll let you know how it goes!

Labels: guild, Hand embroidery stitches, pictures, silkwork sampler

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, July 17, 2007
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Since a reader asked where to find some embroidery patterns for botanical subjects, herbs in particular, I thought I'd address the topic of where to find hand embroidery patterns of things that might not specifically be found as "hand embroidery patterns."

First off, I should let Susan (the reader) know that she can find some embroidery patterns for herbs in particular at Colonial Patterns. They have an iron-on transfers for popular herbs, and the patterns look small enough for the type of linen Susan is planning to make. Just type "herbs" into the search box on their website, and it'll come up.

BUT, if you're looking for a particular embroidery pattern for something - especially botanical things - and you aren't great at drawing, I think the best sources are .... coloring books! Especially if you're looking for a "real" rendition of a plant or animal.

For example, this Dover coloring book on herbs has line drawing of all the popular herbs. You can photocopy and reduce them to the size you want, or you can just re-trace them. You could re-trace them and eliminate the details you don't want, and then photocopy the tracing and reduce it to the size you want - and there you have your pattern! If you're good a drawing, coloring books like this one are great for inspiration and accurate detail in the look of the plant. For example, I might know what coriander seeds look like, but if I want to draw the plant they come from (cilantro), I'd want to find an accurate image of it first, so that my interpretation in embroidery is at least recognizable! With the Dover coloring books, you'll also get colored plates that show (in miniature) what each picture would look like colored. So Dover coloring books come in really handy for this type of thing, and they're relatively inexpensive.

You don't have to stick just to coloring books, though, when you're looking for embroidery designs. Another great source for images of botanical life - or wild life, or aquatic life - are the various "field guide" type books. The nice thing about these books is that you get images of the plants (either drawn, watercolored, or photographed) of the plants or animals, and the colors are always absolutely accurate, because the whole point of the field guide is for you to identify what you're looking at. I especially like books like this that have artistic renditions for images (so, drawn, painted, etc.) because the shading done by the artist is easier to imitate in embroidery, than if you were working from a photo. In fact, when working from a photo, I like to turn it into a line drawing (either by sketching or tracing), then shade it myself with colored pencils - photographs don't give the same sense of "artistic" shading, I don't think.

If you can't find these types of books at your local bookstore or library, order them on-line. If you can save on shipping, you can get a good deal at Amazon, but if you're buying just one item, it's not necessarily worth the extra shipping (unless you can't find what you want locally!).

So there are some ideas for embroidery design resources. Hope they're helpful! Have fun!

Labels: embroidery design, embroidery resources

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, July 15, 2007
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Embroidered monograms fascinate me, and I love to see the art of hand embroidery displayed on usable linens and household goods. The best way to add a personal touch to these types of items is to add a monogram. But sometimes I get stumped when trying to think up a pattern!

Designs for hand embroidery can be found all over the internet - it just takes some looking, which unfortunately, can take time. That's why I put together the list of online hand embroidery patterns - so that you don't have to spend as much time hunting! The list grows slowly, and I'm always glad to take recommendations to add to it.

Recently, I came across another gem. I just love it.It's a very pretty monogram and embellishment pattern. The pattern is shown as an embroidered handkerchief pattern, but it would look great on guest towels - perfect for a wedding gift, for example - on pillow cases, or even on the front of a tote bag.

The monogram design is offered by Plaid Online, which is a website devoted to all kinds of craft stuff.



So that's the page with the monogram project on it. Below the photo, you can click for a pattern. They also give you an alphabet, for the non-A people out there.

If you like monograms and embroidered household goods, check out this embroidered monogram pattern, and try it! I'm adding it to my (very-very-long-and-ever-growing) list of things to do .... someday.

Labels: free embroidery patterns, gift ideas, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, July 14, 2007
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There are many variations on the chain stitch used in hand embroidery. Here's one that produces a "realistic-looking" chain, with a small link between each of the loops in the chain stitch. It's called the cable chain stitch.

This stitch can be worked in lines, around curves, in circles - any way that you would normally use a chain stitch, except perhaps as a filling. That's not to say it couldn't be used as an interesting filling! I haven't tried it, but I would imagine that, worked in rows, alternating the location of the stitches in each row, it would make an interesting filling.

This is what the cable chain stitch looks like when worked:



The stitch begins the same way a chain stitch does, but after the first loop of the chain is created, you wrap your thread once around the needle and insert the needle on the other side of your first chain stitch loop (instead of inside it, like with the chain stitch). Then you make another chain stitch, and continue in that fashion.

Here in the video, I'm working down a line, from top to bottom, but the stitch can easily be worked from right to left (for right-handed stitchers - left to right for left-handed stitchers).



The list of hand embroidery video tutorials is still growing, so stay tuned!

Labels: beginner embroidery, Hand embroidery stitches, video tutorials

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, July 11, 2007
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Here's a video tutorial for the double chain stitch used in hand embroidery. This is a quick, easy stitch which creates a wide decorative band. It looks somewhat similar to the closed herringbone stitch, but it's created with the same (few) easy steps used in the chain stitch.

This stitch would look great as a border. It can be worked on curves or straight. You work on two parallel lines, and you can certainly vary the boldness or delicacy of the result by choosing different weight threads, and working across wider or narrower lines.

In the video, I'm using perle cotton #5 because it shows up better. I've worked this stitch in a single strand of DMC or silk in very tiny stitches, and achieved a kind of lacy effect. If you're embroidering anything miniature that needs trim on it - for example, a little Dutch girl or sunbonnet girl on a quilt square - you can add a nice pretty border on the edge of a dress with it.

It also makes good seam embellishment for crazy quilting, or it looks great as a band on samplers. Some of my students are presently having fun adding it to their embroidered notebook covers.

Here's a close up of the double chain stitch so you can see what it comes out looking like:



In the video, I'm working from top to bottom down two parallel lines. You can mark the lines, or, if you're using an even-weave fabric, you can follow the weave of the fabric. The stitch can also be worked from right to left (for right handed stitchers).

Here's the video:




For more video tutorials for hand embroidery stitches, please visit my Video Library of Stitches Index.

Labels: beginner embroidery, Hand embroidery stitches, video tutorials

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, July 09, 2007
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Yesterday, I compared four kinds of silk used in hand embroidery. Here are some photos of a few stitches in each type of silk. I think it would be heaps of fun to work up an embroidery sampler using all my favorite silks - perhaps I need to add that to my list of things to do!

The first silk thread sample is worked in Soie Gobelins. I'm working on Edinburgh linen (36 count).



From left to right: straight stitch, which would be the equivalent of a satin stitch, if the thread filled the area. Gobelins is too fine to fill an equally spaced area on 36 ct. fabric. However, it makes great very fine lines - the two parallel lines show how it can be used to outline. The top line is stem stitch and the one below it is backstitch (Holbein stitch, actually). To show you the coverage for cross stitch, the second set of stitches on the left is cross stitch over two threads, and the tiny set right next to that is cross stitch over one thread. The last set of stitches on the right is chain stitch. The needle above the stitches (to give you some perspective on the stitches and the fabric) is a #9 crewel (it's pretty fine).



Here's the Soie Perlee. You can see that it fills the space better in the satin stitch on the left. To the right of the satin stitch is cross stitch worked over two. I think it's a bit bulky for that, but it certainly gives a good fill. It's far too bulky for cross stitch over one on 36 count fabric - shown are half-cross stitches (angled stitches over one thread). It works fine for backstitch (the bottom line) and stem stitch (the top line).



This is the separated Trebizond, worked in individual holes right next to each other. You can see what a nice satin stitch it make. I like the waves! On un-separated Trebizond, I could not stitch through the 36 count fabric without a bit of a real squeeze.



This is one ply of Soie de Paris, separated from the six-ply strand. It's about as fine as the Soie Gobelins. I think it's very nice for cross stitch over two on the 36-count fabric.



The Soie de Paris in one strand works great for chain stitch, too!

Labels: pictures, silk, threads

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, July 05, 2007
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Hand embroidery worked in silk is beautiful, but there are so many silks out there to choose from! So here are some up-close photo comparisons of a few popular twisted silk threads: Soie Perlee, Trebizond, Soie Gobelins, and Soie de Paris.

Of the four silk threads mentioned above, Trebizond is the only one not made by Au Ver a Soie. It's imported into the States by Access Commodities.

So here's a photo of all four silk threads side-by-side. For a bit of a size reference, they're lying on Edinburgh linen (36 ct) and that's a #9 crewel needle in the fabric.



The finest of the four threads is Soie Gobelins, which is a 2-ply twisted silk. It's a filament silk, which means it's taken in long filaments straight from the cocoon, has a great lustre, and is strong. It comes in over 100 colors, the numbers of which match the Soie d'Alger color chart. It's great for counted thread work on higher count linens, and it works fine on plain ground fabric as well. I have a friend who uses it with a teeny, tiny crochet needle to hand-crochet lace, and it's beautiful! In size, it seems to me to be comparable to a strand of DMC, but the twist on it seems a little tighter, and it's a lot "smoother" to work with (when passing through the fabric). It fits in a #9 needle with a little room left over - a #10 crewel or embroidery needle would do as well. As with all four of these silks, it's a little bit "boingy" - but less so than the other three.

Soie Perlee is the next silk thread up on the list, and it's the next up in size of these four. It fits fine in a #9 needle. Soie Perlee is a 3-ply twisted filament silk. I would say it's comparable to a cotton perle #12. It comes in some 365 colors! It's a favorite for needlepoint and counted thread work, and can be used in regular surface embroidery embellishment, crazy quilting, and whatnot.

Here are the two above right next to each other:



Next up the line is Trebizond. It's nice stuff, a lot thicker than Soie Perlee. I've read some descriptions that say it's comparable to a #5 perle cotton. I'd put it somewhere between a #8 and a #5 in size. It works great on 25 count linen. I find it a bit of a squeeze on 36! It works well on 18 mesh canvas for needlepoint. It's a 3-ply silk, pretty "boingy" when you use it, but really a nice, nice thread.

Here's the Perlee and Trebizond side-by-side:



Finally, there's Soie de Paris, the last one up the line. This is a 6-ply silk, and it's divisible into individual plies. The individual plies seem slightly larger than the Soie Gobelins - but they may be the same size. You can stitch with one or more plies, just as you can with stranded cotton or silk. Soie de Paris doesn't seem as tightly twisted as Gobelins or Perlee. It's got a very narrow range of colors (around 75), and they correspond with the Soie d'Alger color chart, too.

Here's the Trebizond and Soie de Paris side-by-side:



The Soie de Paris is divisible, and here you can see the individual strands:



Amazingly enough, the Trebizond is divisible, too! Most people probably don't use it this way, but you can divide the Trebizond carefully, to produce a wavy flat silk thread. To separate, cut short lengths (no more than 12 inches, I'd say), and grasp one end of the thread between two fingers. Pick out one ply and pull it slowly out of the bunch, still grasping the "neck" of the other two plies. (The same way you separate stranded cotton or silk.)



You might wonder what the heck you can do with a thread that looks like that - but really, it's great for adding a different "look" to your satin stitching. The thing about silk is this: depending on how the light plays off it, it looks different. So if you satin stitch a small area with a wavy thread like this, you'll end up with a nice effect because of the way the light will play off the silk.

To follow up on this comparison, I'll show you some stitches worked in each of them, so stay tuned!

I've also written up a comparison of flat silks, if you're interested. I'll be working in another comparison of the flat silks this week, adding TESS (True Embroideries Sleave Silk - just like Piper's Silk) to the comparison.

Labels: pictures, silk, threads

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, July 04, 2007
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Do you embroider? Do you wear glasses? Perhaps this new concept is something you'd be interested in!

Seungyoub Oh (I think he's a designer?) has come up with the concept of embroidered, personalized glasses called Stitch Glasses. Trendy in design, they seem like a great way for un-inhibited embroiderers (or anyone else, really) to express themselves.



For those of you who would like to get your hands on these frames for your lenses, unfortunately they seem to be just a "concept" right now. But who knows? Before you know it, they may be all the rage.

Thanks for the link, Fred!

Labels: embroidery resources

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, July 01, 2007
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