Yet another monogram for hand embroidery - the letter "S." I've been posting twice a day, with the intention of getting this whole monogram alphabet online for you - but I don't know if I'll be able to keep up the pace! We'll see. It's been kind of fun and challenging, anyway! If you've liked this monogram alphabet so far, I think you'll really like the "S." It's pretty!

I think I may have given the impression previously that monograms can only be hand embroidered using specialty threads, like coton a broder. Not so, not so! In the next couple weeks, one of my summer embroider classes will begin monogramming a hankie. They're using DMC stranded cotton, and I'm sure it will turn out just fine! I'll post photos of the class sample as soon as I work it up!

For the rest of this monogram alphabet, please visit my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery. You'll also find it listed on my Free Hand Embroidery Patterns page!

And so, here's the S - Enjoy!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 30, 2008
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If you like historical embroidery, you may find A. F. Kendrick's book, English Embroidery, interesting and informative. Keep in mind, though - it's not a how-to. I'll tell you a bit about it...

English Embroidery by A. F. Kendrick can be found online in PDF format through the American Libraries Internet Archive. The book is one of those photographed PDFs, so you really get the sense of its age!

You'll find in the book a sort-of history of English embroidery. What the author sets out to do is to describe the trends in embroidery over the ages that mark works of embroidery as "English embroidery."

Again, keep in mind it's not a how-to book. You won't find information on stitching or assembly or anything like that - nothing about how to go about doing the types of embroidery discussed! Instead, Kendrick's intention is to define a type of embroidery ("English embroidery") by showing the reader, with pictures and descriptions, what exemplifies this type of embroidery.

The book spans the early Middle Ages through the 18th century, and treats each era in a brief way, slotting typical existing pieces into the era in which they belong. He describes some pieces in fairly good detail. The first half of the book is dedicated primarily to ecclesiastical embroidery. You'll be able to see photos of different pieces, mostly in black and white - although there are several color plates throughout the book.



About half way through the 125-page book, you'll arrive at secular embroidery of the 16th and 17th century. You'll find some plates displaying embroidered bags, as well as several plates on embroidered clothing. The book ends with the 18th century.



This plate, and the discussion of embroidered jackets, reminds me of the work going on at Plymoth Plantation on the 17th century embroidered jacket!

The book also has an extensive reference list and a good index.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to explore A. G. Christie's book, English Medieval Embroidery, in the rare books section at a city library. Kendrick's book is a lot like it, but on a much (much!) smaller scale, covering a broader period of time. So if you've been interested to see what Christie's book is like, but haven't had the opportunity to visit a library to see it, you could take a look at this book to get a sense of it.

If you want to peruse the book at your leisure, download the PDF of English Embroidery by A. F. Kendrick, and enjoy!

Labels: book review, historical needlework, online needlework books

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 30, 2008
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Here's the next free monogram for hand embroidery... the letter K. At this rate, it should only take about ten forevers to finish one monogram alphabet! I may have to find a different approach! Be that as it may, in the meantime, I hope you are enjoying these particular embroidery designs!

In the previous articles featuring these free embroidery monograms, I've gone on at some length about techniques, so if you haven't read those, you might want to check out the posts on the letters A, C, G, and M. You can also visit my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery, which you'll find listed on my embroidery patterns page.

Without further ado, here's the K:



I tried cleaning this one up a little differently, scanning it first as a bmp, then cleaning it up and saving it as a gif. The others I worked on as jpgs, which allowed me a little more leeway in smoothing up the lines and filling in the gaps. I may have to go back to jpgs for the clean up...

But, whatever the case, enjoy the monograms!!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 29, 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 promised, I'm adding the "M" to my index of monograms for hand embroidery. Here's the free embroidery pattern...

This was another messy monogram - when I scanned it, despite the resolution, I ended up with lots of broken or absent little line fragments, lots of fuzz, and there was also a slight wrinkle in the page, so a there was some creasing. Anyway, I think it's ok now to use for an embroidery pattern! It's no perfect graphic, but it will certainly serve for transferring an embroidery design, don't you think?

I'm slowly cleaning up the whole alphabet. In the order of "most wanted," the "S" will be up next. Then the "K" and the "V." So keep an eye out!

Here's the "M"...



Feel free to check out my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery for other letters.

Enjoy!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 28, 2008
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Milner Craft Series has a new book out (as of March, 2008), called Floral Interpretations for Silk Ribbon, by Helen Dafter. I've just had the pleasure of perusing the book, which is a great resource for embroiderers interested in silk ribbon embroidery. So here's a review, with indications of what's in it, and what I like about it.

Whether you like silk ribbon embroidery for accenting crazy quilts, or you use silk ribbon flowers to embellish paper embroidery, or you dabble with silk ribbon to make articles for home decoration, the book Floral Interpretations for Silk Ribbon would be right up your alley.



True to the format of the Milner Craft Series books, you'll find all the useful background information on essential embroidery supplies, techniques, pattern transfer, and so forth at the beginning of the book. For the stitcher new to silk ribbon, there's a good bit of information on different types and sizes of ribbon and what they can be used for. You'll also find a good stitch dictionary for the various silk ribbon stitches employed in the book, as well as for regular embroidery stitches that accent a silk ribbon piece.



But, as usual, what I find most enticing are the projects! In this book, they are arranged according to flower. You'll find projects for all kinds of flowers: lavendar, violas, grape hyacinth, gardenias, daffodils, gerbera daisies, camellia sasanqua (new one to me...), cornflower, flannel flower, roses, crab apple, and daisies.



In each project section, you'll find a general blurb about the flower, as well as a watercolor interpretation of it. The watercolors are very handy, because it gives you a sense of the shading, position, placement, growth pattern, and artistic look of the flower.

You'll also find information on what stitches are used to produce a realistic flower using silk ribbon.



You'll also get a photo of the finished project. I love seeing photographs of finished pieces when I'm working on something - they give an invaluable guideline for producing what you're trying to produce!



And, of course, you'll also find the pattern for the piece, in a black and white line drawing suitable for tracing.

Again, the projects are arranged according to flower, rather than according to ease of work. I think that's ok, though. The book is thorough enough to give the beginner a good resource to learn the techniques, and at the same time, it's diverse enough to enchant the expert with inspirational material!

Even though I don't use silk ribbon too often, I'm always thrilled when I finish a silk ribbon project. My most recent venture in silk ribbon was this little box decorated with silk ribbon embroidery, and other than that, I've done several greeting cards and other little pieces over the years. I've also used silk ribbon as accents on different embroidery pieces, like notebook covers and whatnot.

Do you want to know what I like best about silk ribbon embroidery, though? (Besides the fact that I think it's really pretty?) ... it's the fact that silk ribbon works up fast! With relatively few actual stitches, you can produce the item you're embroidering and see very quickly a finished piece coming together. A whole petal, or a stem, or a leaf, might just take one stitch! I love that!

What I like about this book is that it takes silk ribbon beyond just the basic quick stitching to a whole new level of realistic and beautiful interpretations of flowers - perfect for filling out any stitcher's repertoire!

So, if you like the idea of playing around with silk ribbons and trying out some pretty stitches for pretty results, take a look at Floral Interpretations for Silk Ribbon by Helen Dafter. The book is distributed in the US by Sterling Publishers, who produce a wonderful array of craft and needlework books. You can pick up the book through Amazon for less than $15, which is about $5 less than the publisher's price.

Enjoy!

Labels: beginner embroidery, book review, ribbon embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 28, 2008
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Sorry about that big blunder yesterday! If you want to embroider a "C" on something, here's the design for the monogram!

In case you're debating how to transfer your monogram to your fabric before embroidering it, there are a number of ways to do that. For the oatmean colored guest towel I embroidered, I used an iron-on transfer, so I didn't really have to deal with that issue. When you're printing a design, though, you do.

I find the most accurate way to get a pattern down for a project is to trace it. If you don't have a light box, use a sunny window, taping your pattern to the window and your fabric on top of your pattern. Use a regular #2 pencil and trace it lightly. If you're sure the design will be completely covered by your stitching, after you've traced it with the pencil, you can go over it with a fine-tipped micron art pen.

The pencil will wash out! I generally starch my fabric and iron it well before tracing on it with a pencil, and the pencil always washes out. The pen will not wash out.

And, as I've mentioned before, if you don't want to trace, you can always use dressmaker's carbon - or turn your design over and trace it with pencil on the wrong side, place the pattern on your fabric (pencil-traced side down), and, using a ball point pen or a stylus, trace over the pattern. In effect, you're just making your own carbon paper...

Anyway, I know I harp on the design transfer point a lot. It's one of those questions I get asked a lot!

Here's the C - yes, it's the C!! This design was pretty messy, so you can probably tell where I've reconstructed some of the lines. I probably should have just reconstructed (redrawn) the whole thing!

For other monograms, check out the Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery!

Enjoy!

Labels: embroidery tips and tricks, free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, June 27, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, June 27, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 26, 2008
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I'm using this page to create an index for monogram patterns used for hand embroidery. As I clean up some old monogram patterns I have, I'll post them and add them to this index. I'll include a picture of one letter, so you can see what the monogram style looks like, and then links to the individual patterns for the monograms. I hope you find these patterns useful and inspiring for your needlework endeavors!

For each letter of each alphabet, there will be a post with a full sized pattern on it. I'll also include tips on how it might be hand embroidered. The individual letters are links to each full-sized monogram.

Flowered Monograms from La Broderie Blanche, 1912



A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Celtic Knotwork Monograms
This set, from Journal des Demoiselles, features a specked area inside the curves of loose knotwork.



A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Fan Flowers
This set is also from Journal des Demoiselles, from the 1880's.



A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Keep an eye out for future updates to the alphabet and additions of new alphabets.

Please note that all images here, to the best of my knowledge, are out of copyright. They come from old publications of magazines or needlework flyers that I'm trying to collect, most from the late 1800's and early 1900's. If you wish to add the images to your own website, I ask that you please note Needle 'n Thread as the source, with a link. Thanks!

I'm always happy to hear about sources for these old publications, so if you know of any sources or have any that you are interested in selling, please contact me.

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 26, 2008
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I'm doing some clean-up work on posting mistakes, so here is really the Letter C - but I will repost the letter G in its own spot. If you added the monogram for the G to your favorites, you'll want to visit the list of monograms and go to the "real" G! Thanks for understanding!

I'm sure I'm stating the obvious when I tell you that monograms don't have to be white, and they don't have to be embroidered in satin stitch! If satin stitch intimidates you, try other stitches! For example, a simple stitch combination is the whipped backstitch as an edge, and seed stitch as a filler. Although I've shown it before, here's a leaf worked in that combination:



These are two very easy stitches, and the nice thing is that the whipped backstitch can be a very precise stitch, so it takes curves and points very well.

But for some of you, it may not be Intimidation by Satin Stitch that inhibits you from embroidering monograms. It may be that the satin stitch just doesn't thrill you.

If this is the case, you have GOT to check out Paule's website, where you will see a gorgeous variety of stitches used on monograms, in beautiful shades of roses and reds. They are stunning, and so perfectly stitched. Look, for example, at the "B" and "T" worked in feather stitch, or the outlined "O." Aren't they pretty? If you take the opportunity to browse through the images of Paule's sampler, I think you'll find some very inspiring ideas for working monograms!

So it's pretty feasible to embroider a monogram and completely avoid the satin stitch altogether. If nothing else, you could have fun experimenting with all kinds of stitch combinations!

Here's the "C," then:



Once the clean up work is done on the "M," I'll post it - and the "S" seems to be a popular request, too. If you haven't seen it yet, you can find the "A" here.

I'm also going to make up a monogram index page to make finding them a lot easier! I'll list that under my index of hand embroidery patterns, which probably needs the same kind of attention I gave my gallery last week!

Enjoy!

For more monogram patterns, please visit my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery.

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms, needlework pictures, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 26, 2008
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Since we're on the subject of hand embroidered monongrams (are you sick of it yet?!), I thought I'd share with you an alphabet! Unfortunately, it has to come in bits and pieces, since it requires a lot of clean-up work!

Here's the first letter! This is taken from an old publication (1912) called La Broderie Blanche, an old French magazine that sported lots of embroidery patterns. The image is not as clean as I would like, but it does suffice for a pattern!

You can enlarge the monogram or reduce it either on your computer or on a photocopier. An easy way to transfer the monogram onto white fabric is to use a sunny window. Tape the monogram onto a sunny window, tape your fabric over it, and trace it. If you have a light box, it may save your arm a bit!

You can also trace the monogram onto good tracing paper (use red ink), then turn the paper over and trace over the design with either a regular #2 pencil or with a white dressmaker's pencil (if you're transfering onto darker fabric). Place the monogram red-ink side up on your fabric where you want it, and use a ball point pen (don't break through the paper!) and trace back over the monogram. This should transfer your design clearly enough to see it, and then you can go back and touch up if needed.

Anyway, here's the A. I'll post the rest of the alphabet as I get it cleaned up.



Ain't it perty? I love this alphabet! I like it a lot better than the one I used on my guest towel project; it just lacks the convenience of an iron-on.

As far as embroidering, and what stitches to use, it really depends on your project. If you're doing something large, like a pillow case or sheets, or something medium-sized like a guest towel, you could outline the letter and fill in with tiny seed stitches, then satin stitch the flower petals and leaves, which would give a nice, light effect, and good contrast in texture and so forth. If you're doing something small, like a hanky, I'd probably go with overcast (barely padded, if at all) satin stitch. For hankies, the monogram needs to be pretty small, so in reducing this, I think you'd get to the point where you wouldn't have double lines on some parts of the letter. I think overcasting would work well in areas like that.

If anyone's positively antsy for a specific letter, let me know! I'll skip ahead.

For more monogram patterns, please visit my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery.

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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The hand-embroidered monogram I've been working up on a guest towel is finally finished! The whole point of this "little" project was to work it up as a class sample, so I tracked the statistics on it so I would know how to gauge our class time and our supplies. So here's the finished product, with the final statistics on how long it took to embroidery the piece, how much thread, etc.

Time-wise, it took me about 8 hours and 15 minutes to embroider the monogram. A little bit of that time was taken up in removing stitches (I started with the wrong sized thread, for example, and at another point, I didn't like the shape of some of the petals on the ornamentation, so I took those out, too). The majority of the time was just regular stitching, though. I didn't rush, really, and, looking back on the project now, I think I could've sped it up a bit if there had been any real pressure to get it done faster.



After I finished the embroidery, I filled a glass bowl with cool water and rinsed the piece. I let it soak about 10 minutes, and then smoothed it onto a towel to dry.

Before it was completely dry (still a little damp), I ironed it, wrong side up, on several layers of flannel covered with a pillow case. It's important, especially with any raised embroidery like this, to place the piece on something well-padded when you iron, in order to avoid crushing the stitches.

Now, keep in mind that, as a guest towel, it is reasonable that this thing will have to be washed. So I didn't treat it with any kind of ginger care or anything. I treated it like a household linen that would go through a regular washing and ironing process! The only exception is padding the surface of the ironing board really well, and ironing on the wrong side of the work.

After it was all ironed and ready to show off, I took it outside to photograph it, since the light was pretty good!



And there's the completed piece. I do like the natural colored linen. I was thinking I might touch up that drawn thread edge with white stitching, just to set it off, but perhaps not. It might look too "accented," if you know what I mean! What do you think?



And here's a close up.

Overall, I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It's always a good thing to work through a project that you're going to be teaching, so that you can know what points will need careful instruction and so forth. So I'm glad I managed to work up the whole sample. It isn't perfect, which is good - so I know the pitfalls when I teach the monogram!

By the way, I used about 35 strands of #20 coton a broder, and the strands were about 14" long, so about 13.6 yards of thread (I think that's about half a skein, maybe...)

Now, I'm off to prepare for my Monday morning class, which is the youngest group of children. I spent days and days last week (it seemed like years and years) tracing designs on towels, ironing, separating threads, and on and on. And here it is, Monday morning, and guess what? I'm not ready! Aaaack!

I'll be showing you some other samples and classwork along the way. Hope you enjoyed the monogram!

You can follow this project step by step with the following links:

Part I - Setting up, transferring design, discussion of supplies, and beginning the stitching.

Part II - Continuing the stitching, discussion on working padded satin stitch, stitches used, and some trouble-shooting.

Part III - Discussing taking the curves with satin stitch: how to work around the tight curves in a monogram, stitch direction, and so forth.

Labels: linen, monograms, needlework pictures, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 23, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 21, 2008
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Continuing on the the embroidered monogram on a linen guest towel, today I want to show you how to manuever around curves with padded satin stitch. If you haven't read the articles yet on the guest towel, you might want to check out the first article on setting up the guest towel and the second article with an update on the stitching.

These are photos of the curves on the "B" monogram. Satin stitch takes curves - even tight curves - well, if you keep in mind the concept of "fanning" your stitches. I want to show you two things in this post: 1. the pictures without any markings, so you can see the stitches; and 2. the pictures of the embroidery with lines showing the change in direction on the stitching.



Here's the curly-que tail on the back of the "B."



Here's the base of the back of the "B."



Here's the tight loop on the inside of the front of the "B."



And the inside of the front of the "B," from a different angle.



And this is the curl at the top of the front of the "B."

The curly-que on the back tail of the "B" and the inside loop on the front of the "B" are the tightest curves. The principles are the same, whether you're working on a tight curve or a gradual curve, so we're going to look at the tight curves, since they are usually the more difficult to work around!



When you're working around a curve - whether tight or gradual - your stitch direction changes. You want to ease your way around the curve, but in tight spots, that easing has to be done a little more dramatically!

So as you work around a curve, you fan your stitches. The stitches on the inside of the curve need to be a lot closer than the stitches on the outside. But the trick is to not overlap the stitches, no matter how close they are on the inside; otherwise you'll lose the smooth effect of the satin stitching.



This photo shows a bit better the dramatic change in direction. The outside of the curve (especially when working a padded satin stitch, as the padding helps hide the fabric underneath) can even be spaced a bit further apart than normal, in order to compensate as you work around the tighter curve. However, if you aren't padding your stitches, you'll want to make sure there is complete coverage of the ground fabric.

The trick to making tight loops look good is keeping your stitches as close as possible on the inside of the loop, without allowing them to overlap, and spacing them "just far enough apart" on the outside to allow them to fan properly and to get your stitches going in the direction you want them to go!

Satin stitching on a curve is not hard - it just takes practice. One thing that might help is trying your stitches from different directions. Try coming up on the inside and going down on the outside of the loop. If this doesn't work well for you, turn it around - go up on the outside and down on the inside. Stick with what works best for you. I bring my needle to the front of the fabric on the inside of the loop and take it down on the outside, because I think it's easier to see exactly the stitch direction.

Another helpful trick, if you're not padding your satin stitches, is to mark your stitch directions in pencil inside the lines. This will help guide you around the curve. If you are padding your satin stitches, you could use a contrasting color of thread - just regular sewing thread works! - and baste in some directional lines that can be pulled out when you're finished with the curve.

Ok, I'm going to finish this project today, so I'll post photos of the completed monogrammed towel, washed and pressed and ready for display as a class sample, soon!

If you're taking up a monogramming project, feel free to send me a photo! I'd love to see other people's work!

This project is in four articles, besides this article. You can find the other parts of the project through the following links:

Part I: setting up the project, transferring the design, discussion of threads

Part II: stitching, information on padded satin stitch and other stitches employed, some trouble shooting.

Part III: that's this article!

Part IV: The finished guest towel!

Labels: embroidery tips and tricks, linen, monograms, needlework pictures, needlework tutorials, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, June 20, 2008
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Previously, I mentioned that we're using iron-on patterns for my embroidery classes this summer. Actually, I'm beginning to re-think that! Ironing on a repeat pattern can be a bit of a hassle! Still, it worked, so I thought I'd show you how I did it.

The first embroidery project that I mentioned using an iron-on pattern was the monogrammed linen guest towel. Putting the pattern on the guest towel as a pretty simply endeavor - it was just one letter, after all.

But I wanted to iron on a repeat patter, to decorate the edge of a kitchen towel. So I contemplated how to line things up and get the pattern on the towel in such a way that the design - a straight line of flower-like motifs - began and ended with the same figure.



This is the pattern - it begins with the 8-pointed spoke, and ends with the four-petaled flower thing. If you transfer it once, then repeat it, your beginning motif and ending motif won't be the same... you could flip the pattern, but then you'll end up with two of the same figures in the middle. So that's something I had to take into consideration.

I knew that the design had to be centered, and that it had to be lined up with the base of the towel. To mark the center of the towel and the line along which to transfer the pattern, I thought about using a pencil. However, I didn't want to risk leaving a residue that might not disappear, especially considering that the heat from the iron might set the pencil marks. I also thought about a water-soluble pen, but this presented the same problem - you shouldn't iron over water-soluble ink, because it sets with the heat.

Soooooo. This is what I did.



First, I laid the towel out to measure it and to check how the repeat pattern would fit. I figured it would take two patterns, plus one of the single motifs. Then I measured up my towel and prepared to mark it.

Instead of using anything that leaves an actual mark on the fabric, I decided to use a little bone folding tool. These are tools that are usually sold in the paper crafts area of craft stores. They're used to score paper to make a folding line. Alternately, you can use a piece of sanded, smooth wood with a tip on it, or a burnisher used in other art forms, or probably even the back of a kitchen knife (not the serrated edge!).



I lined up the towel on a straight edge, then measured up a couple inches, where I wanted the top of my design to be. In measuring, I noticed that the fabric was not exactly cut on the grain. It's just slightly off. I was tempted to follow the grain of the fabric, but that would've made the design slightly crooked. So I measured from the base of the hemline on the towel and kept the line even.

I used a ruler as a guide, and drew the bone paper scoring tool firmly across the line which would mark the top of the design.



This left a definite crease in the fabric.



Then I measured the center point, and used the same tool to mark the center of the towel. Now I had my positioning marks in place, without using anything that actually marked the fabric.



After this, I took my pattern and carefully measured it, marking on the back side (the un-inked side) a quarter inch line. This is what I used to line up the design with the mark on the towel.



I pinned the iron-on transfer ink-side down onto the towel in the correct position.



Pinning the pattern is essential for ironing on a repeat embroidery design! If you eyeball it without pinning it, and you apply the iron, you risk not getting a transfer and having to re-apply the iron-on, which is virtually impossible.



Whenever I'm ironing anything for embroidery, I always use an old pillow case underneath the piece. The instructions recommend putting something over your ironing board cover, anyway, in case the ink bleeds through.

So I applied the iron to the back side of the pattern for about 10 seconds, as prescribed in the instructions in the iron-on transfer book. When you do this, it's important to place the iron directly on the transfer, apply firm pressure, and don't move the iron back and forth.

And this is what I got for the first transfer:



The picture is partly blurry (out of focus), but so is the design on the fabric. The ink, especially with the first transfer, seemed to fuzz out a bit - not actually bleed in an irreparable way, but just "spread" in a kind of fuzzy way. This may very well be the quality of the transfer. I did not notice anything like this on the monogram.

Anyway, after you've held the iron on for the prescribed amount of time, unpin one corner of your design and check the transfer. You want to make certain it transfers! And if you take the pattern off, and only part of the design transferred, you're pretty much sunk, as it's really hard - if not impossible - to place the design in the exact same spot. And if you don't, you end up with duplicate lines (like double vision!).



Now it's time to line up the next repeat. By the way, I suggest using pins with a steel head or a glass head, because it is likely the iron will have to rest on the pins.

With the second application of the transfer, you will need to hold the iron on a bit longer.



You can see that the transfer is not nearly as dark the second time. But I prefer it like this! It's visible enough to embroider over, but not dark enough (and the lines aren't wide enough) to worry about not being able to cover it up.



Still, part of the repeat didn't transfer, so I applied the iron for a few more seconds - and I ended up with a sort-of dark pattern in some areas.



Now there's the question of the "balance" of the design. I wanted the whole line to begin and end with the same figure, the 8-spoke little design. So I cut my transfer, and isolated that one figure. I measured the distance from the center of the flower to the center of the spoke design, and lined up the isolated piece.



And I ironed it and checked it - very pale on the third application, but that's ok! I like it that way. So I left it.

In some of the books I was using, they suggest placing aluminum foil under your fabric before ironing on a used transfer, to increase the strength of the pattern. I don't know if this technique works - I should try it! - and I don't know if it's applicable to just a certain type of iron-on pattern. If anyone's tried that, I'd love to hear about how it works!



So that's the extra motif...



And that's the center of the towel. You can definitely see the difference between the first transfer and the second!

The whole process was somewhat time consuming, but not that bad, actually. If I were doing a stack of towels, I'd do each step at the same time on all the towels, then move on to the next step. That might speed the process up!

If you have any input or advice on ironing on a pattern, or a repeat, do share!

Labels: embroidery tips and tricks, iron-on embroidery transfers, needlework tutorials, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 19, 2008
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Following up on my first article about hand embroidering a monogram on a linen guest towel, where you'll get details of supplies and technique, I thought I'd show you progress on the monogram and discuss the importance of precision in the outline.

After I finished the tip of the B, I continued backstitching the outline of the letter.



Now, this is the thing: when you're stitching your outline, it is best, on the long stretches, to work with relatively longer stitches, so that you get a smooth, flowing line. As you work into the curves, your outlining stitches can shorten up a bit, in order to take the curves well.

My stitches here could have been a little longer. The difficulty is that, with shorter stitches, you tend to focus more on the fabric than on the smooth flow of stitches. And when you're focusing closely on the fabric, you end up naturally wanting to stitck your needle into the holes corresponding with the threads in the fabric, rather than sticking faithfully to the sweep of the line. So the result can end up a bit bumpy.

In the long run, you'll be much happier if you take your time with the outlining steps - make sure that your lines are nice and smooth, because you'll be using them to hold the edge of your satin stitch. A messy satin stitch on a monogram is never desirable, so take good care while you're outling - it will save you frustration later!



When you look up close at the backstitching, you can see where the line jiggles in and out a bit. In the long run, the slight variation in the line didn't bother me too much, but I kept an eye out for it and compensated with my satin stitches.

The white little blob inside the lines of the letter (upper left of stitching) is where I ended my threads. Since that area is going to be covered anyway, I began my stitching by taking about three tiny little stitches into each other, inside the lines of the letter.



And here you see the back of the stitching so far.



When you see even more of the backstitching, you can see the jiggling of the line. Tsk tsk!



And, the back of that - a combination of stem stitch and split stitch show up on the back. These stitches on the back will be mostly covered up by the satin stitching, although often you'll get a little border of half-stitches along the satin stitch line on the back, because the stitches tend to be split as you pass your needle to the back.



The purpose of this photo is two-fold: 1. you can see the height on the embroidery; and 2. to show you again how I'm ending my threads - you can see the white marks inside the letter lines again. These are just little tiny stitches taken into each other; they serve to anchor the thread very well. As long as you're covering up the area with other stitches, this is a great way to begin or end your threads.



The outlining on the whole "B" is almost finished!



Ah, I like this! See the thread ring? Those are great for hitching up your whitework threads. Coton a broder, when left in the skein form, doesn't operate like regular stranded floss - it doesn't "pull" out of the skein. To make it easy to take a length of thread, I precut the skein in two pieces, to make about 14" - 15" lengths of thread, which I hitch up on a large thread ring. (This is a mother of pearl thread ring, large size, from Kelmscott Design). Then you can just pull your thread straight from the front cross over on the ring, without untying the bunch (the same way I did with the kids' threads and the craft foam mentioned yesterday).



And, the back of the "B."



With the complete outline finished, it's time to put the padding stitches in!



Here's a close-up on the padding stitching - long stitches filling in the centers of the letter lines.



And, finally, satin stitching over the padding, from the base of the B up. I also added some of the vine and flowers, so I could see what it would look like when finished. Notice that when you outline your satin stitch area and pad it, then satin stitch it, you end up with a slightly larger sized design. The little petals on that inside flower sure didn't look that big before they were stitched. Still, I like them.

So there's the progress on the monogram - what think you so far?? You'll hopefully see the grand finale on this one before the week's up! Holy cow! I better be finished by then!

This project was written up in four articles, including this one. You can view the progress on the whole project through the following links:

Part I - setting up, transferring design, discussion of materials, beginning stitching

Part II - (that's this one)

Part III - taking the curves with satin stitch - stitch direction and working around tight curves with satin stitch.

Part IV - the finished project!

Labels: embroidery tips and tricks, monograms, needlework pictures, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, June 18, 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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Well, it isn't embroidery, but it IS needlework! There are a lot of sites out there on knitting and crochet - but I came across this one that looks as if it's just starting out, and it promises some interesting stuff...

Hooked on Needles is a site dedicated to knitting and crochet. The name - which may conjure up images that aren't quite related to homey arts - implies that there's more to it than just crochet and knitting, though, as needles are used in --- well, seems obvious to say --- other kinds of needlework, too. And in scrolling through the site, I did see some samples of embroidery (on an Irish dancing dress) and a crocheted lace collar.

But what really hooked me (SORRY! I couldn't help it!) are the photo tutorials on the baby's crocheted hat (looks very simple - like I might even accomplish it!) and changing color in crochet.



Back in the day, for a needleworker to be considered "trained" (and I think the same holds true, actually, today in some professional courses!), they had to know the basics of more than just the kind of needlework they were passionate about. To be a well-rounded textile artist, being familiar with other elements of the textile world is a good thing.

I don't claim to be a "textile artist" - embroidery is my hobby - but I do like the idea of a well-rounded education. I bet that even the best painters who work in oil have at least an understanding of how water-colors work, don't you think?

So I started looking into polishing up my crocheting, with the end in mind of doing some tiny crocheted trim for an embroidered piece. And then I landed at this particular website and liked, especially, the hat tutorial and the one on changing colors. I started thinking that you could put the two tutorials together, and make a Really Cute and Colorful baby hat!

Don't get me wrong, though! I'm not going to yarn! My needle 'n thread will continue to be occupied (obsessed, even) with embroidery! But what do YOU think? Do you think it's useful for the embroiderer to be at least somewhat aware of other needlework techniques, such as knitting and crochet? Or do you think that, for embroiderers to become Really Good at what they do, they should focus solely on embroidery and not get distracted by other possible needlework interests? I'd love to hear your thoughts on that!

Labels: knitting and crochet, miscellaneous embroidery musings, needlework tutorials, yarn

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 16, 2008
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I mentioned in yesterday's post (the beginning of a monogrammed linen guest towel) that, to make my embroidery classes a little easier this summer, and to eliminate the time for transferring designs, I decided to go with iron-on transfers. I think there's a knack to ironing on a transfer - you'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I'm finding that it actually is.

As I started looking for suitable iron-on transfer books for the embroidery classes, I concentrated on monograms first. We're embroidering a selection of different household linens, and monograms always work great for any kind of linen in the home, I think. Even kitchen towels are suitable for a monogram! (Like this monogrammed kitchen towel my mom received for her wedding 51 years ago, hand embroidered by a friend - and it's still being used!)

I started searching, and I came up with several iron-on monogram books that I purchased, to add to a few books I already have.

First off, are two books by Leisure Arts, called Monograms & More, and Monograms & More, Book 2.



I like both books a lot - there's quite a variety of styles of monograms in both books.



If I were selecting one or the other, between the two books, I think I like Book 2 best. I took the "B" from the sample I'm working from an alphabet in Book 2. I'm glad I got the first one, though, too, because now I have a wide variety of alphabets.

I also picked up Repeats and Borders, by Dover Publications.



This is a great book, chockful of iron-on designs for borders, with corners and everything. They range from simple borders to much more complex ones, like the one pictured on the cover. There are "cutesy" little borders (animals, fish, etc.) and sophisticated, stylized borders.

I haven't tried ironing on a repeat pattern yet. That seems like a complex undertaking, if you want to get it just right. Most of the items we're working, though, don't require a long border. I'm thinking more in terms of small designs in corners.

Finally, I also picked up this Fun and Funky Embroidery Designs, also published by Leisure Arts. The designs are just that - fun, and a little funky in some parts. There are a few alphabets included as well.



Besides the above books, I also have in my own stash several of the Mains et Merveilles magazines, which are French publications full of iron-on transfers of neat designs. Hedgehog Handworks used to carry a larger selection of these, but I notice they are down to offering just one issue now. They are beautiful and excellent magazines, if you can get your hands on them. In fact, that's a magazine I'd love to subscribe to, but my limited French can't assist me in finding out how to do so! I can't seem to find out if they are still being published - anyone know??

And finally, I've got another tiny little French-published book of iron-on monograms that are small, perfect for hankies.

So that's basically what we're using for patterns for this summer's classes, with the exception of a few projects which are hand drawn, and a few embroidered greeting cards (also hand-drawn).

If you're looking for iron-on transfers for your own monogrammed or decorated stuff, you might want to check out the books available from Leisure Arts. They're fun and pretty, and economical (well, they'll save you a lot of time, anyway!).

Back to playing catch-up with my needle 'n thread!

Labels: book review, embroidery books, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 15, 2008
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Here's a sample I'm working up for my adult embroidery class, which is also looming - it starts a week from Tuesday, and I have two more samples to work up for it. At the same time, I am setting up a Big Project that needs to be finished before the end of July! So things are hopping here!

This is an embroidered guest towel. It's an oatmeal-colored linen-cotton blend with a drawn thread edge, from All About Blanks. You'll notice the note on the page there - to pre-wash before embroidering. These do shrink quite a bit, but I still like them, and I like them smaller!

I wanted an oatmeal colored towel to monogram in white for two reasons: I love the look of the white on natural-colored linens (I think it's pretty!), and I think, when it's the first time monogramming something, it's easier to work on a color with white than to work white-on-white. The fabric has been really easy to stitch on, but it's not crisp like a 100% linen fabric would be. It's soft, and it does have a bit of a fuzz to it - I like it a lot, and I think one of the reasons is the softness and the fuzz and the ease of stitching on it (or is that three reasons?).

I started by ironing the towel after laundering it and drying it. I folded the towel in half, long ways, to mark the center.



Then I unfolded it, but I noticed that the crease would probably cause difficulties placing the monogram!



I like the wide drawn thread hemstitching there, don't you? Anyway, I pressed the crease out lightly - just enough to still see where it was!



For the first time ever, I am using iron-on transfers. I don't think I've ever actually used one myself, though I've seen lots of people use them and I know lots of people like them. I figured it would be a huge time-saver for me, to have a good selection of iron-on transfers on hand, instead of our having to hand-transfer all the designs, which takes up a whole class period in itself!

So I centered the initial - I'm using a "B" - and followed the pressing directions.



And that's what I got. It's there, more or less - there's some kind of streaky thing going on there, but that's ok. That's the fastest I've ever put a design on a peice of fabric. I was elated!



But I found the blank streaks a bit distressing.



So I took a fine-tipped Micron art pen and drew in the missing lines. No big deal!



I hooped it up. I use Hardwick Manor hoops, made in Germany. They're an excellent embroidery hoop - very firm, very stable-feeling, and the hardware on them is solid brass and very sturdy, so you can use a screw driver and really tighten the hoop. They hold fabric quite well, and even better if you bind the inside ring, which I didn't on this hoop!

I hooped right over the drawn thread hemstitching - the towel is sturdy, and I'm not worried about damaging it. I don't keep my work on the hoop when I'm finished stitching for the day (always take your work off the hoop when you're finished for the day!), so I am pretty confident that this will be just fine!

It's nice to work on a hoop for a change. I usually have my work set up on a frame (stretcher bars, generally), which I clamp in my floor stand (I have the greatest floor stand ever!). But now and then, I think it's really nice to be able to sit on the couch or even at the table visiting, without dragging out my floor stand or a larger frame.



So, the fabric ready, it's time to pick out threads. Ahhh. I love Lacis (Incidentally, they now have free shipping). Here's my box of coton a broder and white floche. I have several skeins of each size, from 16 up to 40.



I originally thought that size 40 would be the way to go. So I began stitching with it, but it really got lost in the towel fabric. I wanted something that would sit up on the fabric!



Soooo... I split it in half, and tried size 20 instead, which I found to be just right. I want the monogram to sit up off the fabric, and there are a couple ways you can achieve this with monograming. One is to use a technique called trailing, where you satin stitch over bunched string. Whenever you need to narrow your design, you sink one or more of the strings in your bunch to the back of your fabric. But trailing is a technique you have to get a feel for - you want to sink your threads so that the change in size is gradual and smooth.

Since this is for more or less a beginner's class, and since the design itself doesn't really come to a tip anywhere (trailing is great for lettering that comes to a tip), I'm sticking with outlining, padding, and then satin stitching.

For the outline, I'm using backstitch. You can also use split stitch to outline under satin stitch. It doesn't really matter which one you use, except I kind of think split stitch might create a smoother line. In any case, I used backstitch.



After backstitching the outline, a worked the padding in long straight stitches, occasionally splitting them to fit a thread in, working down the length of the letter. My satin stitching will be worked on top of this, perpendicular to the padding.



Wow! All those pictures, just to show you an inch of real work! So there's the beginning of the "B."

Quick overview:

Ground fabric: Oatmean colored linen / cotton blend guest towel from All About Blanks.
Thread: DMC Coton a Broder #20, cut in 14" lengths
Needle size: #8 crewel
Stitch: Padded Satin
Stitching Time to this Point: 30 minutes
Thread: 3 14" inch lengths

So that's the beginning of my monogrammed guest towel sample. I'll show you an update soon!

By the way, any good recommendations for iron-on transfer books? I've found a few I really like, but I'd love to hear of others!

This project was written up in four separate articles. If you'd like to view the progress of the project, please follow the links below:

Part I - (That's this article!)

Part II - Continuing stitching, discussion of stitches, some trouble-shooting

Part III - Taking the Curves with Satin Stitch - discussion of stitch direction and working around curves using the padded satin stitch

Part IV - the finished guest towel!

Labels: Embroidery for the Home, Embroidery Projects, gift ideas, linen, monograms, needlework pictures, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 14, 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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This past weekend, I had a million things to do, and that awful sensation of not knowing where to start. I couldn't start my next Big Embroidery Project, because I didn't have one Big chunk of time to get things set up. So I took up a little embroidery project instead - a small silk ribbon embroidery kit that finishes as a little keepsake box.

This is a Bucilla ribbon embroidery kit. A friend gave me a slew of these kits (well, three or four), in case I wanted to use them for my summer embroidery classes. They actually do make great prizes - I gave one as a prize last year. But I thought, for the fun of it, I'd work one up to see how thorough Bucilla kits are.

Bucilla is a well-known name in needlework kits, simply because they're everywhere. You can find them at any local hobby or craft store. But I don't know much about their actual quality, as I've never used one of their kits. So this was an adventure (in a low-key kind of way!), and it was something to do late at night, without having to dig out a big project.

This is the finished product - a fairly sturdy keepsake box, topped by a little silk ribbon embroidery design.



The pros of the kit:

1. I like the idea of the box. It's pretty, it's sturdy, it has a magnetic closure, and it's useful.

2. The stitches are super-duper simple stitches, accessible to any beginner, and the stitch diagrams in the instructions are clear.

3. The project is small enough to be completed in one evening.

4. The overall finished product is attractive.

5. The kits are relatively inexpensive. In fact, for me, they were free (thanks, Amy!). They were bought on clearance, which is always a good way to pick up little projects inexpensively.

The cons of the kit:

1. The fabric is too small, and it's kind of cheapy fabric. If it is supposed to be hooped up, as directed, the beginner might wonder how to accomplish that. You'd have to sew extra fabric around it if you wanted it to fit in a hoop, unless you had a three inch hoop. A four inch hoop is too big, even. I worked it in hand, which isn't so easy with ribbon embroidery, French knots, and so forth.

2. The print of the design was a little off center. This is noticeable when the piece is finished and mounted on the box.

3. There wasn't enough light purple ribbon, but there was enough dark purple, so I just substituted that.

4. They used simple stitches, I guess with the beginner in mind. But there are ribbon stitches that are equally simple that would have been more attractive for some of the flowers. The bunches on each side of the spider web (pale yellow) rose are ok, but not that attractive. But I will grant that they are simple - they are cross stitches with a French knot in the middle.

5. For the spider web rose, they specified the light yellow ribbon, with the spokes worked in the same color floss. Strangely enough, there was only dark green and dark purple floss. No pale yellow in the kit. I could have used the dark green - and probably should have - but instead, I used the ribbon for the spokes.

6. Mounting problems: they supply on the box two borders of double-sided sticky tape (already on the box - you just remove the top strip). The inside border is where you mount the fabric, and after you've stretched it and mounted it on this sticky tape, you are supposed to trim the fabric straight along the edge of the tape. This would be done easily with a ruler and a rotary cutter (carefully - you don't want to slice the box through). But they didn't specifiy that. I started with scissors, but it was a messy job. Then, the outside mounting strip is for the window covering of the top of the box. It doesn't work. The top would not stay stuck, even when I piled some heavy books on top of the box to press it down. So I resorted to Elmer's glue, and glued it on. For good measure, I also glued the edges of the fabric. Then I wiped any excess off with a damp towel, and I piled books on top of the box overnight for it to dry. That worked.

7. Finally, you can see the pattern of the box behind the fabric when it's mounted. If you're expected to put a lining behind that, they should specify!



That's the inside of the box.

Despite the longer list of cons, I think it was a good Quick Project. I'm happy to have the box and the other kits, which I'll work up over a couple evenings. They'll make great prizes for the kids' classes!

Labels: beginner embroidery, Embroidery Projects, needlework pictures, pictures, ribbon embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, June 12, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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I do love digging through old pieces of linen that I've got here and there in boxes or drawers. I think this piece is particularly pretty, but it needs some serious clean up work. It's a nice center piece for a table, or, on a small round table, could cover it completely.

I'll be testing a new cleaner on this piece - I purchased a product called Restoration, which is supposed to restore vintage linens (or new ones, too, I guess) that are beset with stains, age discoloration, fold lines, etc. I can't wait to give it a try! If you've every seen the website, Cynthia's Linen Room, you'll find she recommends it highly in her tips on laundering antique linens.

In any case, on this piece, you'll see some nice, simple whitework and a very well done crocheted lace edge on a round linen accent piece.



This is the whole piece. It is stained from age and has definite fold lines on it. The embroidery on it is not super fancy, but I think it's ok. By far the prettiest part of the piece, in my mind, is the crocheted edge.



I like the pattern - the way it criss-crosses, and the little picots on the edge of the scallops.



Here's a close up on some of the embroidery. There's a scallop design that circles the piece, and then two repeated motifs that alternate with each other around the piece.



This motif cuts in three times around the piece, into the center. It's kind of a strange pattern - a sort of little off-set scalloped cut into the center, with those two half-moon things and some vines. I love the use of the seeding in the background.



Here's another close-up on the crochet. I have no idea what the little string is that runs through the crocheted squares. It runs about half-way around the whole piece. Any idea?

If you have any vintage linens or stained linens, how do you clean them? I'd be interested to hear. I'll let you know how the Restoration stuff works - I have high hopes for it!

Labels: linen, needlework care, needlework pictures, pictures, vintage embroidery, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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How many craft magazines are on the market, do you think? How many needlework magazines? I suppose there are lots, but I'm not a big subscriber to magazines (except Inspirations - I can't get enough of that publication!) But even if you aren't a subscriber to craft or needlework magazines, they can still come in handy. I'll show you what I mean...

Take, for example, Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine. They have a website, and if you visit it, you'll notice something:



Freebies! Now, doesn't that just make your heart flutter?? It's needlework stuff, and it's free!

On this particular website, you'll find good information - various tips and tricks for the hand embroiderer. For example, they have an very nice selection of PDF articles in their archives. Three that I find most interesting are: Introduction to Hardanger, an excellent article on hemstitching, and a great idea for organization - notebook pages for keeping track of your stitches, your embroidery threads, and your embroidery projects.

Besides the PDF articles with pictures and so forth, you'll also find a good section of tips, with information on things like how to strip your floss, how to calculate design fabric counts, and why it's sometimes good to use a larger needle.

So even if you don't generally subscribe to magazines, it's always a good idea to check out websites of craft and needlework magazines - you never know what little treasures you'll find... for free!

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources, embroidery tips and tricks

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 09, 2008
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Today, I suppose I shall go a little off-topic, as this item is not really related to hand embroidery. In fact, there's not an embroidery stitch on it! But fabric and embellishment with fabric fall into the same realm as hand embroidery - somehow - so I thought I'd stretch the niche a bit and show you some photos of a little treasure I came across as I was going through my mom's things this weekend. It's a menu. Really, it's a food menu.

Umpteen years ago, my Mom went to Hong Kong to see my Dad, and while they were there, they went to Gaddi's Restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel, where the menus were embellished with a fabric applique of a Chinese lady. I thought I'd show it to you for two reasons: 1. it's fabric applique; and 2. I think it's pretty!



The cover of the menu is very simple, in fact. The lady stands in the middle, adorned in her silk native-looking costume, and holding a menu. A really large turquoise tassel dangles down the left side, and a little bit of script indicates the name of the restaurant and its location.



I suppose the face is probably silk screened, but I don't know for sure, so I stand to be corrected by anyone who might know! The silver embellishment on the lapel and the gold in the hair look like some kind of foil.



The fabric of the costume is shot through with silver in a floral design, and a red cord hangs down the lady's side, arranged carefully and pinned neatly with another gold foil ornament.



Simple red script names the restaurant and location.



The inside is not quite as pretty as the outside!

I think this lovely little figure would be fun to copy, either as an embroidery pattern or as an applique. It'd probably be neat to fix it in another setting, too, combined with stitches and other embellishment.

But I don't really have the heart to take the menu apart!

Labels: embellishments, miscellaneous embroidery musings, personal, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 08, 2008
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This month's embroidery stash give-away is a bit special, since yesterday marked the two-year birthday of Needle'nThread! Here's hoping it's not the beginning of the "terrible twos"! I'll send out two packages this month with some nice embroidery threads and accessories inside.

In fact, this if the first time it sort of "hurt" to do the embroidery stash give-away! It's awful of me to admit that, isn't it? I wanted to include something special, so I decided to include a Kelmscott Needle Minder in each one. I have three of these - they're brand new, and I've been itching for them for a long time! I almost thought, "Nooooooo, I'll keep them for me," but then I thought, "Noooooo. I won't!" I'll keep one, and give the other two away. These are handy little items for the embroiderer.



You place the needle minder on the top of your fabric, and put the connecting magnet on the back of your fabric. The magnet holds your needle on top of the decorative piece. Usually, I like to have something to stick my needle on when I've finished stitching with a color, but am not ready to end the thread. I bring it to the front of my fabric and stick the needle somewhere convenient, until I need to use that thread again.



Each package will contain a bunch of embroidery goodies! 6 types of thread, a packet of beads, a nice charm for embellishment, and the needle minder.



It also contains two mother-of-pearl thread rings, which you can see on the green Vineyard Silk thread and the two colors of purple floche.



To mention the fibers in particular, in one package, there's a metallic floss, a twist of "Dragon" thread, which is an over-dyed cotton, a silk floss (in this package, a dark green Gloriana silk), some lengths of Vineyard Silk (kind of a wool-like thread, but it's made of silk and has a beautiful sheen), and two shades of purple cotton floche.



The second package is exactly the same, but with a different shade of Dragon thread and instead of Gloriana silk, there's a skein of dark green silk from Needlepoint, Inc.



In one package, there's also a little enameled silver filigree heart charm and a package of green Mill Hill glass beads.



In the other package, the charm is a very pretty iris, along with a package of frosty purple Mill Hill glass beads.

So there's what I'm giving away, to celebrate my website's birthday!! Calculating it all up, I think it's safe to say there's over $30 worth of merchandise in each package! Wow. Well, they were fun to put together!

BUT - to get one - you have to do something!

The way it works is this: I'll pose two questions below, and you post your answers in the comment section below this article. Next week, I'll draw from the names of those who post comments, announce the winners who will then contact me with a mailing address. I'll ship anywhere in the world, via least expensive air mail, but am not responsible for any customs fees, lost mail, or anything like that. I'll post the winners on Wednesday, June 11th, so you have until Tuesday night to comment.

Here are the questions:

1. What is your favorite feature of Needle 'n Thread?
2. What would you like to see more of on Needle 'n Thread?

I'm sure your answers will help me improve the website, so don't be shy!

Enjoy the weekend!

Labels: pictures, stash contest

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 07, 2008
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, June 06, 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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Coton a broder is a 4-ply, non-divisible embroidery floss that comes in different sizes, all the way up to #40. The higher the number, the finer the thread. It is usually sold in white, although in the lower numbers, it can be found in colors. In higher numbers, it usually comes in white, and occasionally in ecru.

This thread is my favorite thread for whitework, and it's excellent for monogramming. This summer, with my adult embroidery class, we'll be working some simple monogram designs on guest towels. But we won't really call it whitework, because the towels are natural, oatmeal-colored linen. Have you ever seen a "natural" colored linen embroidered with white? It's quite stunning!

I got the idea from Country Bumpkin, to tell you the truth! The first source of inspiration was their book, Monograms, by Susan O'Connor. I fell in love with the cover of this book, which prompted me to buy it. Although we aren't supposed to judge books by their cover, I did judge this one right - it's a wealth of information and good techniques for hand embroidering monograms.



Then there was a project called "A Fine Tradition" (also by Susan O'Connor) in Inspirations issue #55. While our monograms will not be quite of this caliber, my plan is a simple, tasteful design like this one, which bespeaks such elegance in my mind!

So I've got the supply of natural linen towels all washed and ready to go, which is only the minutest step towards preparing for this class. Next, I've got to get the designs ready, and pick out an alphabet.

But before I do that, I just realized that I am chock out of coton a broder, and so I've placed various orders.

Here are some resources if you're looking for this thread, which I think is really indispensible for anyone who likes whitework.

The first source is Lacis. Check under "materials" in their online catalog, under cotton cords and threads. Coton a broder in sizes 16, 20, 25, and 30 are all $1.50 a skein (anywhere from 23 - 40 meters per skein). #40 (which I believe is supplied by Anchor) is $4.00 / skein.

You can also find coton a broder #40 (Anchor) from Wendy Schoen Designs, for $4.00 / skein. If you have other goods to purchase from her, it might be worth your while to check out her shop. For example, she sells floche (similar to coton a broder, but 5-ply instead of 4). She even sells it in very nice sample packs!

So if you've got any monogramming on your list for summer embroidery projects, now you have some resources for just the right threads. Incidentally, I'm working on a personal project (a gift) right now as well, and it will be white-on-white. I've got a deadline on this one, so it's a darned good thing I realized I needed thread! Phew!

That's what I'm up to, then. Not too exciting! But at least each day I get a little closer to having my classes solidified and everything ready to go. Then, we can have some real fun! I'll definitely share pictures with you along the way!

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, June 03, 2008
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Another day for embroidered household goods - this one is a tea cloth, featuring strawberries. It reminds me of summer!

Margaret sent along the photos of this pretty little tea cloth made from a Fleur de Lis kit, featuring Anchor threads. The strawberries are just gorgeous!



Margaret shared the following information about the kit:

• Size: approximately 32" x 32"


• Brand: Anchor/Fleur de Lis (European) - I bought it from a UK site.


• Floss: Anchor (I really like Anchor floss)


• Availability: It's still out there


• Problems with the kit: not enough floss. I am a very thrifty stitcher so if I run out, then there wasn't enough thread in the kit. I expected to run out of yellow because I changed the kit, but I ran out of some of the reds and greens as well.

Here's a close up on the motif:



And here's a little more information from Margaret on stitching the piece:

Stitching: I stitched with two threads except for the bees which I did with single strands. If I remember correctly, I think the kit called for 3 strands. I followed the kit except that I changed the seeds on the strawberries. Where you see light yellow (as opposed to gold) the instructions said to use white. I thought the white was too stark.

One thing that was a challenge was the stitching direction on the three leaves in the middle. (They are satin stitched with a stem stitch edge, not buttonholed.) Normally, I would have followed the angles of the leaves with longer stitches. Since this was not going to be a framed piece I needed to keep my satin stitches shorter and sacrificed the direction. I couldn't have really long stitches on a tablecloth as they would be floppy.

I love the Fleur de Lis tea cloth kits - I've got one in progress as well, but haven't gotten back to it in ages. You can find them at various online shops in the UK, and you can view the range of Fleur de Lis kits on the Anchor / Coats website.

I found one source here in the US for the kits - Arts Crafts USA - but I've never ordered from them. It makes me a bit nervous that they list the Fleur de Lis kits as "stamped cross stitch," when they aren't cross stitch at all! But it may be worth trying them out, to avoid shipping costs and currency exchange rates from the UK! Incidentally, this Spring Flower kit is the one I have.

Well, Marlena's tablecloth I posted yesterday and Margaret's strawberry tea cloth have inspired me to dig out mine as well to see just where I left off on that!

Thanks, Margaret, for the photos and the information!

Labels: needlework pictures, pictures, readers embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 01, 2008
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A few readers have recently sent me some photos of their own embroidery work, and coincidentally, they're all table linens of some sort! Hand embroidery has been used to embellish items for the home for ages, and I love to see that it's still done for that purpose. Marlena sent along photos of two table cloths she's done - one is complete and the other is in the works.

The first embroidered table cloth Marlena completed, she framed! Because she has little kids, she figured it was a good way to preserve it from paint and dirt.



I love the colorful ring of flowers, don't you? Daffodils have always been a favorite of mine!



Here's the piece framed up. I would have never thought of framing a tablecloth to preserve it - it's a good idea, since she still plans to use it in the future. In the meantime, she doesn't have to pack it away in a box and can still enjoy it.



Here's the second flowered tablecloth. I love the shades of blue! I meant to ask what type of floss she's using (sorry!) and how many strands, so Marlena, if you read this, do let us know!



Here's a close-up on the embroidered flower. Very nice!



And the work progressing in the hoop!

I was really happy to receive these! Thank you for sending the pictures, Marlena!

One of the reasons I find it delightful to see embroidered table linens right now is because I am STILL in the throes of preparing my summer classes. I hope to take a few days off work before they start, so that I can devote some concentrated effort to patterns and stitch directions. We'll be working on some household linens, too - the kiddos are doing kitchen towels at one point, and the adults have some monogrammed guest towels on their list.

The way things are turning out, I may end up with a theme of posts this week on embroidered household linens! Margaret sent along a tablecloth embroidered with strawberries, which I'll have up for you to admire, too.

Thank you again, Marlena! Congratulations on your very fine work!

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

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 01, 2008
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