I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more
Over 75 Embroidery Stitch Videos to Help You Learn
Embroidery Tips & Techniques
A Collection of Instructional Articles
Mary Corbet
writer and founder
I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more
…and since it’s Wednesday (which doesn’t have that much to do with anything)…
…and since many of us are enjoying our forced hiatus by indulging in extra time to embroider…
…it seems to me like a great day to share a wee, simple, and free hand embroidery design that’s perfect for Spring!
Now, this particular design, which consists of the same little tulip repeated across a horizontal line and a vertical line, can be broken down and rearranged however you want! I’ll share some stitching ideas below.
Why, hello and a happy Monday to you! I hope you survived the weekend and got a heap of stitching done!
I managed a little bit of stitching and a lotta-bit of planning this past weekend. Things like measuring. Preparing to shift furniture. Getting ready to install shelving. It was all just way too exciting for words.
Remember my floral heart project that goes with the voided monogram set I’ve been working on? It’s that colorful, cheerful, fun thing I wrote about a couple weeks ago?
Well, the finish work on that provides a pretty good teaching moment – a good lesson for all of us. The lesson centers around an adage that you may have heard if you sew a lot, but it applies to embroiderers as well:
Measure twice (for me it should be “measure twice x 10”); cut once.
For many embroiderers, needleworkers, crafters, and hobbyists of all ilk, tools and accessories are a part of our lives. The right tools and accessories not only make it easier, more efficient, or simply more pleasant to master a skill, but if they go beyond functional to attractive, they also add a real aesthetic pleasure to our leisure time.
Recently, I received a really pretty (and functional) little pin keep, and I want to show that to you today, tell you what a pin keep is and how it can be serviceable, and then talk a bit about the needlework industry and share some ideas as things get a bit sticky in our current situation.
Good morning, my friends! I hope today’s article – and the needlework give-away that goes along with it – finds you well!
One thing I’ve noticed through your emails and conversations through different Needle ‘n Thread social media channels is that many of us who have needlework projects to fall back on are not too sad about being isolated or “sheltering in place” at the moment. Our creative outlets are going a long way to bring us some peace of soul. And that’s a good thing!
On the positive side, this is a good time to pursue creativity, to take advantage of down time to learn a new skill, to spend time completing works in progress, and even to organize! I’ve heard from folks who are finding a new lease on their creative lives, thanks to the time they’ve had to sort through their craft supplies and to otherwise organize their homes. Every cloud has a silver lining!
For those of you wanting to learn a new skill in the comfort of your home and at your own pace, I thought I’d point out Tanja Berlin’s new online class. It’s a needlepainting class that focuses on creating a miniature landscape, in which you’ll learn the skills of needlepainting and of bringing a landscape to life with needle and thread. I’m also going to give away two spots in the class and the kits to go with them! Yay!
With what I hope is good timing for you, I’ve added a new set of ready-to-stitch towels (called Spring Variety) to the shop here on Needle ‘n Thread, to go along with a new supply of Floral Corners towels, too.
Many of us are a little isolated right now, and we might be feeling a bit anxious. I know I am!
In these circumstances, I think stitching – and really, any hobby or craft – is therapeutic. It calms the nerves and provides a creative escape from present worries. It gives us something to concentrate on, so that we can avoid hyper-focusing on things that we have little control over. It helps us maintain an inner peace.
With all of this in mind, I put together this springy, cheerful, ready-to-stitch towel set. It’s ok, after all, to still find joy in the good things that we can do!
Recently, I showed you the finish on this embroidered model for a new collection of designs and instructions I’m putting together.
Lots of folks commented on the back of the finished needlebook.
Today, I’ll show you the back of the cheerful heart I shared with you on Friday – just to illustrate that, when you’re finishing small embroidery projects, you don’t necessarily need to find a coordinating fabric to finish the back of an embroidered piece. You can make your own!
