Good morning and welcome to another Wednesday at Needle ‘n Thread…. where we are in full production mode on the new kits that are coming out for the next Stitch Snippet stitch-along: a Cornflower Scissor Envelope!
Very simple in concept, embroidered with lovely cornflowers, this little scissor envelope will encase your favorite scissors in colorful style!
Read on, and I’ll tell you what you can expect from this stitch-along, from the kit for those who want it, and with the timing of the whole project as it unfolds here on Needle ‘n Thread.
Stitch-Along Kits
The Cornflower Scissor Envelope stitch-along kits will launch next Monday, June 3rd, and 10:00 am Central Time (Kansas) here in my shop. I’ll post a reminder on Monday morning, once they are available.
Due to a lack of space, we can’t produce as many as we normally do in the first run of kits. We are making as many as we can, but it will still fall short (by 100) of the normal number of kits we produce. If you plan to purchase a kit for the beginning of the stitch-along, please mark your calendar for the kit launch!
We’ll get those kits into the mail to you within 24 hours, so that we can kick off the stitch-along lessons on the website the following week (the week of June 10-14).
Each week, lessons will be posted here on the blog for you to follow along and create your own scissor envelope. If you’re not familiar with how those lessons work, feel free to take a look at past stitch-alongs (like this one that we finished earlier this year, Purple Posy, or Autumn Fire, from 2022).
What’s in The Kit?
For those of you who decide to purchase the kit, you will have everything you need to complete the project, except a frame or hoop, embroidery scissors, and some regular sewing thread.
If you want to line up your frame or hoop in advance, I used 8″ stretcher bars on most of my samples, but you can use any size hoop up to 6″. The smaller the hoop, the more frequently you will need to move it. (I used a 5″ with one sample and moved it just a couple times.)
Additional tools I found handy while working the design include a magnetic needle minder (since we change shades of thread often) and thread drops for thread organization. You can find these items available in the shop under embroidery equipment, if you are looking them.
The kit includes a lovely natural-colored linen from Italy, a sumptuous lining fabric of shot silk dupioni (woven in two different colors, so you get a nice color play in different lighting – it’s so pretty!), interfacing, full skeins of embroidery floss (no fear of running out!), a pearl button, and needles.
I will share more details about the kit, with photos, on Monday when the kit launches.
The Stitch-Along Lesson Schedule
During the stitch-along, at intervals here on the website, I’ll be posting everything you need to know to create the project – the design for downloading and printing with instructions on the easiest transfer method for this project, specific information on materials, and of course, all the step-by-step instructions to embroider the cornflower design and to finish the scissor envelope.
For members of the Needle ‘n Thread community on Patreon, I’ll be posting all the lessons in PDF format for easy downloading and printing. I also try to post at least one instructional video for dedicated and avid stitchers on Patreon, with each Stitch Snippet.
Lessons will post at least once a week, but sometimes twice a week, on the website. Between those lessons, I’ll still post regular content about other embroidery topics.
What Will You Learn with This Project?
As usual, with any project that we undertake, you’re going to learn things that you can tuck away in your embroidery repertoire and apply to your own future embroidery projects. That’s the really the whole point of these stitch-alongs – well, that, and to enjoy making something!
With the cornflower project, you’ll learn how to pull off some shading techniques that look complex but are super simple and give a very satisfactory result! That’s probably the biggest focus of this particular project.
You’ll also learn how to blend shades of thread together and use simple stitches for particular results.
You’ll learn how to make a beautiful button loop closure. (This might be my favorite part of the project!)
And of course, you’ll learn how to construct your very own scissor envelope using a simple finishing technique.
Level of Stitching
The Cornflower project is suitable for beginners and beyond. You should know how to thread your needle, start and end threads, have some experience with transferring designs (although we will cover this topic), and you should understand how to follow stitch instructions / diagrams.
The finishing for this project involves basic sewing. This can be done by hand or on a machine. If you don’t have a machine, no problem – you can do it by hand, and we will talk about that.
So if you’ve had even just a little experience with embroidery, this project is accessible.
Join Us!
So that’s what’s coming up!
Even if you don’t stitch the project, you’ll still be able to glean tips and techniques from the installments here on the website, so feel free to “tune in” as we go! I hope you join us!
Hope your week is going well! I will see you on Friday, with other various and sundry embroidery babble!
I’m curious: how many kits do you usually make?
Hi, Jan – that really depends on the project, and how much storage space we have. It also depends on the types of materials we are using. If it’s a stand-alone kit (not a stitch-along) and I’m using high end silks and ground fabrics, the cost of the kit is much higher, and they don’t sell in the same quantity as quickly, so we don’t produce as many because we don’t have the space for long-term storage. With the stitch-along kits, the price point is lower and they tend to move out more quickly, so we can produce as many as we have room to produce – but that really depends on the project itself, the sourcing of materials, etc. Most stitch-along kits, we produce in quantities of 700+.
I’m so excited for this project! I’ve been looking for something I can make for my mom, and this is going to be perfect. My mom doesn’t really do embroidery, but she’s an avid knitter, so small scissors are something she uses regularly.
Hello,
This is such a gorgeous project! I’d really like to order a kit (assuming I can grab one!) and do the stitch-along. However, I live overseas and will get the kit shipped to my parents’ place in the US where I’ll be visiting from mid-July. Will I be able to access the instructions/lessons and be able to catch up?
Thanks, Dectora
Yes, you will! The instructions will be available on the website, in an index with all the articles listed chronologically, so you can work at your own pace.
Thanks for your reply to my earlier question! Another quick one: just in case we’re unable to snag a kit on Monday (that silk lining material is absolutely perfect/to die for!) and need to collect our own supplies, do you post the dimensions of the fabric pieces and the DMC color numbers of the thread you are using?
Take care,
Dectora
Yes, I do! 🙂
I would like to sign up for your newsletter. I tried on the page but could not. Thank you
Hi Mary,
I received my kit promptly, thank you!
Does the linen require rinsing before we start?
Thanks again,
Carol
No, it doesn’t. Thanks for asking!