Heads Up: Garden Swirl Kits and Boxes – Coming Friday!

The time has come at long last to launch the stitch-along for Garden Swirl!

The kits for this stitch-along project will launch this Friday, July 18, at 10:00 AM Central Time (I’m in Kansas – you’ll need to figure out the time based on your own location).

If you’d like a kit, then, please set a reminder so that you can grab one on Friday morning. We will have a limited number of decorative boxes available as well. (And I will send out a launch announcement on the blog that morning, too.)

I’ll explain everything below, including what’s in the kit, what comes with the decorative box, and how the ordering and shipping will work. If you’re keen to join in on this stitch-along, read on, my friends…

Pictured above is the project for this stitch-along. It’s a small piece of surface embroidery (approximately 4″ in diameter) worked on fine white linen twill, using DMC cotton embroidery threads and fitted into the lid of a decorative box.

The goal of the stitch-along for Garden Swirl is to learn the stitching techniques involved in the project and to learn the finishing techniques of mounting a piece in a box. Of course, you don’t have to mount the piece in a box. You can do whatever you want with it, finishing-wise. But for the purpose of the stitch-along, I’ll be showing you how to mount it in the box lid.

The project is suitable for determined beginners and beyond. I’ll take you step-by-step through the entire project, sharing materials, stitching instructions, tips and techniques, and finishing instructions. You should already know how to do things like thread a needle and hoop up your fabric. It is also helpful if you’re good at following directions. I try to make the directions as clear and accessible as possible, though, so if you’ve done even just a little bit of stitching, this project should be good for you!

You can read more details about the stitch-along and the process of the stitch-along in this article.

Members of my Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon will receive some special perks with the stitch-along – a private shopping event, and all the lessons in the stitch-along in easily printable and downloadable PDF format.

Garden Swirl Kit

For those who wish to have all the necessary supplies at hand to work the project, we have produced a kit for the stitch-along.

Unlike previous stitch-along kits, Garden Swirl comes with the design pre-transferred for you, so that you don’t have to worry about transferring the somewhat intricate (in relation to size) design onto the beautiful linen twill ground fabric that I chose for this project.

The ready-to-stitch fabric is accompanied by enough DMC stranded cotton (and some to spare) for working the design in the color scheme presented on the sample project. The threads are looped onto a numbered thread card for easy organization, but you are welcome to reorganize them in whatever way you prefer for your stitching process.

We’ve also included two high quality fine embroidery needs in the kit, so that you don’t have to rummage for the right needle.

The Box

I’ve sourced a small, round decorative box so that you can experience mounting a piece of embroidery in the lid of a pre-made box.

The box is a composite material with a kind of laminate finish. Please note that it is not a high-end, handmade, artisan box (which would be far too expensive for the purpose of this stitch-along). If you want to invest in a hand-made, beautiful wooden box for your embroidery, your best bet is to find a local craftsman who does that kind of thing.

This box, though, is great for our purposes – it is nice-looking, and it’s functional.

The lid is hinged, and the inside of the box is lined with a black velvet material.

Accompanying each box, I’m including a custom-cut insert for mounting your embroidery, and the padding that I use under the embroidery when mounting embroidery this way. This way, you don’t have to source those two items yourself.

Please note: we have a very limited number of boxes in stock, but if there is a demand for them, I will order more and they should arrive fairly quickly. The fact is, lately, I can’t tell what’s going to sell and what’s not, and items like these take up a lot of shelf space. So I was admittedly conservative in ordering them!

Ordering & Shipping

If you are interested in a kit or a box for Garden Swirl, please mark your calendar for Friday, July 18, at 10:00 AM Central Time, which is when the listings in my shop will go live. You’ll find the listings here on Friday morning.

We will ship the kits and the boxes to US addresses via either Priority or Ground Advantage, tracked and insured. We will also ship to Canadian addresses, but we will need to reach out to you to arrange shipping details after your order is placed.

As always, if you purchase multiple items, we will combine them in the most reasonable way possible and refund any notable excess in shipping.

We will begin the shipping process on Friday and continue it on Monday, until all kit orders are on their way. My plan is to begin the stitch-along on Friday, July 25th.

Wooohooo! I can’t wait to get this party started!

(I know, I know! It’s about time!!!)