About

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

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Blooming Hearts – Free Hand Embroidery Pattern & Stitch Ideas

 

Amazon Books

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re probably thinking you don’t have time to stitch up something festive for your sweetie.

And, to tell you the truth, you could be right, if you were planning to go All Out in a Big-Hearted Way.

But, if you just want to go small, there’s plenty of time between now and next Wednesday, right?

Here’s a free hand embroidery pattern to get the juices flowing and get you motivated to give it a go! I’ll even give you some stitching ideas to go along with it – because I love you, of course!

Blooming Hearts hand embroidery pattern
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Elizabetta’s Monogram Book: A Flower Alphabet

 

This book review has been a Long Time Coming!

Last year, Elisabetta Sforza self-published an embroidery book called Un Alfabeta a Fiori, A Flower Alphabet. If you’re familiar with Elisabetta’s work which is featured on her needlework blog, Elisabetta Ricami a Mano, then you can already guess that the book and the projects in it are beautiful.

A Flower Alphabet, though, is a different kind of embroidery book. There are a few things that make it different from most needlework instructional and project books on the market today.

So, today, I’m going to show you this exquisite book, tell you how it differs from other embroidery books, and let you know where you can find it.

A Flower Alphabet - Elisabetta Sforza
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Embroidered Kaleidoscopes – An Index of Step-by-Step Projects

 

Good morning and happy Monday from a snow-covered Kansas!

I have to do a little Needle ‘n Thread house cleaning today. Funny how a website works a lot like a house – you can’t just let things go too long, or they get away from you!

The purpose of this article, then, is to provide an index for all the step-by-step embroidered kaleidoscope projects I’ve covered here on Needle ‘n Thread, including Party in Provence, Tulip Festival, Birthday Bash, and Coloris Kaleidoscope.

We’ve worked through four embroidered kaleidoscopes altogether. They’re not tiny projects, but they’re not huge projects, and some are quicker than others. They’re colorful and a lot of fun!

Feel free to bookmark this page for your future reference if you plan to work through any of the kaleidoscopes, or you can always find the index listed under “Tips & Techniques” (with a lot of other step-by-step embroidery projects!) in the main menu on Needle ‘n Thread.

Hand Embroidered Kaleidoscopes Project Index
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A Brief Guide to Cotton Hand Embroidery Threads

 

Even if you’re new to embroidery, you probably already realize that there’s more to the Wonderful World of Embroidery Thread than regular stranded cotton.

But perhaps the whole gamut of all the thread available out there – the “embarrassment of riches” that we enjoy in the needlework world today – is a bit overwhelming to you.

Perhaps you know there’s other thread you could try, but, being unsure of what’s what, you feel it’s better to stick with what you know rather than to venture into the unknown.

Often, our inhibitions to try something new are due to a lack of confidence, which stems from a lack of understanding or knowledge.

So occasionally, I like to delve into a bit of thread talk, exploring different types of threads for hand embroidery. For beginners and non-beginners alike, understanding what threads are what may encourage you to try new-to-you threads with a little more confidence!

Today, we’re going to talk about cotton threads that are specifically made for hand embroidery.

Brief Guide to Cotton Hand Embroidery Threads
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Trestles and Slate Frames – at a Steal!

 

Last year I reviewed this slate frame from Mythic Crafts.

The original article in this spot was the announcement for a crowdfunding campaign for Mythic Crafts to set up business. I have since deleted the original article, since the whole thing went “bust” in 2019.

Update, 2019: At this point in time, I’m cautioning folks about purchasing from Mythic Crafts. After a very successful crowd-funding campaign in January of 2018, many of the backers have still not received their goods from backing that campaign. I hope that Mythic Crafts is able to fulfill the orders made during the crowdfunding campaign, but until they do, I don’t recommend ordering from the company’s website.

Update, July 2019: Mythic Crafts is out of business, with no explanation to the backers. I have since adjusted my policies on backing and promoting any kind of similar crowdfunding campaign. Like many of you, I am also out the funds I backed the campaign with, and I’m sorry I went to the effort to support the business and told other people about it.

I believe in giving the benefit of the doubt, and I believe Mythic Crafts began with the right intentions, but that they over-extended themselves and through a variety of circumstances, couldn’t keep the business running. Communication to the backers would have been nice (and really, the only correct thing to do), but I imagine there’s a whole lot of emotional pain going on there, too.

Slate Frames & Trestles for Embroidery
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Party in Provence 4: Lots of Little Swirls

 

The last time we visited Party in Provence, an embroidered kaleidoscope project that we’re working through step-by-step here on Needle ‘n Thread, we worked the big petals in the center of the design and the little flowers between them.

Originally, I was going to start the week with some beadwork on Party in Provence, but as I prepared that article, it struck me that it might be better not to put the beads on until closer to the end of the project.

For those following along, don’t be too disappointed! I know you don’t get the finished look of the inside rounds until the dark blue beads are added to the larger petals, but there’s a good reason for not adding beads just yet.

You see, I’m all for avoiding as much frustration as possible when stitching. It’s easy for your working thread to catch on beads when you’re stitching other parts of the design, and since there’s still plenty of surface embroidery to tackle on this piece, we’ll try to avoid those little annoyances.

So, today, swirls. Lots of little swirls!

Party in Provence: Embroidered Kaleidoscope - small stems and vines
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Two Felted Mittens, Embroidered! The Finish & Recap

 

Well, I finished my wool felted mittens. They are duly embroidered!

It was a fun test project, and I’m looking forward to trying again on another pair, using different threads and techniques. All in the interest of experimenting, you know.

For those who want to try something similar, I’ve recapped a few points below, including how I transferred the design for the secon mitten. I’ve also listed all the articles in this short project series, so that you can easily find the whole project under Tips & Techniques in the main menu on Needle ‘n Thread.

Embroidery on Felted Wool Mittens
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