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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The Art of Felting & Silk Ribbon Embroidery – Book Review

 

Amazon Books

Do you like silk ribbon embroidery? How about felt? Do you like unique, textured backgrounds? Do you like a multi-media approach to your needlework? Are you looking for new avenues to explore in your artistic adventures? Or do you just love a good needlework book that’s packed full of techniques, ideas, inspiration, and instruction?

If any of the above applies to you, chances are, you’re going to like The Art of Felting & Silk Ribbon Embroidery, written by Di van Niekerk with Toody Cassidy.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, actually. But the title intrigued me! And of course, I’m familiar with Di van Niekerk’s sumptuous silk ribbon embroidery, and I had seen little hints and peeks at some of the projects in the book, so … what’s a gal to do? Of course I had to see the book!

Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

Art of Felting & Silk Ribbon Embroidery
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Tulip Festival Part III: Tulips & Borders

 

Good morning, and Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed a pleasant weekend and had a chance to spend some time with your needle and thread! I got in zilch-o when it comes to stitching this weekend, but I did manage to prepare 12 embroidery patterns for printing. I can’t wait to show you what’s up with those!

We’ve been working our way through stitching an embroidered kaleidoscope here on Needle ‘n Thread – Tulip Festival, which we’ve visited in two parts so far. Part I of Tulip Festival covers the supplies, threads, set-up, and first seven rounds of stitches on the design. Part II covers the stitches for the the next several rounds.

Today, we’re going to cover the tulips in long & short stitch and a couple layers just beyond the tulips!

Whether you’re stitching Tulip Festival or not, I hope you’ll find some tips & techniques here that can apply to your own embroidery projects!

Tulip Festival - Embroidered Kaleidoscope - long & short stitch shading
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Needlework News Snips & Calendar Winners!

 

The weekend is upon us! YAY!

I’ve drawn the random winners for the Virtual Threads needlework calendars (with 13 free downloadable projects to work throughout the year), so I’ll announce those today.

I’ve also put together a little list of inspiration, ideas, questions, needlework news and whatnot, for your weekend explorations.

So… pour yourself a hot little beverage, pull up a chair, and let’s have a chat!

Needlework News Snips November 22, 2017
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My Case for Silk in Hand Embroidery Projects

 

If you can embroider it in cotton, you can embroider it in silk.

That is, if you can embroider something in cotton and end up with good results, you can embroider it in silk, and end up with equal, and even quite possibly, better results.

I thought we should have a chat about silk embroidery thread, since I’ve received a few questions lately about using silk on Tulip Festival, this embroidered kaleidoscope series we’ve been working through together.

I’ve also received a few questions about silk in other embroidery applications, but that’s an article for another day! I’ll be addressing a particular argument that’s been surfacing a bit in the needlework world, to see if we can overcome some hazy notions about silk in needle painting.

Today, though, we’ll just talk in general about silk. Hopefully, if you’re wavering between the cotton vs silk thread question, this will give you something to think about and perhaps, with some, it will overcome a fear of using silk.

Silk Hand Embroidery Thread - Collection of different types of silk
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Tulip Festival II: Embroidering Outward

 

On Monday, I shared the beginnings of Tulip Festival, a Hand Embroidered Kaleidoscope. We looked at the project set-up and embroidering the first center layers of the design.

Today, I’ll take you through the next several layers on the embroidered kaleidoscope, discussing embroidery stitches and colors. I’ll also talk a bit about thread substitutions, and share some tips!

Tulip Festival: An Embroidered Kaleidoscope - Working Outwards
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Tulip Festival Embroidery Project I: Getting Started

 

For those of you eager to stitch your own embroidered kaleidoscope, whether you’re using designs from Favorite Kaleidoscopes which I launched last week or using your own drawings, I’m going to share the whole process of Tulips Festival – an embroidered kaleidoscope – with you in short series of articles here on Needle ‘n Thread.

Even if you might not be into stitching these types of blossoming, repetitive designs, that’s ok! I’m hoping you’ll still find a little inspiration and plenty of tips for your own projects, no matter what they may be!

So, today, the first part of Tulip Festival – Getting Started! We’ll talk about the fabric and threads I used in my interpretation of the project, how I set the project up, and we’ll cover the first inner circles of stitches used on the design.

Tulip Festival: A Hand Embroidered Kaleidoscope Step-by-Step - getting started
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Why Switch Embroidery Needles?

 

Have you ever been stitching along, when suddenly you notice that your embroidery needle isn’t passing through your fabric quite as smoothly as it should be?

This happens to me now and then. Even the best quality embroidery needles can go amuck after hours and hours of usage. When a needle isn’t delivering the same performance that you’re accustomed to, it’s quite ok to switch out for a new needle and throw the old one away!

But when a brand new needle acts up on you, it helps to inspect it closely.

This happened to me the other day. I was using a relatively new needle that I had taken out of its package only a couple days before, and suddenly, I felt like every stitch I took had a little pull or snag to it as I pulled my needle through the fabric.

Upon inspection, this:

Embroidery Needle Flaw
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