September 26, 2016

Purple & Green – A Thistly, Leafy, Dotty Monogram

Purple and green. It’s a color combination I’ve always loved!

Strangely enough, I don’t wear it. I don’t decorate with it. But golly, I do like it.

And it was with purple and green in mind that I first fell for the “Leafy Blooms & Dots” alphabet that you’ll find in Favorite Monograms.

Today, I’ll show you a stitched sample from that alphabet. As always, there are parts of the letter that I really like, and parts that I’d do differently if I were stitching it again. But it was a fun little sample to stitch, and it worked up pretty quickly. And it provided a good purple and green fix – it’s been a while since I’ve stitched with this combination!

If you want to stitch it with the same approach, you can always change the color palette if you’re not a purple and green fan and make any other adjustments you want along the way, too!

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

September 24, 2016

8 Embroidery Tips for Beginners

Tomorrow, I’m teaching someone to embroider.

Now, you might think I’m a little off my nut. You might think that I teach people to embroider all the time. But in fact, I don’t. I used to, when I had space. But I don’t have space, and my dream of a dedicated studio where I can teach locally is yet a distance away.

But I have a friend who wants to learn to embroider. She is desperate for a hobby – something to provide her with a creative outlet at the end of a long day’s work.

I said, “You need to learn to embroider.”

She said, “Can you teach me?”

And I said, “Sure!”

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

September 22, 2016

Embroidered Monograms Tips & Techniques – Index

Sometimes, it’s easy to lose track of articles on blogs, so I like to create indexes that gather all the articles on one embroidery project or one series of embroidery projects into one place.

I keep all these project indexes under Tips & Techniques here on Needle ‘n Thread (in the main menu at the top of the website).

Today, I’m going to gather together all the articles on Needle ‘n Thread that include tips & techniques for embroidered monograms. Feel free to bookmark the list, to share it with your friends, and to visit it when you’re looking for ideas for embroidered monograms!

Embroidered Monograms: Tips & Techniques Index

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September 20, 2016

3 Good Reasons to try DMC Floche

Some of my recent embroidery adventures have involved cotton floche – like this monogram and this monogram – and without a doubt, I’ll be dabbling with the thread again very soon.

I love floche. And it re-infatuates me every time I stitch with it.

Those of you who have been hanging around with me on Needle ‘n Thread for a while already know I love this embroidery thread! But for folks who are just joining us, if you don’t know what floche is, I’ll introduce you to it here.

Whether new or old in your explorations of embroidery, you’ll appreciate floche. It’s an amazing cotton thread – it definitely tops my list of favorite cottons.

Cotton Floche Embroidery Thread: Three Good Reasons to Try It

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September 17, 2016

Whitework & Needle Lace at the DMV

What’s the DMV? you might understandably ask.

This could be one of those blog posts where the writer (yours truly), traveling to exotic and interesting places, visits an elaborately named museum affectionately known by its initials, where she discovers some worthwhile textile and embroidery-related acquisitions to share with you.

It could be…

But it’s not.

The DMV really is the Department of Motor Vehicles. That’s the place we Americans go to register our cars, pay our car taxes, and get our licenses, tags and stuff like that.

Rather unjustly immortalized in Disney’s Zootopia, the DMV might not be the Most Thrilling Place in the world to go – and you certainly wouldn’t choose it as a vacation destination – but it’s one of those Necessary Places. In fact, I never mind going.

In my rural county in Kansas, our DMV is located in the very rural county seat, which is one of those geographical oddities (being 40 minutes from everywhere), and known primarily these days for two things: the DMV and the county courthouse and jail.

While there is an Oregon Trail crossing close by, I have to say, there’s not much else to recommend the place. But it’s a pleasant drive – hilly (yes, even in Kansas), green, with beautiful vistas. Once arrived, the lines are never long (if there are any), and the folks who work there are friendly and efficient. I’m always in and out in minutes.

And on my way in and on my way out, I always pause to look at this:

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

September 15, 2016

Pink Dots & a Blue Tongue – This Monogram’s Done!

The embroidered E monogram that I showed you on Tuesday is finished, so today, I’ll show you the final details and discuss some of the stitching and some ideas for future modifications.

This is one of my favorite monograms so far in this recent splurge of monogramming.

Well… I should say it’s been one of my favorite “classic style” monograms to stitch. The voided floral monogram was actually the Most Fun Thing Ever to embroider, but this one – I like the results over all and I like the stitches involved in it.

There were some sticky spots, though, and there are some areas on the E that I’d like to do differently, in another version of the letter.

So let’s take a look!

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

September 13, 2016

E is for…Embroidery!

Lately, I’ve been sharing with you all kinds of ways you can embroider monograms, using techniques that are accessible for beginners and beyond, and highlighting different lettering styles from my recently released e-book, Favorite Monograms.

The purpose of these sample monograms is to show you that you can embroider beautiful monograms in a variety of stitches – that monogramming isn’t limited to any one kind of stitching technique.

So far, we’ve looked at several styles of voided monograms: this voided confetti monogram, this simpler voided monogram in just three colors, and this rather elaborate floral voided monogram featuring lots of color and texture.

Just last week, we looked at this monogram, embroidered with a few simple stitches in a few colors.

Today, I want to show you the beginnings of a filled monogram that’s easy to stitch and that incorporates a little bit of shading. The results: a classy, pretty monogram that’s a little more intricate than last week’s simple monogram, but that’s still super accessible.

E Monogram embroidered in shaded stem stitch filling

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

Purple & Green – A Thistly, Leafy, Dotty Monogram

8 Embroidery Tips for Beginners

Embroidered Monograms Tips & Techniques – Index

3 Good Reasons to try DMC Floche

Whitework & Needle Lace at the DMV

Pink Dots & a Blue Tongue – This Monogram’s Done!

E is for…Embroidery!

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos