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
Contact Mary
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
Contact Mary
January 16, 2015
The other day, we had a little guessing game about this delicately embroidered piece of cloth. I showed you some close-up photos and asked if you could guess what the cloth was made of, and many of you did.
Still, the answer is hard to believe! The following pieces, embroidered in the Philippines probably before World War II, are made from piña cloth, or cloth woven from fiber taken from the fronds of pineapple plants.
January 15, 2015
When Robert Burns consoled the Mouse, saying something about the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men (undoubtedly in a heavy Scottish brogue) often going awry, I really think he was talking about me.
I swear I’m the best layer-of-schemes in the world. But they always seem to be the kind that go awry.
Take, for example, my plan for embroidering some beautiful little monograms and mounting them on mirror compacts, for a few of my nieces for Christmas. I had plans to make matching drawstring little bags, to house the mirror compacts in. And all decked out with pretty monograms…. my, my, ’twas sooch a good idea!
I even went so far as to buy the mirrors. And once I had those in hand, you know, it was just a matter of whipping out a few pretty monograms, doing some quick finish work, monogramming the outside of the drawstring bags, constructing the bags, and having them ready for Christmas.
I bought the mirrors at the end of November.
Hmm. Perhaps it wasn’t the best best-laid scheme, after all.
January 14, 2015
It’s Wednesday – a good day for a game!
I am the happy new owner of a collection of exquisitely fine, detailed embroideries that I’m going to tell you more about later on, as I finish up some research on them and clean them up.
I’ve been on a quest – thanks to the prodding of a reader in Australia who was on a similar quest – to find samples of this embroidery, and finally, I’ve got some in my grimy paws.
As you look at the photos below, can you guess what fabric this embroidery is worked on?
January 13, 2015
Corticelli, once upon a time, was The premier silk thread company. Corticelli silk was known around the world, and even now – though the company no longer exists – their threads are still well known by name.
The Corticelli silk company has an interesting history, which began in Florence, Massachusetts, in 1838, in an area where folks had been dabbling in sericulture and silk manufacturing for many years.
In 1846, one Samuel Hill took over the company, which was at that time the Nonotuck Silk Company, and under him, the company grew, especially due to his invention of a machine that produced the first successfully-made silk thread for sewing machines. The Singer company jumped on the thread, and the Nonotuck Silk Company really took off.
It was around this time, too, that the actual silk production shifted to China and Japan, because the US workforce could not affordably produce the amount of silk needed for the growth of the company. The raw silk was imported from Asia and then finished (dyed, twisted, spun, woven, etc.) in the mills in the US.
January 12, 2015
I know. It’s Monday morning. And that says it all, doesn’t it?
To help you get through the start of the week, here’s an awesome piece of inspiration – a beautiful pearl, gemstone, and goldwork embroidered icon frame, featuring an interesting and effective approach to high relief embroidery.
Several years ago, Larissa Borodich shared this pearl embroidered frame with us, surrounding an intricate cross stitch featuring an angel. Since then, she’s been exploring bead embroidery, including high relief embroidery.
Here’s Larissa’s latest masterpiece!
January 10, 2015
For those of you who are relatively new to Needle ‘n Thread, you might not know that one of my Most Favorite Things in the Whole Wide World is… is…
…embroidery thread!!
(Are you surprised? Probably not!)
I have a hard time resisting hand embroidery threads. I don’t know if it’s the color, the feel, the fiber, the twist, or everything combined – but there’s just something lovable about the stuff, isn’t there?
January 9, 2015
Shisha embroidery – or mirror embroidery – is kind of addicting, you know?
You get started with the traditional shisha stitch, and before you know it, variation after variation presents itself – all of them lending to further adornment with more stitches – and the next thing you know, every time you turn around, you’re thinking of some other way to attach mirrors to fabric!
Today, let’s look at yet another variation of shisha embroidery. This one incorporates the cretan stitch over the foundation stitches, to create a spoked, sun-burst-like effect. It’s a fun variation, and it opens up all kinds of possibilities for adding decorative touches.
