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
October 10, 2014
Do you keep a doodle cloth?
In hand embroidery, a doodle cloth is usually an extra piece of fabric that you keep on hand, to practice embroidery stitches on before you apply those stitches to an embroidery project.
If you embroider, and especially if you’re a beginner (but even the experts do it!), a doodle cloth is a good idea!
Let’s look at five reasons you should use and keep a doodle cloth with your embroidery projects.
October 9, 2014
Ahhhh, silk! It’s such a luxurious fiber, and so perfect for hand embroidery that it’s been used for centuries and centuries to embellish fabric, and ever considered the Queen of Embroidery Threads.
There are many different types of silk threads used in hand embroidery and other needlework. After all, silk embroidery threads differ in construction, in weight, in twists, even in types of fibers in their make-up.
Today, I want to chat with you about a silk thread that is a little mysterious and obscure (it’s certainly not the most commonly used silk thread in the world, that’s for sure!).
It’s also somewhat…well… odd.
The thread is silk chenille. Let’s look at it.
October 8, 2014
If you’ve perused the hand embroidery projects here on Needle ‘n Thread, or even noticed the design and color scheme of the website, you might have noticed that I have a thing for the color red.
So it’s no wonder that, when Lacy Suzette sent me these photos of her recent, gorgeous embroidery project, I was over the moon with excitement. It’s adorable! It’s charming. It’s amazing!
And it’s red!
October 7, 2014
It’s sometimes called a Fanny Frame. Sometimes, a Hoop Stand. Sometimes, a Sit-on Hoop.
But I like to call it a Hoop on a Stick. Kind of takes me back to those blissful childhood days… Apple on a Stick, makes me sick…
But this hoop on a stick doesn’t make me sick – I love this contraption!
Whatever you call it, the concept is this: an embroidery hoop held by a stick which is attached to a flat paddle that you sit on.
The point: so you can embroider pretty much anywhere you can seat yourself, with your work in a hoop while having both hands free.
October 6, 2014
The last time we visited my current hand embroidery project, the Secret Garden Hummingbirds, we talked about the subtle and positive difference a few well placed embroidery stitches can make on a project.
At that point, I was working on the wings, and I was sorely looking forward to moving onto the tail feathers of the hummingbird.
Today, I’m going to share with you what not to do when embroidering the tail feathers on these hummingbirds.
To put it frankly, this isn’t a pretty tale.
October 3, 2014
Old hand embroidery and needlework books mesmerize me.
Vintage embroidery books appeal to me more than new embroidery books do. I love reading old needlework books – sometimes, because they crack me up, and sometimes, because they make me think.
There is such a pleasure in thumbing through old books on hand embroidery – from all the sensual appeal of the book (the feel, the smell, the tentative, brittle movement of the pages) – that can’t be had from perusing a digital copy of the same book.
October 2, 2014
Do you ever yearn to hand embroider some of those really complicated, rich, braid-like bands, but just find the stitch sequence too complicated to master quickly?
Sometimes, complicated looking embroidery stitches are not as complex as they really seem!
Today’s Stitch Fun tutorial is a good example of that.
That’s not to say this stitch isn’t slightly complicated, but once you understand the sequence, everything else about this embroidery stitch is super simple!
And the result? A nice, heavy, braided band stitch, great for outlines, heavy stems, or anywhere you want a strip of texture and dimension on your embroidery surface. It works up great as straight lines and as slightly curved lines.
I’ve included lots of photos to make the stitch tutorial as clear as possible.
