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 28, 2014
Yes, yes, yes, ladies & gents, we have a winner for last week’s give-away, which features the book Monograms: The Art of Embroidered Letters, a hard-to-find (in English, anyway), out-of-print instructional book on monogramming, by Susan O’Connor.
While we wait and hope for the book to be reprinted, I’ve been giving away some spare copies off and on. Hopefully, the book will be reprinted soon – if I hear it’s coming, I’ll definitely let you know.
October 27, 2014
We’re nearing the end of the Daisy & Rings monogram alphabet here, which is always exciting! You can collect the free PDF printables for these monograms on the Monograms index, if you’d like.
Monograms, by the way, are not only terrific for hand embroidery, but they come in handy for many other craft applications as well. Card making and other paper crafts seem to be popular choices, for example.
One reader wrote to say that she used this alphabet to make a set of note cards, combining watercolors and ribbon embroidery. She printed the letter on note cards, used watercolors to paint them, and then touched up the flowers with little bits of ribbon embroidery. On the inside of the card, she pasted heavier color-coordinated cardstock to cover the back of the embroidery. I haven’t seen photos, but I thought it was a great idea!
October 24, 2014
I’m an absolute sucker for vintage embroidered linens, especially linens embellished with whitework embroidery.
I don’t collect a lot of them, but what I do have, gets used. A lot.
I figure if you collect something just for the sake of having it, but not for the sake of using and enjoying it, what good is that?
After all, those gorgeous vintage linens that were meticulously hand embroidered by someone, somewhere, at some point in time – well, they were made to be used! They weren’t made to be stored in a drawer or a box forever, to eventually make their way into an attic or… woe is me… a garage sale or a thrift store.
But they often go that route, don’t they?
I think if they were used more – instead of stored away for safe keeping – they would be better appreciated by all who saw them, and they would be treasured by family and friends. They wouldn’t end up cast away at a thrift store.
But I also think many people don’t use vintage pieces and end up getting rid of them simply because they don’t know how to use them and how to take care of them.
October 23, 2014
Earlier in the year, I reviewed Susan O’Connor’s delectable book on hand embroidering monograms.
It’s called Monograms: The Art of Embroidered Letters (that’s a link to the review, if you want to see the details), and it’s a must-have if you love hand embroidered monograms.
But there’s this problem, you see…
October 22, 2014
Well, I tried several different approaches and several different stitches on the tail feathers for the Secret Garden Hummingbirds, each resulting in a little more un-stitching.
Finally, I succumbed to the fishbone stitch, which is the same stitch I used to embroider the hummingbird’s wings.
So, today, a little update on the Secret Garden Hummingbird Project, just so you know I haven’t abandoned it!
I’ll also share some tips on how to gradually change shades with the fishbone stitch.
October 21, 2014
A couple weeks ago, we looked at silk chenille for hand embroidery, and started exploring how to work with the thread.
First, we talked about silk chenille thread and what it is, looking at it up close. Then, we looked at couching silk chenille and using it for woven stitches.
Today, in part 3 of this mini-series on silk chenille embroidery thread, we’ll discuss some tips for stitching with silk chenille and look at some other types of stitching it can be used for.
October 20, 2014
I think we’ve all experienced it: that overwhelming frustration when, in the middle of an embroidery project, nothing is going right with the thread.
It’s tangling. It’s fraying at the eye. It’s fuzzing up. It’s shredding as you stitch. SHREDDING!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaack! You’ve had it up your eyeballs with the fibery little beast.
You might be tempted to say, “I can’t do this. I’m not good enough. It must be me.”
No no no. Pause a moment, and I’ll tell you something you might not know:
Generally speaking, with embroidery thread that’s causing Severe Frustration, the problem is not you or your stitching. The problem is the thread. Some threads are simply not made for hand embroidery. They might be made for needlepoint. They might be made for cross stitch. They might be made for knitting and repurposed (by resizing and repackaging) into an embroidery thread.
But they weren’t made with the intention of passing them repeatedly through a piece of closely woven ground fabric.
*Sigh* What to do?… What to do?
Well, you could ditch the thread and look for a substitute that will hold up to the rigors of hand embroidery. Or you could lessen the problems by changing something else in your approach.
Enter, the Chenille Needle.
