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
May 14, 2014
Monograms: The Art of Embroidered Letters by Susan O’Connor first came out in 2007, and I’ve had it on my shelf (and on my work table for reference, and in my grubby paws just for the pleasure of reading and browsing) since practically the day it hit the shelves.
It is The Book to have, if you love embroidered monograms and decorative initials worked in traditional embroidery methods.
May 13, 2014
The hand embroidery stitch called the pistil stitch (or the elongated French knot) comes in really handy when stitching flowers. The reason is obvious – it looks like its namesake, the pistil on the inside of a flower.
The pistil stitch is an easy stitch to master, and it works well inside all kinds of flowers or even on its own, in completely un-flower-related circumstances.
I’ve been using the pistil stitch on the Secret Garden project, on the flowers. Some reader’s have asked for pointers on working this stitch, so here’s a handy tutorial to show you how to work the pistil stitch.
May 12, 2014
I love grapes! I love embroidered grapes! If I were the type to decorate by theme, I believe my kitchen and dining room would sport a kind of winey, grapey, Italian theme.
But since I’m not super-themey when it comes to decorating, I just enjoy grapes in all kinds of other ways, from embroidered…to frozen…to crushed and fermented.
If you like grapes and have a reason to embroider a bunch of them, this particular stylized bunch would work quite well. It has Possibilities.
May 10, 2014
For your Saturday browsing, here’s a little bit of embroidery history relating to World War I.
I love this story!
May 9, 2014
Today, two things: the winner of Guide to Hedebo Embroidery from last week’s give-away, and foreshadowing the next give-away, which is also a beautiful whitework book that’s become pretty rare and mighty pricey!
May 8, 2014
Earlier this spring, I added a couple gingham embroidery or chicken scratch patterns to Needle ‘n Thread.
I was working on this chicken scratch design in particular while playing around with the stuff, and the resulting square is now something useful.
I call it a Gingham Thingham.
May 7, 2014
The other day, we took a general glance at the embroidery on the flowers on the Secret Garden project, with an overview of the thread colors and embroidery stitches I’m using on the flowers.
Today, we’ll cover some stitching tips for the flowers. Even if you’re not stitching along with this project, these are the types of tips you can apply to your own embroidery projects. We’ll be looking primarily at satin stitch here, since it’s the only stitch on the flowers that might be a little challenging.
