I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. And again. (And probably again!): Linen is my go-to fabric for hand embroidery, because, in my opinion, good linen is the Best Fabric for Hand Embroidery. There are many reasons for my tunnel vision when it comes to linen, and if you look up linen here on Needle ‘n Thread, you’ll find all kinds of articles devoted to that wondrous flaxy fabric, along with my reasons for loving it.

Now, this article is not about linen, so I’m not going to expound upon its glories herein. (Aren’t you glad?)

I do realize that linen is not the only fabric under the sun, and it just so happens that I also like stitching on other fabrics, too. There are times when silk makes a gorgeous ground for embroidery. There are times when it is appropriate to use cotton for hand embroidery. Velvet (silk velvet, or in a pinch, 100% cotton velveteen, even), wool – all are suitable for hand embroidery, depending on what you want to embroider. Some fabrics are more appropriate than others, depending on what you’re doing.

I draw the line at synthetics. I’m not a fan of synthetics as ground fabrics for hand embroidery. I find they are harder on the thread than natural fibers, they can be unpredictable regarding the finished outcome, and they are often a pain to work on. They’re tricky. And usually, they’re just downright icky.

But what about blends?

Lat time we looked at progress on the Secret Garden embroidery project, we chatted about the order of stitching the many leaf clusters in the design.

Here’s the outcome of stitching two similar leaf clusters following a different order of stitching for each, placing the leaves in a different overlapping arrangement.

Today, I want to share with you a piece of ecclesiastical embroidery worked by Kate – her first piece of ecclesiastical embroidery, as a matter of fact.

I think she did a terrific job on it!

Today, I want to share with you three things that every avid embroiderer should read.

Two are what I’d call “serious” subjects – they’re for embroiderers who think about wider issues related to needlework.

The third…well, the third is your dessert. It’s your reward for reading the other two articles. So, if you clean your plate on the first two articles, you may go ahead and follow the third link.

Or you can go for dessert first and save the substance for later…

Whatever order you take, they’re all worth reading!

Some stitchers following along with the Secret Garden project have written to ask for tips on how to simplify the embroidery on their versions of the project, especially with regards to long & short stitch fillings.

At times like this, I wish I were an octopus… or a double-octopus (a sedecipus?). With 16 hands, I could embroider all the possibilities for every follow-along project on Needle ‘n Thread. Just imagine! And that way, I could answer so many questions visually, which would be easier all around.

But, since I only have two hands, we’ll have to settle for a few general tips. You can apply these to any surface embroidery project, not just the Secret Garden project.

To that end, here are some suggestions and thoughts on simplifying embroidery projects to make them more accessible to your own particular levels and likes.