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 8, 2013
Last week, when we started playing with shisha stitch as part of the Stitch Fun series, I didn’t really go into detail about shisha mirrors.
But, since many of you expressed an interest in the stitch and doing some “real” shisha embroidery with mirrors, I thought we could chat a bit about types of mirrors and resources.
October 7, 2013
I have a little collection of scraps of silk wrapped purl.
Silk wrapped purl is a unique thread. It is a coiled metal thread wrapped completely with silk. You can read about silk wrapped purl here. And you can see stitched samples involving silk wrapped purl here, in the last two photos.
I’d call it a cool thread – totally unique, versatile, and smacking of possibilities.
October 5, 2013
Here we are – Saturday again. The week does fly, doesn’t it?
Today, it’s a free hand embroidery pattern for you – I’m calling it Funburst!
October 4, 2013
Shisha – embroidery with mirrors – can be worked different ways.
The most common shisha stitch found in most stitch dictionaries is a combination buttonhole and chain stitch worked over a grid of holding threads that anchor the small mirrors to fabric. Today, we’re going to look at the basic stitch, and then later on, we’ll look at some variations.
October 3, 2013
Do you want to add more variety to your hand embroidery projects by stitching different types of leaves or flowers?
After all, when you look at flowers and foliage in their natural setting, they’re rarely exactly the same!
Since flowers and leaves are probably the most common motif in hand embroidery, it’s good to have a whole arsenal of stitching techniques on hand for embroidering them.
Here are sixteen different ways you can embroider leaves and flower petals.
October 2, 2013
I’ve doodled about with shisha embroidery before. I love it, especially the stitches involved and the decorative possibilities with those stitches.
October 1, 2013
Yesterday, we looked at this nifty way to hand embroider a shaded leaf, using the rose leaf stitch.
Today, I want to show you a fun variation – a little bud, using the same stitch.
