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
March 21, 2013
Continuing with this series on deconstructing goldwork embroidery, today we’re looking at the wheat!
I love little heads of golden wheat in embroidery. For some reason (maybe because I live in Kansas?), I’m always drawn to them. It’s amazing how many ways wheat can be rendered in embroidery!
Wheat is a prevalent element in ecclesiastical embroidery, so it isn’t surprising to find it featured on a vestment like the one we’re studying these days.
March 20, 2013
When I first started playing with lattice stitches as part of the Stitch Fun series of embroidery stitch tutorials, I was moving towards laced lattice stitches, because they’re a little more difficult to figure out than regular lattice work.
So, we mixed up the lattice stitch tutorials with a few tutorials on lacing regular stitches, remember?
Now, we’re going to combine the concept of lattice stitches and lacing stitches to produce a raised, detached filling that can be lacy, light, and lovely.
March 19, 2013
Figure embroidery has been on my mind a lot lately. It’s actually one of my goals for this year, to work a piece of figure embroidery here on Needle ‘n Thread.
But you know those New Year’s resolutions… I figure if I resolve it one year, I’ve got at least five to make it happen. Or at least, that’s how it seems to work out!
In any case, I’ve been doing some reading lately, and the topic is sniggling about in my head, so I want to talk about it. Telling you all about it always helps me to clarify things.
March 18, 2013
Deconstructing the leaves on this goldwork piece was really fun – probably because it was so simple! Unlike the goldwork grapes, lily, and rose, the leaves are not layered with various elements worked onto foundations, all tightly fitting together. The leaves are not fiddly at all to take apart!
March 17, 2013
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Today’s article almost ended up with the unfortunate title Lucky Lacy Leprechauns on Lime. But then I realized I wasn’t really writing about leprechauns. I’m not sure why I equate shamrocks with leprechauns…
March 16, 2013
“I want to design my own embroidery projects, but I’m not sure where to start.” I hear this a lot – design questions frequent my inbox just about as often as technique questions.
Right off the bat, you should know that I’m not a terrific artist. I can doodle, and I can draw “ornament” (roughly!), and I can even color with crayons! But if I sit down with the notion of sketching up a realistic portrait, I’m the type of draw-er that ends up with stick figures or caricatures.
Source books are a great aid when it comes to getting a little nudge of inspiration on drawing your own design. And books that actually teach you how to draw certain types of designs are even better. When you understand the basic structures that make up ornamental designs and how those structures developed, it’s a lot easier to doodle up your own ornaments.
March 15, 2013
When I work up embroidery stitch videos for Needle ‘n Thread, I use DMC’s pearl cotton #5.
Why? Primarily because it’s more visible, but there are several secondary reasons. One is that it’s a non-divisible thread, so I don’t have to worry about keeping strands of thread straight in the needle will recording. And of course, there’s always the fact that DMC produces a high quality thread, so it performs well. Good threads always perform better than inferior alternatives!
I also use it because it comes in lots and lots of colors, and it’s nice to be able to choose from a range of colors – although some colors work better than others for the camera.
I get a lot of questions about the thread and fabric I use in the videos. The other day, I received a question about the pearl cotton: “I want to use the same thread in a project I’m doing, but it only comes in two colors of green. One is bright and the other is blue-green, they don’t work well together. Any suggestions?”
