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
December 21, 2012
Have you heard of Stitchin’ Fingers? If you haven’t, I’ll tell you a little about it.
If you have heard of it – if you’re a member or you’ve visited the Stitchin’ Fingers network – you already know that Stitchin’ Fingers is a wonderful source of needlework inspiration and online camaraderie with other textile and needle-arts enthusiasts.
December 20, 2012
Notice the new title? We’re no longer going to call this series of tutorials Stitch Play – we’re going to call it Stitch Fun! Same exact idea – just a different name! Hope it doesn’t cause too much confusion!
So, it’s now time to touch up our embroidered evergreen sprigs and fly stitched holly with some bright red berries! This is a great technique for creating round red dots of any kind on your hand embroidery projects.
There are different ways you can add dots to embroidery (padded satin stitch dots are a favorite of mine), but for some reason, I find this round Rhodes stitch little ball easier to work than a padded satin stitch dot, and a lot more forgiving. And, because it isn’t padded – it’s actually self-padded, it doesn’t take as long to work up.
December 19, 2012
Yesterday, we embroidered some free-style holly leaves using fly stitch – a very simple approach to adding just a touch of Christmas embroidery to linens, towels, or whatever!
Today, we’ll add some background evergreen sprigs to the same holly, using the same stitch – fly stitch – on this time, worked vertically.
December 18, 2012
Maybe you’re wishing you had time to add just a touch of hand embroidery to some Christmas gifts or some table linens or kitchen towels?
The idea behind this episode of Stitch Fun is to demonstrate how to use two simple stitches and no pattern to work up some festive embroidered embellishment. And you don’t have to limit this to Christmas embroidery, either – you can take the concepts here and apply them to all kinds of embroidered greenery, leaves, berries, other fruits, and the like.
First, we’ll start with how to embroider holly, free-style, on anything that needs a touch of Christmas greenery. After we work up the holly, I’ll show you how to add some embroidered evergreen sprigs, and finally, how to easily embroider little round red berries.
The sample I made for this demonstration took about 15 minutes to work up – so really, we’re talking about quick and simple! And this time of year, quick and simple is good.
December 17, 2012
Some embroidery projects – even relatively simple ones – have a tendency to develop really slowly.
This particular project is no exception. Although I’m happy that I’m making progress on it, there are times when I look at it and think, “Gee. Shouldn’t I be a bit farther along?”
But that’s the nature of hand embroidery, and really, of anything made by hand. It is generally slow. And isn’t this slowness, in a sense, one of the reasons we like hand embroidery? It is for me! I like meandering along on something and seeing it unfold as I go – it’s like watching a flower grow, or watching snow build up during a soft snowfall. It’s slow, but it’s nice.
December 15, 2012
Slabbinck is a world-renowned embroidery house in Belgium and a supplier of embroidered church goods world-wide. The history of the company is an interesting one, and their collection of embroidered items from their workshop in the early years is amazing!
Hendrik Slabbinck began his workshop in 1903, in his attic. Since then, despite the troubled years of both world wars, the company has survived for over 100 years, and it still produces embroidered church goods. What fascinates me, though, are the early embroideries that come from the Slabbinck workshops, and the early history of the company.
December 14, 2012
Yesterday, we removed some stitches on a misshapen element on my silk embroidery project. Today, we’ll put them back in!
