December 20, 2012

Stitch Fun: Round Red Berries

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.

Stitch Play Hand Embroidered Christmas Greenery

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

December 19, 2012

Stitch Fun: Simple Greenery, Part 2

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.

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

December 18, 2012

Stitch Fun: Free-Style Embroidered Greenery for Christmas

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.

Stitch Play: Hand Embroidered Holly and Christmas Greenery

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

December 17, 2012

Hungarian Redwork Runner – Coming Along!

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.

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December 15, 2012

Slabbinck & Ecclesiastical Embroidery History

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.

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December 14, 2012

Padded Satin Stitch: The Fix, part 2

Yesterday, we removed some stitches on a misshapen element on my silk embroidery project. Today, we’ll put them back in!

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December 13, 2012

Padded Satin Stitch Blooper – The Fix, Part 1

At the beginning of this month, I showed you some progress on my “secret” embroidery project that’s being worked in silk, with lots of satin stitch and stem stitch. I pointed out an element on the project that was really bugging me, and that I knew I would eventually have to fix.

I’ll show you, close up and personal, how I went about The Fix. Today, we’ll look at removal, and tomorrow, we’ll look at replacement.

Padded Satin Stitch Silk Embroidery - Fixing a Mistake

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Stitch Fun: Round Red Berries

Stitch Fun: Simple Greenery, Part 2

Stitch Fun: Free-Style Embroidered Greenery for Christmas

Hungarian Redwork Runner – Coming Along!

Slabbinck & Ecclesiastical Embroidery History

Padded Satin Stitch: The Fix, part 2

Padded Satin Stitch Blooper – The Fix, Part 1

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos