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
September 19, 2012
Around this time of year, my stitching thoughts wander off to the world of ornaments, cards, gift tags, and the like. It’s inevitable. It happens every year! Though my thoughts turn that way, this doesn’t necessarily mean I have the time or opportunity to indulge in making elaborate ornaments or gifts. And so, perforated paper comes to mind.
September 18, 2012
After last week’s free hand embroidery pattern and the online resource for the old book it came from, I received a slew of email with several questions pertaining to that article. They were mostly pertinent enough to combine into an article on Old Embroidery Books Online, which, as today’s title suggests, is exactly what I’m doing.
If you’re not into old books, I won’t hold it against you! But I am a Strangely Passionate Old Book Fiend (“old” modifying “book” in that phrase, please). Ok, come to think of it, I’m a Strangely Passionate Book Fiend, whether old or new.
But, like I said, if you’re not into books, feel free to pass by me today, because that’s what I’m going to talk about. We can resume our relationship tomorrow, right where we left off!
September 17, 2012
Here are some thoughts to chew on – six points that I think are worth considering about hand embroidery.
September 14, 2012
One of my treasured old books in my needlework library is Art Needlework for Decorative Embroidery. It’s the second edition of the book, which was published in 1879 by S.W. Tilton Publishers of Boston. I love this little volume! And fortunately, you can love it, too, because it’s available online.
September 13, 2012
Yesterday, we looked at a quick and simple solution for transferring hand embroidery designs to fabric. The whole question of design transfer is a curious one – it seems that most embroidery folks have their favorite ways to transfer embroidery designs to fabric, and pretty much, they stick to them.
I can only claim this to be true occasionally for me. I’m always on the look out for other solutions to the design transfer question. There’s an obvious corollary between the precision, visibility, durability and removability (or hide-ability) of the design transfer and the successful outcome of any hand embroidery project, so I think how we transfer our designs is an important question. Also, the ease and surety of any method of design transfer tends to influence especially beginners – if the design transfer problem is difficult to overcome, it’s easy to lose heart and give up on projects that would otherwise captivate us.
So, here’s a product that I’m currently testing to use for embroidery design transfers, especially for whitework. It’s a chalk product, so I’m not 100% certain it’s going to be Just the Thing. But I’m going to give it a try!
September 12, 2012
When I’m working with a small embroidery design – for example, a small sample element like the interlocking knot in the plaited braid stitch sample I showed you yesterday – to transfer the design to fabric, I use a very simple method that many of you may already know. I think it’s worth mentioning, though, in case you don’t know it, because it’s definitely a time saver and very convenient.
I call it soft lead tracing, but I’m sure there is some technically correct term out there besides this. The idea is the same as carbon paper, without the carbon paper. When you can’t readily trace your design, either because you can’t see well enough through the fabric or you don’t have a sunny window or light box available, this method is a quick life-saver with certain types of designs and certain types of fabric. In fact, I generally prefer it to regular tracing with small motifs, because I think it’s more accurate, and it’s a lot faster and more convenient than hauling out the light box or taping my pattern to a windowpane.
September 11, 2012
I’ve often considered myself a bit of a thread hog. I tend to hog threads. I like threads! And I have a lot of them! But I’m not really calling myself names here, nor am I calling anyone else a name. Instead, I’m referring to a stitch – the plaited braid stitch – which, as mentioned the other day, eats thread like a whale eats plankton.
To show you just how much of a Thread Hog plaited braid stitch is, I’ve done some calculating for you. And when I do calculating, it’s a Big Deal, because I am not, by nature, a calculator.
