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
July 21, 2012
Just to keep you up to date on the embroidery stitch videos that have been updated recently on Needle ‘n Thread, here’s the list from the past week. On each video page, I’ve done my best to show you a picture of the completed stitch, sometimes in context on a finished piece, where possible.
July 20, 2012
Here’s some exciting needlework news!
This autumn, from October 17-20, Susan O’Connor from Country Bumpkin (i.e. Inspirations Magazine) will be teaching classes in Beacon, New York, at the Howland Cultural Center. There are some nice classes in the line-up! Check them out!
July 19, 2012
Good news! About 10 years ago, Galina Tregubov wrote and published a book on icon embroidery, using a guardian angel icon constructed into a banner as the teaching project in the book. For embroiderers in the US interested in this type of embroidery, it was really the only book available with clear, step-by-step instructions for needlepainting an icon.
I bought the book back then because I was intrigued by the techniques, and I learned a lot just by reading the book. And now you can, too, without buying the book. It’s available in complete form, online, for free!
July 18, 2012
The raised buttonhole band is a raised band of embroidery created by working the buttonhole stitch over a foundation of straight stitches. Like the raised stem stitch or the raised chain stitch band, the raised buttonhole band works well for adding texture to your embroidery.
July 17, 2012
‘Twas a dark and stormy afternoon. Lightening streaked across the sky, and thunder rumbled its angry response. A promise of rain hung in the sultry summer air, and all the world waited, hoping that this parched Kansas land would soon be lush again.
Except for me. I didn’t even notice.
I was under ridiculously bright lamps, trying to settle a score with some silk embroidery I’ve been fighting with lately. I was moving along, rather chipper in mood, actually making progress, when I picked up a pair of tiny scissors to take a premeditated, carefully calculated snip of thread….
You do know the kind of snip I’m talking about, don’t you? The kind that is taken slowly and carefully; the kind that you hesitate before taking, maneuvering into perfect position for the snip? That kind?
July 16, 2012
If you’re ever stuck wondering just what stitch to use to fill a leaf and you start browsing through a stitch dictionary for a little help, you’ll find out that there’s a regular glut of filling stitches that work well for leaves. But there are two stitches in particular that I think make really nice leaves: the fishbone stitch and the raised fishbone stitch. If you have trouble creating a nice looking satin stitched leaf, never fear! The fishbone stitch and the raised fishbone stitch will come to your rescue. They both create a satin-stitch-like filling, but because the stitches overlap in the center of the leaf, you get a nice, subtle spine right down the middle of the stitch.
Today, I’ll show you how to create a raised fishbone stitch leaf.
July 14, 2012
Behind the scenes here at Needle ‘n Thread, I’ve been working on several embroidery projects – some large, some small.
This one is small.
