About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

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

Connect with Mary

     

Archives

2025 (86) 2024 (135) 2023 (125) 2022 (136) 2021 (130) 2020 (132) 2019 (147) 2018 (146) 2017 (169) 2016 (147) 2015 (246) 2014 (294) 2013 (294) 2012 (305) 2011 (306) 2010 (316) 2009 (367) 2008 (352) 2007 (225) 2006 (139)
 

Inspirations Magazine – Drawing Again for a Winner!

 

Amazon Books

Well, well, well. Who would’ve ever guessed it? I had to re-draw for one of the Inspirations Magazines subscription winners from the 12 Days of Christmas!

Inspirations Magazine
Continue reading “Inspirations Magazine – Drawing Again for a Winner!”

Vermicelli Goldwork – Finished, and The Back

 

The vermicelli goldwork on the Medallion Project is finished!!

To celebrate, I’m going to show you the back of the embroidery, because, for some reason, people like seeing the back of other people’s embroidery. I’ve never quite understood why, but if that’s what you want….!

First you have to look at the front. It’s much more attractive.

Vermicelli Goldwork on Ecclesiastical Embroidery
Continue reading “Vermicelli Goldwork – Finished, and The Back”

How Much Thread?

 

When working any hand embroidery project – but especially a big one that’s going to take a lot of time and a good quantity of specialty threads – the rule of “better too much than too little” should apply when ordering your embroidery supplies.

At the same time, though, to keep the costs of the project reasonable, you don’t want to over-estimate your thread amounts too greatly, or you could end up with surplus threads that you don’t need or want. (Well – are there ever any threads we don’t want?!)

Flat Silk Thread Amounts
Continue reading “How Much Thread?”

Laying Flat Silk: Direction of Filling

 

In the Medallion Project that I’ve been working on, the background is stitched in flat silk that is held down by a meandering gold thread in a technique called “vermicelli.”

Today, I’d like to show you how I lay the flat silk, and explain why it’s useful to change the direction of filling an area while doing so. For the most part, I don’t change the direction of stitching, but instead I turn my frame 180 degrees. We’ll look at laying flat silk threads, and then how to fill an irregular shape, changing the direction of the filling process along the way.

Laying Flat Silk Threads in Hand Embroidery
Continue reading “Laying Flat Silk: Direction of Filling”