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

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Upside Down Stitchery, Silk, and Perfect Bliss

 

Amazon Books

Lately, I’ve been stitching upside-down.

(How’s the visual on that? Not so good?)

I am not upside-down – but my design is.

Working with the design upside-down for the area I’ve been filling with silk, I’ve found that I’ve been stitching much faster because the reach to the area I’m working is not quite as far.

Depending on the embroidery project, you’re perfectly justified in turning your design upside-down. There are some embroidery techniques where doing so wouldn’t work so well, but with this type of flat stitchery, to avoid reaching far to the top of the design, it’s much easier just to turn the frame 180 degrees.

Church Embroidery with Flat Silk & Gold
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Step Your Stitches

 

When working vertical satin stitches to fill an irregularly shaped area, it’s extremely tempting to crowd the stitch on one side of the design or the other. I think the reason for this is that satin stitch is generally demonstrated in diagrams as worked straight up and down, right next to each other. For example, this is what a typical satin stitch diagram might look like:

Vertical Satin Stitch on a Slanted Design
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Thimble Pads – Pros & Cons for Embroiderers

 

The Thimble – it is a humble little tool that’s been around for a long time! Did you know the earliest archeological thimble-finds date to the 1st century AD? So it’s a little tool with a long history, and throughout the thimble’s history – whether made from ornate, precious materials or simple wood or leather – the thimble’s Ultimate Goal has been to protect the fingers of people like you and me.

And that is a Noble Goal.

But there are lots of people out there who don’t use thimbles. I was one of them. I didn’t learn to stitch with a thimble, so at first it was pretty awkward getting used to working with one. This is the thimble that I use when I use a thimble, and I’ve gotten a whole lot better at using it.

But when I came across Thimble Pads the other day, I thought, “Why not? I’ll give them a try.”

And I did give the weird things a try. These are my impressions.

Thimble
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A Pretty Little Treasure!

 

Remember the goldwork & silk Tudor-style rose? I’ve not done anything with the sample I stitched, I suppose because it is “just” a sample. I’m using it for reference as I work on the Medallion project. Eventually, I will be stitching five more of those roses. (Yeeeeesh. What was I thinking?)

But I love seeing what other people do, when they embroider a project initiated here on Needle ‘n Thread, and here’s a great example of a beautiful finish!

Goldwork & Silk Tudor-style Rose Tape Measure Cover
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Home Sweet Home – Book Give-Away!

 

If you read my review of Carolyn Pearce’s new book, Home Sweet Home: An Embroidered Workbox, and you decided you just must have a copy, well – you’re in luck! Today, courtesy of Country Bumpkin, I’m giving away a copy of the book to TWO lucky winners!

And, on the even brighter side of things, I’ve got the books in my possession, so as soon as the give-away is over, if you win, your copy will be on its way to you, and you’ll have it possibly before it’s even available in stores. In the long-run, this doesn’t mean a lot, but if you’re super-eager to see it, this might be a good way to get your copy post-haste!

Home Sweet Home: An Embroidered Workbox
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