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 5, 2011
It was one of those e-mails: “Can you look at this and tell me how it was done?” It was a picture of a daisy embroidered in detached chain stitch (lazy daisy stitch), only there was a difference – the anchor stitches on all the petals were worked in a different color from the petals. It was really cute!
July 4, 2011
Last year, when the Royal School of Needlework began producing a series called “Essential Stitch Guides,” I was pretty excited! The first two books in the series, the RSN Essential Stitch Guide for Blackwork and the RSN Essential Stitch Guide for Crewelwork, I’ve already reviewed. I like them both.
The RSN Stitch Guide for Silk Shading is going to be a little more difficult to review. After reading the book cover-to-cover, I have to admit that I wasn’t in raptures over it. That’s not to say it doesn’t have some good points and some good content. I’ll give you a synopsis and touch on some pros and cons, from my point of view. Then you can decide whether or not you’ll add it to your library.
July 2, 2011
Reader Charlotte Halley sent a photo of her embroidered version of the Hungarian Flower Pot hand embroidery pattern, and with her permission, I thought I’d share it with you!
July 1, 2011
For me, the question of the Ultimate Design Transfer Technique for embroiderers is an ever-present one. I’ve discussed in-depth the various hand embroidery design transfer options that are available and often used, but you know, I’ve never found the Absolutely Perfect Design Transfer Method, and I don’t think I ever will.
That being said, I did manage transferring a couple of designs this week, and one of them is this one from the “Royal Persian Blossom” collection from Talliaferro designs.
During the transfer process (I used the prick-and-pounce method), I learned a couple little lessons that I thought I’d share with you.
June 30, 2011
Gilt Faconnee is a metal thread that’s new to me. I’ve never used it before, and when I saw it the first time, I thought, “Hm. This is different.”
In a sense, it is different. But in another sense, it isn’t.
June 29, 2011
Yesterday, we talked about couching gold thread over flat silk thread, in a technique called “Italian Stitch.” One other thought occurred to me while I was trying out the Elizabethan twist couched over flat silk in random patterns. I wonder how this random couching would look, on top of a colored silk fabric, rather than on thread?
And so I set about to answer that question, by stitching up a small sample, just enough to see what it would look like.
June 28, 2011
In a very old book on church embroidery (Church Embroidery and Church Vestments by Lucy Mackrille), I was quite taken by a technique that the author called the “Italian Stitch.” Why she called it that, I couldn’t tell you. I would guess that it was a stitch common on Italian-made vestments back in the day. But that’s just a guess. And I could be wrong.
I played around with this Italian Stitch once upon a time, and I did end up liking it a lot. In fact, I used it on the background sky in my Agnus Dei project.
I was thinking about using the same technique in the project I’m working on now, so I played around with it – with some variation.
