Today, we’re going to get technical!

As we near the end of Sweet Marguerite, we have to prepare the hem for the decorative hemstitch. This process is going to be the most fiddly part of the whole project, and it will take two articles here on the blog. If you take it slowly and carefully, the results will be satisfactory, and the hemstitch will be a breeze!

For members on Patreon, I’ve already posted the PDF that covers everything in this article and in the next article, so you already have this information! Still, it’s helpful to read the blog post, too, because you never know what tips you might pick up!

The first step in the whole process of preparing for the hemstitching – once your embroidery is finished – is to damp stretch the piece.

I’ve written about damp stretching numerous times here on Needle ‘n Thread (and in many of the projects we’ve done so far), so I’m just going to refer you to these two articles – Damp Stretching & Blocking Embroidery and A Damp Stretching Tip – to show you how it’s done.

The second article is how I invariably damp stretch small embroidery items these days. You’ll need sewing pins, a spray bottle, and surface to pin your work down. Once the piece is completely dry (I usually leave mine overnight), you’re ready to move on to the rest of the preparation process below.

My friends, a little heads up: if you are planning to travel to Kansas in the next week (because I know that Kansas must be the vacation mecca of the world), don’t. We are melting here. We’ve been shortening our work days somewhat, to accommodate this uptick in heat indices. By mid afternoon – with the southern sun pelting the front of the building – we’ve been wiped out. So we’ve been going home early, where we can sweat in peace. It’s putting a crimp in my catch-up plans, but such is life! It’ll pass soon – autumn is coming!

My last act of today, then, before heading to potentially cooler accommodations, is to leave you with this installment of Sweet Marguerite, where we finally finish the embroidery by stitching the leaves.

Members of the Needle ‘n Thread Community over on Patreon, I posted a PDF this morning for you. It covers all the embroidery on the project, so please pick that up over there if you’re on Patreon.