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
March 8, 2011
Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915 is not a needlework book. But it’s a book that will fascinate serious embroiderers who have an interest in textiles, clothing, and history. Or just in pretty pictures…
March 7, 2011
This past weekend, I had a chance to try out Sulky’s Iron-On Transfer Pens. Readers have sent questions about them for a while, but they’re not something I’ve ever tried before, until this weekend. I could never give an answer beyond “I’ve heard they work ok, but I haven’t tried them.” This is something I wanted to remedy!
Now I’ve tried them. Here’s a little bit on how you’re supposed to use the pens, along with my impressions and some pros and cons while working through a couple transfers using the Little Tulips hand embroidery pattern.
March 6, 2011
This is a pattern re-make! I was looking for an embroidery pattern that was small and simple – something suitable for a wee project that’s tumbling around in my head. Something…. simple. Simple lines. Simple shape. Not much to it.
So I started filtering through the embroidery patterns here on Needle ‘n Thread to remind myself exactly what I have on here, and when I came to this Tulips a la Morris pattern, I realized it was exactly what I was looking for – but it was too big, and the lines weren’t quite sharp enough. I drew the older one up when I was tracing patterns with a tablet (which I still do, now and again!) So I revamped the pattern, cleaned up the lines, and shrunk it down to 3″ tall.
March 5, 2011
Well, if nothing else is progressing very quickly in my life right now (as a school teacher, I’ve always found this time of year to be the s-l-o-w-e-s-t), this miniature embroidery project – a miniature reproduction of the Lady & the Unicorn “Sense of Hearing” tapestry from the Cluny museum – is actually coming along better than I thought it would be!
March 4, 2011
Floche is a non-divisible thread, made up of 5 plies of softly twisted cotton. It’s a beautiful thread which stitches up wonderfully. Floche comes in a gorgeous array of colors, though not as many colors are available in the US as there are available in Europe (haven’t the foggiest reason why – ask DMC!).
Floche, as I mentioned, is non-divisible. You’re meant to stitch with the whole strand, not separating it as you would separate stranded cotton.
March 3, 2011
A buttonhole stitch face-off – it’s a great way to embroider a wide line that is similar to ladder stitch but works up a lot faster. Let me show you what I mean:
March 2, 2011
Time to finish up this interlude on combining fabric, paper, and embroidery to create little gift boxes using the Silhouette cutting machine and fabric interfacing. Day before yesterday, I reviewed the Silhouette, and yesterday, we looked at the first steps in making these small gift boxes out of paper and fabric. Today, we’ll finish those up, add a touch of embroidery, and construct them into boxes.
