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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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  • How-To
    Videos

    Over 75 Embroidery Stitch Videos to Help You Learn

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    A Collection of Instructional Articles

 
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July 23, 2010

Deliberating over Linen Choices

 

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Oooooooh. I’m in a bind. A pickle. A dilemma. A quandary, even. In short, I am bemuddled, addled, flustered, and even… confused. I’m feeling just a bit like Winnie the Pooh, when he realized he had fluff in his head. And it’s all because of LINEN!

I’ve begun work on the pall I was talking about yesterday twice now, and I can’t decide on the linen to use. Both linens I’ve started out with have shortcomings for this project. May I tell you about them? Maybe someone out there will have a better solution for me that will put my mind at rest!

Hand Embroidered Pall
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July 20, 2010

Transfer Embroidery Designs with a Flair?

 

I’ve been wanting to do this for a looooong time. Almost a year ago, I wrote about using watercolor pencils to transfer embroidery designs. After writing the post, in which I wished for the Ultimate Embroidery Transfer Implement, a reader (Jean, thank you!) sent me an e-mail suggesting that I try the Paper Mate Flair ultra fine felt tip marker in green. Now, the Papermate Flair is not an “embroidery transfer pen.” It is simply a fine tipped marker with a quick-drying water based ink. But I was curious about it – Jean said that she uses the green ultra-fine Flair for all her embroidery transfers and it washes out every time. So…. I purchased a set of the pens in a variety of colors and over the weekend, I finally began The Experiment.

Embroidery Transfer with Paper Mate Flair
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Hand Embroidery Books

July 19, 2010

A-Z of Embroidery Stitches 2: Book Review

 

Embroidery Stitch Dictionaries are handy books to have on your shelf, if you’re a die-hard embroidery fanatic.

Even if you only dabble in hand embroidery as an occasional hobby, you’ll never be sorry you have a stitch dictionary or two at hand – they are wonderful reference tools to have on hand, especially when you want to expand your stitching horizons a bit.

One of my favorite series of how-to books for embroidery is the A-Z series, which used to be published by Country Bumpkin, but is now (as of 2014) published by Search Press.

Today, I want to show you one of their stitch dictionaries – A-Z of Embroidery Stitches 2. It’s a terrific stitch dictionary for stitchers wishing to increase their stitching repertoire.

A-Z of Embroidery Stitches 2 published by Search Press
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Uncategorized

July 16, 2010

Victorian Perforated Paper Embroidery

 

While enjoying life in the Canadian Maritimes on my recent break, I ran into a few needlework-related items. The first one was a piece of Victorian perforated paper embroidery, hung on the wall of the “rectory” in the idyllic (and fictitious) town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Since I took a few photos of the piece, I thought I’d share them with you and tell you a bit about this embroidery fad that lasted from the 1820’s through 1910, reaching its zenith of popularity in the 1880’s and 90’s.

(You can click on the image below for a larger version.)

Victorian Perforated Paper Embroidery in Avonlea on Prince Edward Island
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