Archives for March 2021

Stitch Book to Practice Embroidery

March 25, 2021 Anne Leave a Comment

I am so happy to present you my stitch book! It’s like a sort of physical version of the Diary of a Northern Belle. When I first got the idea for this blog name, I knew I’d have to embroider a little something to represent it. When I started the embroidery on the front cover, I intended it to cover the box I used in the Redwork Box Project. Then I thought it would be more appropriate to turn it into a little “diary” of sorts. A place where I could store pieces of fabric with practice stitches and half-finished projects. I had been meaning to sew myself a little book to practice stitches for a while now, but none of the styles I came across suited me. So I had to make my own!

The embroidery on the front cover features one of those vintage “Southern belle” ladies. Except this particular one is northern, of course. 😉 There is also historical edging taken from an 1860s pattern, as well as some of my own design. My northern belle needed a pile of books and a warm cup of tea. And of course, adding titles and quotes always ties everything nicely together!

The vintage pattern I used can be found here.

Touches of Historical Embroidery

The little branches of red berries found on all four corners of the front cover, and on the two upper corners of the left inside cover were taken from the embroidery section of the Ladies’ Handbook of Fancy and Ornamental Work. The copy I have is a 2016 unabridged reproduction of the collection by Florence Hartley. It was originally published in 1889 and features directions and patterns from the American Civil War era.

The little berries can be found on p. 131, labeled “edging”. Edging patterns were used to add needleworked embellishment on various items such as handkerchiefs, collars, or skirt hems.

I really wanted to decorate the corners of my stitch book cover. So, I decided to embroider only one of the little motifs in each corner, and I really like the outcome! A full row would also look super cute, maybe around sleeve cuffs or a skirt hem.

I actually contemplated embroidering a row of the little cherries on the right inside pocket. However, since the background fabric of the inside cover already featured very similar little berries, I thought it would be just a little too similar. I opted for the edging pattern on the same page that’s right above. It also looks like a berry, but is different enough from the fabric print.

I decided to stitch the edging with colours that matched the background fabric of the inside cover. By making the berry white, it doesn’t so much look like a berry anymore.

I’m also quite pleased with how it turned out, aside from the dramatic angle it took because I apparently can’t follow a straight line…. But the embroidery itself turned out quite well, I think! I tried Perle Cotton thread (no. 5, white) for the first time and I must say I rather like it. I’ve since been looking for a new project where I could use it in order to justify buying more. It gives it a sort of crocheted baby-blanket look, if that makes any sense at all.

The Ladies’ Handbook is a great resource so far, including patterns and instructions for various kinds of needlework. The embroidery section features a lot of detailed handkerchief borders and beautiful flower designs. I will definitely have recourse to it again in the future!

Embroidery Stitches

Specific instructions or stitch suggestions as to how to work the edging patterns are not provided in the Ladies’ Handbook. I decided to keep it fairly simple for this project. With the exception of the little hedgehog on the inside left pocket, the red berries, and some elements of the border on the right pocket, everything is done in outline stitches. I mainly used the split and back stitches.

Some of the detail elements are done in satin stitch, lazy-daisy and French knots (which I plan on providing a tutorial for very soon). I’ve also used straight stitches for the grass on the front cover and the pine needles on the inside left pocket.

The little hedgehog and the pine branch emerged from little sketches I made. I kept being drawn to little woodland creatures and autumny, woodsy things while planning the project and wanted to find a way to incorporate some of them into the overall design. I worked the hedgehog in a sort of very unofficial needlepainting method with long & short stitches that didn’t always end up where I wanted them…

…but in the end it didn’t turn out too bad and I’m very happy with it!! <3

Making the Stitch Book

When I first got the idea of making a stitch book to practice my embroidery stitches, I knew that it would need “pages” of fabric to practice and experiment with stitches, but I didn’t want them to be attached to the book. I wanted to be able to add and remove them as I needed. That way, it’s much easier to mount a single piece of fabric onto the embroidery hoop rather than a piece of fabric attached to the stitch book. I also didn’t want all the pages to be predetermined and I wanted to be able to easily add new ones without having to sew them in each time.

So my solution to that was simply to thread a piece ribbon through the “spine” of the book. By tying it in a bow, I can easily add and remove fabric pages.

And it works for attaching a fabric page of any size that isn’t overly bigger than the book itself, because smaller pages can be threaded through only one end of the ribbon and still remain attached.

Plus, there are the two inside pockets too, if I need to stuff smaller bits or carry my snips and some floss.

The construction process was overall pretty simple. I did a bit of piecework on the front cover to frame the embroidery, and I used fusible interfacing to stiffen both the front and back covers, as well as the spine. The ribbon closure on the side keeps the book closed and matches the one on the inside.

view of fabric pieces being assembled to form outside of stitch book; front cover, spine, and back cover — Adding an extra piece of fabric as a “spine” so it will close nicely and there will be room for fabric pages.

front and back covers with fusible interfacing — Front and back covers reinforced with fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric.

close up view of closed stitched book featuring the side ribbon closure — Stitchbook opens and closes with another piece of ribbon 🙂

Originally, I had intended to make a tutorial post on how I made this stitch book, but there ended up being a little too much improvisation here and there, as well as mad scrambling around for fabric scraps. So I decided to save that for another time when I inevitably make another one, if it’s something that would interest you. Don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments!

flat lay view of closed stitchbook showing embroidered front cover. Stitchbook is surrounded by pinecone props and other dried flowers, as well as winded red floss and red autumn leaves — Finished dimensions are 8” x 9”, a little bit bigger than your average book or journal.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope this was at least a bit inspirational! 😊 I’m looking forward to filling my new little book with all sorts of fun stitches!

Fondly,

Redwork Embroidery: upcycling with this great 19th century technique

March 25, 2021 Anne Leave a Comment

Ever since I started embroidery a few years ago, simple vintage designs featuring pretty flowers and helpful little animals have been one of my favourite go-tos. There is something so pleasing about their simplicity, and they’re so easy and quick to stitch. Perfect for beginners, and perfect for adding handstitched touches here and there without it taking too long. And that’s exactly what redwork embroidery is all about!

redwork embroidery vintage birds and hoop stitched in red thread

I’m the absolute worst when it comes to deciding what to embroider because there are just SO many options! I’m working on improving my own doodling and drawing skills to be able to stitch more of my own designs, but I do love working with vintage and historical designs – and what better place to browse for them than Pinterest? Which can easily end up taking hours since we all know Pinterest is a most wonderful vortex of endless ideas! And if choosing or coming up with a design wasn’t time-consuming already, choosing floss colours can take just as long!

An easy solution to that demanding conundrum is to opt for a single-colour technique like Redwork.

vintage teacup pincushion with close-up view of an assortment of red embroidery threads

What is Redwork?

As you might have guessed, rework is embroidery worked entirely in red thread, typically on white fabric (like linen or cotton). It emerged in the late 19^th century, when red was one of the only colourfast dyed threads available on the market. Easily accessible to people of all classes, it was often worked on schoolgirls’ samplers and embroidered on various home items such as pillows and tablecloths. Its popularity endured well into the 20^th century and is still practiced today, especially on quilts and other patchwork. Redwork designs are typically very simple and full of old country charm. It features things like Sunbonnet Sues, flowers, fruits and vegetables, birds, and other cute little animals. Of course, there are no limits to what you can choose to embroider in redwork! Any design of your choice worked entirely in red thread can constitute redwork.

redwork embroidery vintage bird holding a piece of thread in its beak

Advantages of Redwork

Redwork is probably one of the most beginner-friendly types of embroidery out there. If you’re looking to start stitching, a redwork project would be an excellent place to start. Not only don’t you have to worry about colours, but redwork designs are usually all worked in basic outline stitches, using very few variations and little to no filling. Typical stitches used in redwork include the backstitch, split stitch, stem stitch, French knot, lazy-daisy, and sometimes a bit of satin stitch. You can easily decide to combine as few or as many as you want.

vintage bird design in redwork embroidery using splitstitch outlining technique (in progress) — Little bird outlined in splitstitch and “Wednesday” part of the title worked in backstitch.

Even for the seasoned embroiderer, the charm and simplicity of redwork lends itself beautifully to handmade accents for the kitchen or the sewing room. Plus, if you don’t worry about filling in any shape, it’s so quick to stitch!

lazy-daisy stitches to create flowers and leaves on embroidery hoop part of the design — I used the lazy-daisy stitch to create the flowers and leaves on the embroidery hoop design. The bird is done in splitstich and straight stitch (for the line details), and the needle and thread and done in backstitch.

Box Project

I had been wanting to try redwork for a while now, ever since falling in love with those cute, whimsical vintage patterns found all over the Internet. This box project was the perfect opportunity. In an effort to further organize my embroidery supplies, I decided to convert an empty Lindt chocolate box into a nice cozy home for them. As always, I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to decide what to embroider on the lid…in the end, I finally decided to try redwork thanks to my fabric choice.

finished project filled with various sewing supplies like lace, thread, embroidery hoop, floss

I have this bag of miscellaneous quilting cotton squares (used for anything except quilting, apparently) and I had just the right amount of the red gingham ones to go around the box to cover it. And what would look better paired with red gingham than redwork!

materials used to upcycle an old chocolate box: fabric, ruler, pencil, scissors, embroidered fabric to cover the lid

red gingham quilting squares and bird snips

box lid cover in progress - gingham squares sewn to main embroidered fabric

I chose a vintage “sew on Wednesday” design found via Pinterest, modified a little by adding my own quote. You can see the original here.

I worked most of it in backstitch and splitstich. I also used lazy-daisy for the flowers and some straight stitches here and there. It was super quick and easy! Using only one colour made it so much easier to re-thread the needle and carry the project with me for on-the-go stitching! I used two strands of DMC no. 816 for the entire design.

full view of redwork embroidery birds and embroidery hoop

I love filling blank spaces, so naturally I had to add a few other decorative touches, and found some little scraps of lace and the cutest buttons in the perfect shade of red.

close-up of red button and white lace used to decorate box lid corners

I sewed my little 3×3’’ gingham squares together to go around the lid, and then I stitched them to the redworked fabric for the lid top. More squares were sewn together to go around the bottom of the box, and hot glued them to the inside to hold in place.

red gingham squares going around the box

gingham fabric being hot glued around box

Turns out hot glue + fabric create bulk! No! Who would have thought?! Lo and behold, said bulk made the lid too small for the bottom and my box could no longer close…OOPS. Clearly I did not think this through. Guess that’s why they always told us not to mix fabric and glue in Costume Studies, lol!!

At least, I had started with the lid and the bottom was yet untouched. I was able to cut open one side and cut off a bit of the box bottom to make it smaller to fit under the lid. I can’t cut a straight line to save my life so it turned out crooked, but you can’t tell once the box is closed. And it closes so that’s all that matters!! 😉

finished box covered with fabric and redwork embroidery — **Finished dimensions ended up being 6 1/2″ x 8 3/4″**

Overall I’m very happy with it despite its imperfections. It makes a charming addition to my attempts at organizing, and my little birds remind me to stitch everyday 😊. It really is an easy project to do, the possibilities are endless and it’s a great way to recycle a perfectly good, sturdy box. Pick any fabric you like to cover it, and embroider or decorate it however you want! (wow, I really don’t make it easy to narrow down choices, do I??)

If you’re also interested in these fun vintage patterns, check out the fabulous collection over at French Knots, and follow my Pinterest board.

Let me know your thoughts on redwork in the comments! I hope you try it and are as charmed by it as I was.

Fondly,

Sources:

The book Simply Redwork by Mandy Shaw (published by David & Charles in the UK, 2014) and the article “Black and Blue and Red All Over” from the Embroidery Library website (last accessed March 25th, 2021) were consulted to learn more about the history of Redwork.

The Only Embroidery Tools You Need

March 24, 2021 Anne Leave a Comment

Starting a new hobby can often become rapidly very expensive. The good news with getting into embroidery is that you don’t need a whole lot of fancy tools and equipment. Getting started is easy and inexpensive! In fact, you probably already have a few of the following items lying around the house.

Embroidery Hoop:

Embroidery hoops are essential for keeping your fabric taut and the tension even. They come in a variety of sizes and materials, generally ranging from wide 12” ones to small 4” ones. The most common ones are made of wood or plastic. Usually, they have an adjustable screw on the outer ring to make it easy to tighten the fabric and keep the tension even. They can be found in major craft stores (in Canada, you can get them at Michaels or Fabricville/Fabricland). You can also purchase them online. You can even get fancy ones with a stand, which are especially great because they free both your hands. These are a bit harder and more expensive to find however, and are not essential if you’re just starting out. Any hoop size can work, it will really depend on the size of your project. I like to keep a few of different sizes on hand!

Side Effect Warning:

Embroidery hoops make the cutest frames and will soon become your preferred way of displaying your embroidery… prepare to have all your walls decorated with them. 😉

Fabric:

Pretty much any fabric can be embroidered on, but some are definitely easier to work with! Woven fabrics are especially ideal. Think light to medium-weight cottons or cotton blends, or linen for example. I would recommend something with a tight enough weave so that your stitches remain secure, unless you are planning on using the weave of the fabric to guide your stitches (such as for cross-stitch). I recommend staying away from anything knit or stretchy, as it’s so much more difficult to keep the tension even and prevent puckering. You’ll also want to avoid using fabric that is too see-through (like lining…I tried that once, don’t recommend!). That’s because all the back threads and knots and other such bits of floss will show through on the good side. However, if your fabric is too heavy-weight and thick, it will be more difficult to transfer your design if you’re tracing it from a pattern or an image.

Side Effect Warning:

I’m not kidding when I say that pretty much every type of fabric can be embroidered on though – you’ll soon find yourself adding embroidery on everything, even things that aren’t fabric…(I recently cross-stitched a plastic phone case lol! Super fun but hard on the fingers.)

Needles:

Perhaps the most necessary embroidery tool, the needle is an embroiderer’s best friend. You obviously can’t stitch without it! There are a few different kinds of embroidery needles out there, varying in length, size, and sharpness. Embroidery needles (also called crewelwork needles or sharps) are longer and have a bigger eye than common sewing needles. Because embroidery floss is thicker than sewing thread, you will want a needle with an eye wide enough to thread your floss, and a tip sharp enough to pierce the fabric repeatedly. Embroidery needles usually come in packs that identifies them by number; the higher the number, the smaller the needle. The sizes range from 1-12, and one pack will usually feature more than one size (I personally like the 3-9). The varying lengths and sizes will depend on the kind of stitches you’re interested in trying. I would recommend trying a few different ones and seeing what feels most comfortable.

Ideally, you don’t want to use too big a needle to create unnecessarily large holes in your fabric, or too small a needle that you can’t thread it properly. If you start with getting a set of “embroidery” or “crewelwork” needles within the 1-12 size range and you work with DMC cotton floss (or Anchor or another equivalent), you’ll be good to go! You can find embroidery needles in major or local craft stores, or online directly on the DMC website.

Side-effect warning:

Making cozy little homes for your needles in the form of cases and needlebooks will become as much a priority as a necessity.

Floss:

Aaaahh, this is undoubtedly the best part and the most fun to buy! The two major brands of cotton floss are DMC and Anchor, although I’ve mostly only seen DMC sold in stores around here. Again, you can get embroidery floss at most major craft stores as well as in various other local craft stores or online (the DMC website is pretty great!). Anchor and DMC use a different numbering system to identify all their colours, but there are several useful charts you can find online for colour equivalencies.

Cotton embroidery floss comes in stranded skeins of about 8 meters long (8.7 yards). The 6 strands are loosely woven together, allowing you to easily separate them depending on how thick or thin you want your embroidery to be. Most surface embroidery projects are often stitched using 2 or 3 strands at a time. However, you can use as few or as many as you want depending on what you’re stitching and what you want the overall effect to be.

Side effect warning:

Buying floss is one of the most addictive things ever, as you’ll soon convince yourself that you need ALL. THE. COLOURS.

Snips:

Snips or embroidery scissors (basically small, precise sewing scissors) are an essential tool for embroidery because you’ll need a small, fine blade for making precise and clean cuts. The fine point of embroidery scissors makes it easy and un-stressful to snip threads close to the main fabric and embroidery work. Snips also come in different shapes and sizes. Ideally you’ll want a pair with a blade about 1-2” long. They can be picked up at most major craft stores or you can browse Etsy to find some truly unique or vintage ones!

I’ve somehow ended up with two pairs of these popular stork-shaped ones, of different sizes. They’re definitely my favourite kind of snips so far. The blade is nice and thin, its fine point ideal for detailwork and making clean cuts. I love them and strongly recommend them! I got the smaller pair on Amazon, and the larger one at my local Fabricville store. They are typically around ten dollars.

Side-effect warning:

Even if you don’t end up getting bird-shaped ones, snips have a tendency of flying away. I strongly recommend tying a piece of string or ribbon to keep them around your neck, or you’ll find yourself losing them all the time (and I should consider taking my own advice).

Pencil:

There are many different ways of transferring an embroidery pattern onto fabric, and many different tools to do so. If you’re just starting, an HB or mechanical pencil will do just fine. It doesn’t work for every type and colour of fabric, but if you’re using a lightweight cotton or linen that is see-through enough, it works wonderfully. Because a well-sharpened (or mechanical) pencil tip is so precise, it is ideal for marking or transferring patterns with small details.

Other useful marking tools include the water-soluble pen, which washes off easily with water (2). The iron-on transfer pen (3) transfers your design using heat. The chalk pen (4) works like a mechanical pencil but uses chalk refills instead of graphite. The latter can prove very useful if you’re planning on embroidering on darker fabrics, but they can be expensive.

Side Effect Warning:

Even though I love trying out different kinds of transfer method, I have to be honest and admit that the mechanical pencil really is my favourite! No trick for this one. Although you may end up like me and just convince yourself you need the latest transfer pen they come up with. Maybe 😉

Window:

This is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think “embroidery tools”, but! If you’re using a paper pattern – or just an image you want to copy– the easiest and cheapest way to get it onto your fabric is by tracing it over a window during the daytime. Simply tape your paper pattern to the window and then secure your fabric over it. Trace your design onto the fabric using the marking tool of your choice. The iron-on transfer pen won’t work for this method, but a pencil will work great. Voilà, natural lightbox!

Side Effect Warning:

Speaking of lightboxes, if you’re serious about getting into embroidery, you’ll probably want to invest in an actual one. While the window trick does work quite well, it can become very tiring on the arms and sadly doesn’t work after like, 4 pm during the winter when darkness comes on so quickly.

And that’s it!! Those are the only embroidery tools you really need to get started and achieve satisfying results, and you don’t need to break the bank to do so. Embroidery is a wonderfully affordable hobby. I hope you found this post useful and that you decide to give embroidery a try if you were thinking about it. Happy stitching!

Fondly,

embroidery tools for beginners — Pin to save for later!

5 Easy Embroidery Stitches Tutorial

March 24, 2021 Anne Leave a Comment

Welcome to my very first embroidery tutorial, where I will share with you 5 different stitches to help you get started with hand embroidery! The straight stitch, the running stitch, the backstitch, the split stitch, and the stem stitch. They are basic embroidery stitches, and the best ones to learn first as a beginner. Used in nearly all surface embroidery techniques, they also form the bases of more advanced stitches and are frequently used in hand-sewing.

Without further ado, let’s dive in to the tutorial! You will need basic embroidery supplies, and you can find more information on that here.

Getting Started

Cut a piece of embroidery floss about the length of your forearm and thread your needle. You can use as many strands of the floss as you want for practicing these stitches – I used three. Leave a tail of about 3-4” hanging. Knot the end of the longer length or secure your thread with one of these methods. Often, knots are not always the best way to start and finish embroidery, but for the purpose of practicing these stitches, they’re perfectly fine. Place your fabric in the embroidery hoop, tightening the screw until the fabric is nice and taut. I suggest adding a few pencil guidelines to practice lines of stitching.

1. The Straight Stitch

Bring your needle up from the back of the hooped fabric to form point A.

Decide on the length of your stitch and direction of your stitch, and bring your needle down in point B, forming a straight line.

And voilà, you’ve done the straight stitch! It’s pretty straightforward and might seem overly basic, but it’s a very useful stitch for making short, continuous lines to add details. Creating small motifs with the straight stitch also works really well too (like blades of grass or a leaf, for example).

2. The Running Stitch

If you sew, you’ve no doubt had to baste something by hand at some point. In which case, you already know how to do a running stitch! They’re pretty much the same thing.

Bring your needle up from the back, pulling all the way, to form point A. Then bring your needle down in B, and back up in C, down in D and back up in E, without pulling the thread yet. You’re essentially “loading” your needle with stitches before pulling through to stitch faster.

When you pull through, you will have nice straight stitches from A-B and C-D. If you use a longer needle you can take even more stitches before pulling! Repeat as many times as needed to get a continuous line.

3. The Backstitch

One of the most common outline stitches, the backstitch can be used to embroider just about anything. Frequently used in cross-stitch as well, to add outlines and details, it’s one of the most useful stitches out there!

Bring your threaded needle up from the back at point A and back down again in B, forming a small straight stitch.

Bring your needle up from the back again in C, at a distance that equals the size of the first stitch. Go back down again in B, through the same hole (this will make the stitches look neater and better connected).

Repeat to get a nice continuous line, always going down into the previous hole.

4. The Stem Stitch

The stem stitch is a variation of the backstitch. The needle also comes back up at the end of the previous stitch, but you do so while holding the working thread to form a loop.

Bring your needle up at point A and back down at point B, but before you pull all the way through to make a straight stitch, bring your needle back up at point C. That should be right between points A and B.

Once you’ve pulled that stitch flat, your working thread will be coming up right beside the stitch. To work the next stitch, bring the needle down at point D, and back up again at point B, coming up through the same hole.

Keep the working thread below the stitching line. If you keep it above, the stitching line, it will have a slightly different look and becomes an outline stitch.

Repeat the previous steps to create a continuous line, always going back down at the end of the previous stitch, in the same hole.

5. The Split Stitch

The split stitch is probably my all-time favourite stitch, and I use it everywhere. If I have to outline something, I often chose it over the backstitch, because I find it looks neater and more textured. Also a derivative of the backstitch, it starts off the same way.

Come up from the back in A and down through B to form a small straight stitch.

Bring your needle back up in C, right through the middle of the previous stitch, thus splitting it.

Bring your needle down again in D to form the next stitch.

Repeat the process to get a nice continuous line!

Note: This stitch is easier to work with an even number of strands to create a better “split”.

Don’t you love its braided effect? It’s so pretty.

Now you know how to do the 5 most basic embroidery stitches! I hope you found this tutorial helpful and that you have fun practicing these stitches. Thank you so much for reading, and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any comments or questions. I also have tutorials for the following basic stitches: the chain stitch and lazy-daisy, the French knot, and the satin stitch.

Fondly,

Welcome to my Blog

March 24, 2021 Anne Leave a Comment

Hello, friends! I’m so happy to welcome you to the Diary of a Northern Belle as it finally begins its journey. I have lots of exciting things planned and I can’t wait to share my needlework adventures with you!

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a couple of years now. Between school and work, it was often hard to find the time and commitment. Having just graduated with a degree in Costume Studies, I’ve decided to finally start to encourage me to stay creative. I hope to keep practicing the skills I’ve acquired, learn new ones, and keep track of them all by sharing them with you in this “diary”.

I’m particularly interested in historical embroidery techniques and I love vintage patterns. I’ve tried a few different kinds of hand embroidery and needlework. Namely redwork, whitework, ribbon embroidery, art needlework, and counted cross-stitch. I’m always excited to try new techniques. I start too many projects at once that lie unfinished for way too long (and I’m sure a lot of you can relate!). I derive most of my inspiration from literature, period dramas, and flowers. I’m hoping to combine these interests with my passions for writing and hand embroidery here on my blog.

I don’t consider myself to be an expert by any means and still have so much to learn, but I love hand embroidery. I’ve been doing it for a few years now, so I’d love to share my tips and various inspiration with you! I’m hoping to make this blog a nice little cozy corner on the Internet that will help and inspire people interested in starting embroidery, or looking for new ideas and new ways to stay creative with their stitching.

So grab your needle and thread and a warm cup of tea, and join me on this journey! I hope you enjoy browsing through my blog.

embroidery hoop art featuring hanging branch stitched in green with orange buds

Fondly,

Cookie	Duration	Description
__cfduid	1 month	The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Floral Garden Bunting Project: a Wrap-Up on the 2023 Stitch-Along

Fall Floral Embroidery Pattern: Calendula Wreath

“Embroideries From an English Garden” by Carol Andrews – Book Review

Stitch Book to Practice Embroidery

Touches of Historical Embroidery

Embroidery Stitches

Making the Stitch Book

Redwork Embroidery: upcycling with this great 19th century technique

What is Redwork?

Advantages of Redwork

Box Project

I love filling blank spaces, so naturally I had to add a few other decorative touches, and found some little scraps of lace and the cutest buttons in the perfect shade of red.

Sources:

The Only Embroidery Tools You Need

Embroidery Hoop:

Fabric:

Side Effect Warning:

Needles:

Side-effect warning:

Floss:

Side effect warning:

Snips:

Side-effect warning:

Pencil:

Side Effect Warning:

Window:

Side Effect Warning:

5 Easy Embroidery Stitches Tutorial

Getting Started

1. The Straight Stitch

2. The Running Stitch

3. The Backstitch

4. The Stem Stitch

5. The Split Stitch

Welcome to my Blog

THE LATEST

Archives for March 2021

Touches of Historical Embroidery

Embroidery Stitches

Making the Stitch Book

What is Redwork?

Advantages of Redwork

Box Project

I love filling blank spaces, so naturally I had to add a few other decorative touches, and found some little scraps of lace and the cutest buttons in the perfect shade of red.

Sources:

Embroidery Hoop:

Fabric:

Side Effect Warning:

Needles:

Side-effect warning:

Floss:

Side effect warning:

Snips:

Side-effect warning:

Pencil:

Side Effect Warning:

Window:

Side Effect Warning:

Getting Started

1. The Straight Stitch

2. The Running Stitch

3. The Backstitch

4. The Stem Stitch

5. The Split Stitch