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

     Anne      Leave a Comment

 

Last year, I shared monthly floral embroidery motifs with my email subscribers, with the aim of turning the 12 embroideries into a string of bunting at the end of the year. I’ve just finished mine and shared the final instructions via the newsletter. Since there’s been renewed interest in the project, I thought I’d share the patterns here as well to make it easier for everyone to download and keep track of. I’m so glad people are enjoying this sweet little project!! πŸ™‚

Find the quick download links below, and read on for more insight into the design process and some more useful links (really just self-indulgent flower talk & pretty photos!).

 

Floral Garden Patterns & Final Instructions PDFs

 

January-Silky-Anemone
February-Sprouting-Snowdrop
March-Sunny-Primrose
April-Budding-Crocus-1
Mays-Lily-of-the-Valley
June-Lovely-Lavender
July – Pale Hydrangea
August-Pretty-Dahlia
September-Feathery-Asters-1
October-Happy-Sunflower
November-Cheery-Chrysanthemum
December-Festive-Mistletoe
2023-Floral-Bunting-Instructions

 

January: Blue Anemone

 

Language of Flowers: Forsaken

 

(Maybe not the best way to start, but I didn’t choose the flowers according to their meaning in floriography, haha!)

 

When I started planning this stitch-along, I wanted to draw inspiration from the flowers that surround me throughout the seasons as much as possible. Since everything is covered in snow here for many months, I had to bend the rules a little some months and just go with flowers I liked and that completed each other well. I wanted something soft and blue for January, so I went with the blue anemone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in real life, but it sure does look pretty as an embroidery!

Helpful post: I published a long & short stitch tutorial specifically for this flower, which you can also refer to for the other patterns that use l & s.

 

February: Snowdrop

 

Language of Flowers: Hope

 

 

A very apt meaning for this welcome sight, wouldn’t you say? After the bleakness of winter, the emerging snowdrops announce that there is hope for spring! Another one I have yet to see in real life, but I’m always so inspired by all the creative renditions of them, especially as embroidery motifs. They are always so popular, and with good reason. With only 3 thread colours, this little pattern is straightforward to stitch, yet still holds a small challenge in keeping a good stitch direction for the leaves and petals.

 

March: Primrose

 

Language of Flowers: Early youth

 

 

I had intended at first to keep all flowers designs in blue/white/purple shades for this project. However, after seeing Catherine from Bumpkin Hill‘s sweet little primroses from her Spring Sampler pattern, I was so inspired that I couldn’t help making up my own. I can never resist buttery yellow petals! Turns out the shades fit perfectly well with the previous two designs, and the ones to come.

If you also happen to love yellow flowers, I have a pattern in my shop for a lesser-known but gorgeous wildflower: The Sulfur Cinquefoil. Beginner-friendly if you’d like to give the long & short stitch a try!

 

April: Crocus

 

Language of Flowers: Abuse not

 

(Of what?)

 

I think the crocus has to be one of my favourite flowers, purely because it’s usually one of the first ones I see once the snow finally melts. It’s the surest sign of spring and warm weather, and forever associated with beautiful things like Easter, bird’s nests, and pastel eggs. Last year, the poor crocuses lasted only about four days. An ice storm over Easter preceded unusually hot weather (like, summer-hot weather!), and the poor darlings didn’t stand a chance. (Maybe the floriography is hinting at the weather to behave, ha!) One more reason why immortalizing blooms in embroidery is so wonderful.

 

May: Lily-of-the-Valley

 

Language of Flowers: Return of happiness

 

 

Is there anything on this Earth more delicately sweet and so perfectly detailed as the lily-of-the-valley? I pondered how best to embroider the delicate scalloped edge of the flower bells, and decided that simplicity was probably key: a soft line of split stitch. I had done something similar for the bluebells in this wreath design and it worked really well. Someday, I’ll have to stitch a bigger version of this beautiful flower!

 

June: Lavender

 

Language of Flowers: Distrust

 

 

I’ll tell you what I distrust about lavender – the actual process of growing it! We were lucky to get a few buds on our potted plant last year. But in places where it grows freely and effortlessly, what is there to distrust about it? It’s rather reliable, always smells delightful, and has so many beneficial uses. I love it, and also love seeing the various ways and colours people choose when embroidering it. Mom says mine doesn’t quite look like lavender…maybe the leaves are a little too fat? Next time, I think I’ll go for bullion knots for the flower buds.

If you’re thinking of doing that too but the bullion knot stitch intimidates you, check out the hack I came up with in this post!

 

July: Hydrangea

 

Language of Flowers: A boaster. Heartlessness.

 

(I seem to have a knack for picking flowers with the most *joyful* meanings, haven’t I!)

 

 

I’ll admit, the white (cream?) hydrangeas are not my favourites. I much prefer the blue ones, or even the soft pink ones. But since the creamy white ones grow in such abundance around the house, I decided to show them some appreciation – for they are indeed lovely anyways – by including them in this project. The petals are formed with lazy-daisy stitches sewn in clusters of four, much like I did for the lilac in this wreath pattern.

Have a look at my lazy-daisy stitch tutorial if you need a refresher!

 

August: Dahlia

 

Language of Flowers: Instability

 

I think, if I may be able to settle on a favourite from this project, it would be this one. I just love how it came out, and it’s not a difficult stitch (yet it looks quite sophisticated!). The petals are a joy to fill in. Dahlias, as I’m sure you know, come in so many different colours and even different shapes. This particular one is inspired by a lone pale pink dahlia which blossomed in a pot on our front steps. The silky petals surrounding the bead-like center made it such a welcome sight every day.

Helpful post: Satin Stitch tutorial, for those sweet petals!

 

September: White Asters

 

Language of Flowers: Variety. Afterthought.

 

 

Afterthought indeed! It seems the white asters are often overlooked in favour of the more popular purple ones. But there’s something I dearly love about the wispy, feathery petals and the way the flowers grow in clumps. Nothing says “September” quite like a field full of asters lit by the golden sunlight under a blue sky. A mix of lazy-daisy stitches and straight stitches worked to achieve those thin, wispy petals, but you could stitch them with only straight stitches.

 

October: Sunflower

 

Language of Flowers: For a dwarf sunflower, adoration. For a tall sunflower, haughtiness.

 

 

What is fall without sunflowers? Absolutely one of my favourite flowers, for their cheerfulness and deep, rich colours. They may be haughty but they are so beautifully welcoming, growing tall around people’s homes and enlivening their gardens. I don’t have any myself, but there is wild Jerusalem artichoke growing in the backyard and the flowers look very similar to sunflowers!

 

November: Chrysanthemum

 

Language of Flowers: Condolences

 

 

By November, the majority of blooms are gone, the leaves have fallen, and there is often at least a snowstorm or two during the month. Having nothing in the garden to look at for inspiration anymore, I opted for a popular flower, chrysanthemum being the birth flower for November. I rummaged around in my floss box and found the perfect shades of peachy orange for the petals. I wasn’t sure how to stitch them at all, but after watching this lovely video on YouTube by Linh N. W. and remembering how Nicki Franklin of The Stitchery did her dahlias, I decided to try something similar. By layering rows of lazy-daisy stitches I was able to achieve the look I was looking for, and I was overall quite pleased with the final result!

 

December: Mistletoe

 

Language of Flowers: I surmount difficulties.

 

 

And to conclude this little series, I decided to end with a sprig of mistletoe. Usually depicted upside down, tied with a bow, I decided to stitch mine upright so it wouldn’t look funny beside the other ones. A hint of festivity for December, yet sober enough to blend in beautifully with the other designs. The creamy white berries are similar to the snowberries from my popular Winter Wreath in my shop.

 

And there we are! Another stitch-along completed, now that all these lovelies have been sewn up into bunting. There are so many things you can do with your finished embroideries (they would look lovely as stuffed hearts too!), but the bunting is a rather easy and fun way to display them all at once!

 

 

I really hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did, and thank you so much for your interest and participation. If you read this entire post I thank you sincerely (and you deserve a medal!). And now I must know…which embroidery here is your favourite? Which flowers do you personally associate/love particularly for each month? Comment below!

 

Fondly

2023 Free Yearly Stitch-Along + Mini Needle-Painting Tutorial

     Anne      8 Comments

Hello! It feels like a while since I posted anything here, and now it’s already 2023! Happy New Year to you and I hope you are having a lovely January so far. I’m thrilled to announce a new stitch-along again for this year, free to all my email subscribers.

If you’re new around here (warmest welcome!), last year I ran the Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch-along, which consisted of 12 mini-embroidered hexies turned into a mini-quilt. The project combined embroidery, EPP and hand-quilting, and was tons of fun! Each month, I sent out a small embroidery pattern to my email subscribers, and at the end of the year I put together instructions for making the hexies into a mini-quilt. (You can find more info about it in the post linked above)

This year, my theme will be “Floral Garden” and instead of a mini-quilt, we will be making a nice string of bunting. It’s something I’ve been meaning to try for a while now and this project will be the perfect opportunity. Of course, if you prefer to make a mini-quilt again, or anything else you fancy, feel free to do so!

(By the way, if you missed the Tea Party project and it sounds up your alley, you’ll be able to purchase the pattern from my shop shortly. Sign-up to the email list to get notified!)

 

The January Anemone

For January, I’m starting off with a fanciful version of a white anemone, after having been inspired amongst other things by this beautiful wreath from Stitch Floral. I knew I wanted a blue flower for January, and after much Pinterest scrolling and deliberation over the palest DMC shades, I finally settled on two beautiful blues and the palest purple and sat down to stitch.

Of course, I had to do a little needle-painting to get the effect I was looking for, and I wasn’t disappointed! Since it’s a mini-pattern, it doesn’t take too long to stitch and yet it yields a very satisfying result. If you’re new to needle-painting, fear not! Not every pattern in this stitch-along will feature needle-painting, and to make things easier I’ve put together a little tutorial for you, specifically for this flower.

I already have a tutorial for the long & short stitch here, which is the technique most often used and referred to as β€œneedle-painting”, but I wanted to simplify it a bit for this project. Since the pattern is so small, you don’t need to work many rows and the shape is quite forgiving. The addition of the grey-blue thread around the center will also hide any imperfections πŸ˜‰

You could decide to use the satin stitch if you prefer, but personally I find the long & short easier to get a better definition and control of each stitch.

 

Easy Long & Short Stitch Tutorial

1. So, to begin, you want to be using only 1 strand of floss in your needle. This is one of those stitches that is much harder to lay smoothly if you use many strands. (I’m using a darker blue for this tutorial than I did in the original pattern, for the sake of the photos.)

Start by outlining the shape with split stitch. This will give you a nice edge to work with.

Then, start your first β€œlong” or β€œshort” stitch in the middle of the petal, outside the split stitch edge. We want to be covering this edge by using it as our guide to start stitches evenly.

 

2. Work more stitches on either side of that first stitch, spaced out, in the direction you want your stitches to go. For this project, you want to angle them towards the center as much as possible, to create definition along the edges.

 

3. Begin filling in-between those guiding stitches by working β€œlong” and β€œshort” stitches. Since this is a small area, it doesn’t matter if most of your stitches are about the same length. It will end up looking a bit like satin stitch, but gives you more flexibility to work around the curved edges.

Keep your stitches nice and tight against each other – you don’t want any gaps! You can use the tip your needle to smooth out and “comb” through the stitches before making the next one.

4. You don’t need to stitch all the way to the bottom of the petal, since we will add the darker blue there. Stop when you have just a little bit left.

 

5. Add stitches with the grey-blue colour by starting through the previous row and ending right along the center edge. You will only need to add a few stitches with this colour, just to give it that extra pop and really make the petals come out. Vary the lengths of the stitches so you have visibly long and shorter ones.

And there you go! You’ll notice that the petals will sort of melt into each other, but that’s ok! The more you keep your stitches angled, the more definition they’ll have.

I hope this was helpful and I can’t wait to see your beautiful anemones! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and use the hashtag #northernbellesal if you share your creations. Happy stitching!

Fondly,

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Jam Jar Bonnets: Tutorial & Free Pattern

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!! The turkey is roasting in the oven, the colourful leaves are slowly falling, and the geese are (loudly) flying overhead. The air smells of cinnamon and apples and fun afternoon craft projects! I hope you’ve been enjoying some autumn fun and good weather lately (or summer fun, if you’re in the southern hemisphere!). It’s been delightfully warm this week for this time of year, and I’ve had a lot of fun putting together a little something to share with you: jam jar bonnets!!

 

jar bonnets project tutorial

 

Jam Jar Bonnets

I’ve been seeing the cutest ones all over Instagram, and since we’ve been making loads of jelly this season, I thought I really needed to make a few to decorate our jars! Of course, what better opportunity for a little embroidery? In today’s post, I’m going to share how I made my jar bonnets, featuring some cute apples and grapes 😊. Keep in mind there are probably hundreds of different ways you can make jar bonnets, so feel free to use different materials and experiment a bit!

 

jam jars decorated with embroidered bonnets
decorated jam jars with embroidered bonnets
front view of jam jars with decorative embroidered bonnets

 

Free Embroidery Pattern

And, as a thank-you in honour of Thanksgiving, I’m throwing in a bonus freebie: the Apple Jelly embroidery pattern! I turned it into a downloadable PDF file, ready to print if you wish, with step-by-step instructions and photos of how to stitch it. I hope you like it! It was absolutely delightful to create and stitch up, and fits perfectly atop a jar of apple jelly. So if you’re looking to decorate your jar bonnets, I’ve got just the pattern for you!

APPLE JELLY PDF EMBROIDERY PATTERNDownload

 

finished apple jelly embroidery jar bonnet tied around jar

If you want to turn it into a jar bonnet like I made, what I suggest is that you first stitch up the Apple Jelly pattern, and then come back to this tutorial! I’ll even save you a piece of pumpkin pie and you can have some leftover turkey. πŸ˜‰

 

Jar Bonnet Tutorial With Embroidered AppliquΓ©

 

I will be using a similar method for the appliquΓ© part to what I did in my Winnie the Pooh Pillow project. I’m using a standard mason jar with ring lid, measuring 2 3/4″ in diameter (outer ring).

 

Materials You Will Need:

materials you need to make the jar bonnets: fabric, thread, mason jar, sewing scissors, pinking shears, fray check glue, tailor's awl, sewing thread and embroidered apple jelly pattern

 

  • Your Apple Jelly embroidery
  • Scrap fabric with which to make the bonnet. I used cotton scraps from an old curtain. Cotton or linen will work very well for this. You can even use the same fabric as your embroidery and skip the appliquΓ© if you want! Just make sure that you cut out a piece big enough before you start stitching.
  • A piece of twine cord approx. 21 1/2″ long, or any ribbon, lace, etc. which you would like to wrap around your bonnet.
  • Pinking shears for finishing the edges. (You can also use a serger or an overcast stitch on your sewing machine if you have those).
  • Sewing shears for cutting out fabric.
  • Jar with a lid
  • A bit of Fray Check glue or other fabric glue for the ends of the twine cord.
  • A small tailor’s awl for piercing the fabric. (I also used a knitting bodkin to make my holes slightly larger.)
  • A ruler and marking tool will also be very useful (I used a water-soluble pen).
  • Pins for holding the appliquΓ© in place.
  • Matching sewing thread for sewing the appliquΓ©
  • Black embroidery floss
  • Sewing needle and embroidery needle

If you want to make the gathered ruffle variation (detailed at the end of this post), you will also need: a sewing machine, and thread to match the ruffle fabric.

 

Instructions:

  1. To begin, un-hoop the embroidery and give it a gentle press with the iron. Always press good-side down, and try to avoid going over the stitches. Ideally you just want to remove the hoop marks.

 

2. Once that’s done, take the ring that goes around your jam jar (or whatever lid it has), and trace the inner circle around your embroidery, on the wrong side of the fabric. We will be appliquΓ©ing it onto another piece of fabric. I didn’t add seam allowance because I know I want my appliquΓ© slightly smaller than the ring’s inner circle size (so I’ve already included it). If you want your appliquΓ© to be bigger or smaller (or prefer to work with a larger seam allowance), adjust your markings accordingly and add seam allowance if desired.

trace the inner jar ring around your embroidery

 

3. Clip into the seam allowance a few times with your embroidery scissors, no more than 2 or 3 mm deep (about an 1/8 inch). This helps to fold the SA down smoothly. Fold down about ¼” all around to the wrong side, and press in place. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look too even and a bit jagged. I find it easier to fix as I’m sewing it down than fiddling with the iron.

You can also choose to leave the edge raw and sew in place with a blanket-stitch.

seam allowance clipped in a few millimeters to fold it smoothly
seam allowance folded all around embroidery work
view of the good side of embroidery work once seam allowance has been folded down

4. With your pinking shears, cut out a circle of your decorative fabric the size you would like your finished jar bonnet to be. Mine was 5 1/4” in diameter.

circle of decorative fabric cut with pinking shears

 

5. Cut a length of twine cord, long enough to wrap once around your jar and tie in a little bow, about 21 1/2″ long. Apply Fray Check to the ends to prevent them from fraying and make them easier to thread later.

twine cord ends dipped in Fray Check glue

 

6. Center the prepared embroidery work over the fabric and pin in place.

embroidered appliquΓ© piece centered and pinned onto main fabric

 

7. Sew the appliquΓ© with an invisible stitch. I used a small whipstitch, coming up through the main fabric, then through the fold of the appliquΓ©, and back down into the main fabric.

appliquΓ© being sewed down with whipstich
side view of the finished appliquΓ©

7. If you want to add a border around the appliquΓ©, pop the jar bonnet back into the embroidery hoop and embroider the outline stitch of your choice.  I used the stem stitch, but it looks like one continuous line!

Note: There are many different ways to appliquΓ©, so feel free to use another method. You could do needle-turn, or even just leave the edge raw and stitch it down with blanket stitch.

stem stitch with black embroidery floss around the appliquΓ©
finished hem stitch border around embroidered appliquΓ©

8. Flip the bonnet to the wrong side and place the ring or lid over it to measure where you’d like the twine to be woven into the fabric to tie it. To do this, I traced the outer ring circle onto the fabric, then measured 2cm (3/4″) down. I used a water-soluble pen to mark dots along this measurement, 1 cm apart around the bonnet. Leave a 4cm ((1 1/2″) gap at the front of the bonnet to be able to tie the string in a bow.

mark 2cm up from the jar bonnet's edge all around, making your marks 1 cm apart
4 cm gap between marks at the front of the bonnet

9. Using a tailor’s awl, poke holes in the spots where you made your markings. My awl made the holes too small, so I used a plastic knitting bodkin to make them slightly bigger.

knitting bodkin to make holes bigger around the jar bonnet

 

10. Once the glue has dried on the ends of the twine cord, weave it through the holes you just created. Start at the front on one end, going down from the good side and back up through the next hole. Thread it all around, and your jar bonnet is all done and ready to be tied onto your jar!

twine cord threaded around jar bonnet
bonnet tied in a bow around jam jar

 

Note that this isn’t a very tight or secure bonnet, it’s really just a decoration. The bonnet just rests atop the lid, and the twine bow prevents it from sliding.

 

Gathered Ruffle Variation

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many different ways to make jar bonnets, and it’s an excellent project for just using what you already have in your stash and display pretty fabric scraps. I made a second embroidery piece for an apple & grape jelly jar, and tried another way to make the bonnet.

 

To make a gathered ruffle with twine cord, here’s what you can do:

  1. First, cut a length of the fabric of your choice about 2 ¼” x 16”. You can make it longer if you want more gathers, and wider if you want it to drape lower over your jar. I will be attaching this gathered ruffle to a second piece of decorative embroidery, so I cut my fabric length a few inches longer than the circumference of that piece, to be able to gather the fabric around it. Pink the edges of the two short ends with your pinking shears.
length of fabric 16 inches long to make the gathered ruffle

 

2. On the wrong side of the fabric, turn one of the long edges ¼” in, and press down. Turn it ¼” again to hide the raw edge, and press in place.

 

3. Sew along this fold with your sewing machine to create the hem, sewing close to the fold.

ruffle hem being sewn down at the sewing machine

 

4. Fold the shorter, pinked ends ¼” to the wrong side of the fabric, and stitch in place.

 

5. Now we will make a channel for the twine cord, which is what will create the gathering effect. On the wrong side of the fabric, fold the remaining raw edge down ¼” (press if you need), and down again about 3/8”. You want it to be large enough to create an opening to thread your cord through.

 

Note: You can easily substitute the twine cord for ribbon or lace!

fold the remaining raw edge down 1/4" on the wrong side of the fabric
fold the edge down again 3/8" to create a channel

6. At your sewing machine, sew down the fold, as close to the edge as you can. This is what you should have so far:

prepared ruffle, ready to be threaded with cord

 

7. Using a safety pin or elastic threader, thread the twine through the channel. Pull on the cord to gather the ruffle to fit around your piece of embroidery (or other piece of decorative fabric or whatever you choose to attach it to).

twine cord pulled through channel and gathered into a ruffle

 

8. Sew the ruffle by hand around the embroidery or other piece of fabric with an invisible stitch (a slipstitch would work really well). I used a scant ¼” seam allowance for the embroidery piece, and pinked and clipped along the edge. You can also use another seam finish if you prefer.

close up view of sewn ruffle to embroidery piece
wrong side view of finished jar bonnet

And that’s it, your jar bonnet is finished!

finished jar bonnet viewed from the good side
finished jar bonnet sitting atop mason jar
top view of embroidered jar bonnet with pomme raisin embroidery
top view of both jars with finished embroidered jar bonnets

 

Ready to decorate all your jars?

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and that it inspires you to decorate your jars with sweet little bonnets. It doesn’t take that long to make depending on how detailed your embroidery is, and the bonnets go together very easily. A really fun, easy project for a cozy autumn weekend! They’re perfect to give as gifts, or keep to yourself to add a little beauty to your jam shelf.

If you make this project and use my Apple Jelly pattern, I would absolutely love to see your creations! You can tag me on Instagram @northerbelle.atelier. Also if you have any questions or feedback about the pattern/tutorial, please don’t hesitate to let me know 😊

 

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy jar bonnet-making!

 

Fondly,

free embroidery pattern apple jelly
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FREE Embroidery Pattern & Tutorial: Wisteria Branch

     Anne      4 Comments

Who’s ready for a hand embroidery pattern freebie? πŸ™‚

 

embroidery freebie wisteria

Read on to download this sweet wisteria embroidery pattern & see the tutorial. πŸ™‚ Last week, I introduced you to one of my new favourite novels, The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim. We talked about how dreamy and escapist it was, and how much flower inspiration there was to be found in it. The wisteria in particular, proved to be a wonderful subject for embroidery!

 

If you haven’t seen that post, check it out here.

 

I showed you a bit of how I embroidered my wisteria-inspired project, and if you liked it then the good news is that I have more wisteria for you this week!

 

embroidered wisteria branch finished side view
embroidered wisteria branch finished view from top

 

I created this pattern so I could share my newfound love of wisteria with you all. Now you can stitch your own! May it bring you sunshine and happiness as promised in The Enchanted April.

 

The pattern is super simple and accessible to beginners. I only used three basic stitches: the split stitch, the lazy-daisy stitch, and a form of leaf stitch. Simply click on any of these for a full tutorial on how to work them.

 

See also: The Only Embroidery Tools You Really Need to know which basic materials you will need for this project.

 

DOWNLOAD YOUR PDF HERE: Wisteria Free Embroidery PatternDownload

 

Tutorial:

 

I used DMC floss, but you can use another brand if you like. You can find a good conversion chart here. I used 2 strands throughout the whole project.

 

#153 (Vy Lt. Violet)

#210 (Md. Lavender)

#470 (Lt. Avocado Green)

#553 (Violet)

#3011 (Dk. Khaki Green)

#3042 (Lt. Antique Violet)

 

See also this post on How to Start & End Your Stitches.

 

1. Branches

 

Begin by stitching the branches (or stems?) with #470 . Since the leaves and the flowers will go over it, it’s easier to start with it first. I used the split stitch, but feel free to use any other outline stitch that you like, such as the backstitch or the stem stitch. Stitch all the way down the middle of the flower cluster. Some of it will show through once the flowers are stitched. You can also stop the branch before the cluster if you don’t want it showing through or you want to make your flowers very tight together.

 

wisteria stem in split stitch

 

2. Leaves

 

There are many ways to embroider leaves, but I kept it super simple here and just stitched mine with a simple leaf stitch. The method I use is kind of a cross between satin stitch and fishbone stitch. Using 2 strands of #470, make a small straight stitch from the top of the leaf to the top of the guideline running down the middle vein.

 

leaf worked in straight stitches

 

Work your way down the leaf by starting your stitches on the outline of the leaf and ending on the middle guideline for the central vein. Make your stitches at a diagonal angle to keep the shape of the leaf. I like to work one side at a time (usually I start with the right).

 

leaf worked in straight stitches one side at a time

 

If you’re satisfied with the look of the leaves as they are after this step, you can skip the next step! I just wanted to add a bit more colour and texture to mine.

 

Using #3011, make a straight stitch down the middle of the leaf for the main vein. I also added two very small stitches on either side, also on a slight angle.

 

view of finished leaves

 

3. The Flowers

 

The flowers are all worked in lazy-daisy stitches, sort of scattered in a downward motion and fairly close together to create the droopy cluster effect. On your pattern, the dotted line indicates the shape the finished cluster will take. You don’t have to transfer that line on your fabric as it may leave marks if it’s not entirely covered in stitches. It’s more just to give you an idea of the finished size and shape. You can transfer the straight lines going down from the stem, as those should be all covered and will help you to guide the placement of your stitches.

 

You want to work your lazy-daisies downward, some going straight down, and others going at slight angles from the branch. There is no specific placement for each of them though, and this is a very forgiving flower for embroidery. One stitch or two out of place will only add shape to it! Have fun with it and experiment with where you place your stitches if you want to change the shape a bit, or the way it hangs.

 

lazy-daisy stitches embroidered along wisteria branch to create flowers
wisteria branch being filled with lazy-daisy stitches to create the flowers

 

I used #153, #3042 and #210 for the smaller branch, and #153, #3042 and #553 for the bigger one.

 

finished embroidery work

 

And there you go! I decided to add a little bow at the last minute to give it a more finished look. I used a piece of narrow white satin ribbon, tied it into a bow and sewed it to the base of the branch.

 

view of little white ribbon bow at base of wisteria branch

 

It looks pretty cute I think! I really hope you have fun stitching this wisteria pattern. This is the first “real” pattern I’ve ever made so I’m pretty excited. Any feedback will be super appreciated and I would love it if you show me your results! Tag me on Instagram @northernbelle.atelier if you try this wisteria pattern! πŸ™‚ Also don’t hesitate to reach out for any questions or comments and be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for more embroidery content!

 

Fondly,

wisteria embroidery free pattern
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