Easy Daisies: Garden Bouquet Part 5

Hello dear friend,

We are almost done with the Garden Bouquet Project!! Can you believe it? I simply cannot wait to show you the final piece in all its glory. That will come soon, but first we have one more floral element to add to the Bouquet: little yellow daisies. They’re the easiest part of the bouquet, and we’ll be done in no time!

But first, let me catch you up! If you’ve missed any previous parts of the Garden Bouquet, you can find them below. Each element works as a standalone, so you don’t need to read all the posts in order. However, it is helpful to do so if you want to see the evolution of the project as a whole. Each post is published in the order that I stitched each element.

Because I wanted my daisies more discreet and a little “hidden” behind some of the other elements, I only made very light markings on the fabric for their placement. I could have stitched them first since most of them were more in the background, but I wanted to work them around the main elements and not the other way around. Hence why we stitch these last. It’s a final little burst of sunshine upon the bouquet, a few happy little flowers to balance out the bigger ones.

Tutorial – Yellow Daisies

1. First, I worked the petals, which are made with lazy-daisy stitches using 2 strands of DMC #743 and #726. Simply work your stitches around the center of the flower (which should be blank for now), beginning at the edge of the center and ending at the tip of the petal. Each stitch is one petal. You can alternate between the two shades of floss. I like to start with one and work a few petals, leaving space in between to fill with the other colour afterwards. Originally I intended to stitch fewer petals, but I have a tendency to over-stitch when I do lazy-daisy petals, so here we are! I do like this look, so all is not lost, but you can definitely do fewer stitches if you want fewer petals (it will change the shape/look of the flower).

2. Then, using 2 strands of DMC #728 and #729, I stitched 6-8 French knots in the center. Again, you can alternate between the two shades, there is no specific order in which to stitch them.

3. And finally, using 2 strands of DMC #3345, I stitched the stems and leaves. I made very long stitches to create a sort of stem stitch for the stem. Instead of coming back beside the middle of the previous stitch, I came back up closer to the end of the each stitch. This creates less overlap, less of a “ropy” look, and more of a continuous line. The stem was just a bit too long to use one long straight, but this “looser” stem stitch worked very well. Then I added a couple of straight stitches around the flowers to create the leaves. I also added some along the stem (you can do this while stitching the stem instead of coming back to it). Yellow daisy leaves are very long and thin, so this stitch was perfect for it.

That’s it! Easy-peasy, compared to the rest of the bouquet! 😊 I made 4 daisies in total, scattered around the bouquet.

Next time, we will finish the Bouquet for good, and I can finally show you the final piece! We’ll add some final touches, frame it, and at last…the big reveal!! I can’t wait to show you. It feels like a while ago that I was working on this, since I’ve split the project into many parts to share with you, but in reality I embroidered the whole thing in about two weeks (it was MAD). Next week, we conclude!

I think such an occasion calls for a fancy tea party amongst friends, doesn’t it? Look out for your gilt-edged invitation soon, and prepare your most charming frock and your favourite cozy cardigan (for the weather is turning chilly). We’ll be chatting flowers, gardens, and needlework wonders and woes! And nibbling on the daintiest sandwiches and softest cookies, of course.

See you there soon!

Fondly,