The Diary of a Northern Belle

Hand Embroidery

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Getting Started With the Long & Short Stitch

     Anne      3 Comments

Hello, it’s been a while! I haven’t been blogging as much lately because I’ve been working on something new, but today I happily bring you a new stitch tutorial: the famous long & short stitch! I say “happily”, but if I’m honest I dreaded making a tutorial for this one. It’s such a beautiful stitch, but it’s a harder one to master. Doing it justice in tutorial photos was harder than I expected, and I had to shoot the whole thing twice. πŸ˜‰ Nevertheless, here we are, so if you’re ready to take your embroidery skills to the next level, let’s dive in!

 

long & short stitch embroidery tutorial

 

The long & short stitch is a fill stitch, used in the wonderful technique called “needle-painting”, also called “silk shading”, or “art needlework”. As the first name suggests, using this stitch feels like painting with a needle and thread. Best worked with only 1 strand of floss (cotton or silk), stitches get impeccably blended together to create realistic designs. You’ll often see animals, flowers, and other botanical subjects worked with this technique. For today, I’ve prepared a little flower petal to show you how to get started with the long & short stitch.

 

Long & Short Stitch Tutorial

1. First, you’ll want to thread a fine hand embroidery needle (size 9-12) ideally with 1 strand of floss. I’m using 6-stranded DMC cotton floss, and you can use more strands if you like, but the blending will be less smooth. Depending on the look you’re going for though, it might work very well. But if you’re hoping to get a really fine, paint-like blend, I recommend 1 strand only. It takes more time, but it’s worth it. You’ll want to pick at least 3 different colours that will blend together well. Use variations of the same tone if you want to create a shading effect. I’ll be using 3 different pink tones, going from light to dark.

 

2. Next, you’ll want to draw a shape to be filled. I just made a petal shape, and divided it into 3 sections, since I’ll be using 3 different colours to fill it. I highly recommend adding pencil guidelines to divide your shape, especially if you’re new to this technique.

petal shape drawn in pencil on white fabric

 

3. The next step is to outline the shape with an outline stitch, such as the stem stitch or split stitch. I’m using the stem stitch here, with 1 strand of DMC #778, the dominant colour for this petal. When you outline, choose one of the lighter colours you’ll be working with, to make sure it won’t be visible once the shape is all filled.

petal outlined in stem stitch

 

4. Thread your needle with the colour you’d like to use in the first row. I’m using DMC #225. Bring your needle up from the back right outside the outlined edge at the top of the petal, in the middle. Come back down to end your stitch in the second section. Work another stitch in the same way, a little shorter or a little longer, towards the right or left. Before you start making the stitches very close together, you want to leave space between them to create guideline stitches. This is to help with the stitch direction and makes it easier to fill the shape accurately. Work more stitches in this way until the first section has enough guidelines both on the left and the right side.

stitch guidelines added to the petal

 

5. Now, we can actually fill the first row! The idea is to fill the first section completely by adding “long” and “short” stitches very closely together between the guidelines stitches. I like to work from right to left. Always start your stitches just outside the outlined edge, and down into the second row. Vary their length, ending the shorter ones just at the pencil guideline, and letting the longer ones go as far as 2/3 of the way down into the second row.

first row starting from right to left
needle going down to fill first row

6. Continue in this way until the first row is filled, making your stitches very close to each other.

a third of the first row filled
first row almost filled with long & short stitches
first row filled with long & short stitches

 

7. To fill the second row, thread your needle with a different colour – I’m using #778, a slightly darker pink than #225. Come up from behind through the first row, right about where your pencil guideline was.

needle coming up through first row

 

8. I like to start in the middle, and work a few guidelines towards the right before I start filling.

long & short stitches to fill second row

 

9. Keep filling the second row, just as you did the first. Use guideline stitches if you need (stitches that you place ahead of time to help with direction). Always come up through the previous layer, not down into it. It gives it a much smoother effect!

second row almost filled with long & short stitches
second row filled

 

10. To fill the last row, thread your needle with another colour (#316), and fill it much like you did the second row. Only this time, your stitches will end right outside the outlined edge.

needle going down just outside the outlined edge to stitch the last row

 

11. And that’s it, you’re done!!

petal completely filled with long & short stitch

 

A Few Notes:

  • As I said earlier, this stitch takes a lot of practice! Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work too well the first time. It’s normal! It took me years of on and off practice to get comfortable with it, and even still it’s not always perfect. ^_^ It’s just how this stitch is, it requires a lot of patience and precision. But you got this, don’t worry!
  • There are so many different ways to shade, and so many directions you can go with this stitch! Depending on what you’re trying to fill, you might not need such precise rows, or you might need to work diagonally, or use more or less colours. You can shade from dark to light, light to dark, or really any combination that works for your design. The main takeaway with this stitch is that it’s smoother when worked with 1 strand, and you always want to come up through previous rows (or stitches), rather than down into them.
  • If you’re serious about needle-painting, I highly suggest you consult Trish Burr’s amazing work and resources. I already recommended one of her books in a previous post here, and she also has a wonderful website where you can buy her patterns and read her blog: Trish Burr Embroidery Blog. She’s really the expert of long & short stitch, and her designs are stunning.
  • Anything by the Royal School of Needlework is also fantastic, they have a few really great books on silk shading, and they offer acclaimed classes and workshops.
  • Lastly, just remember to have fun with it, and don’t be afraid to experiment!

 

Here’s the pinnable tutorial if you want to save it:

 

how to do the long & short stitch

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it was helpful! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need some help. I promise you this stitch is so worth it, and opens up wonderful possibilities. Happy stitching my friend!

Fondly,

Fabric Tea-Dye For the March Mini Pattern

     Anne      Leave a Comment

March is here, and that means it’s time for a new mini-embroidery pattern to turn into a hexie for the Mini-Quilt stitch-along! I have prepared a darling little teabag for you, because after all, what’s a tea party without the tea? So let me pour you a cup of steaming jasmine and stay a bit while I tell you how to tea-dye fabric for your embroidery. If you’re new here and you’d like to join in on the fun, you can read this post to see what the project’s all about, and sign-up to my newsletter here to receive the mini patterns straight in your inbox each month!

 

embroidered teabag onto tea-dyed fabric

 

When I first started this design, I thought it would be really neat to add a touch of something that wasn’t thread to make it stand out a bit, while still matching the rest of the project. So far, I’ve been embroidering my montly patterns on cotton muslin in an off-white/beige colour. The fabric is a wee bit thick for EPP, so I decided to switch it up this month. I didn’t have other fabric in a similar colour that would be suitable, so I decided to experiment with a little tea-dye! What could be more fitting? πŸ˜‰

 

How to Tea-Dye Your Fabric

The process is honestly really simple. However, different fabrics might react differently so it’s a good idea to do a test on a piece of scrap first. I’m using a white cotton blend from my stash of scrap muslins…not 100% sure as to its exact fibers, but any cotton/linen blends will likely work. Even if there’s some polyester or other man-made fiber in it, it should be fine (I know mine wasn’t 100% natural).

First, you’ll want to boil the water for the tea. Depending on the size of your piece of fabric, you may need a lot. If you’re just wanting to dye a small piece, such as for the Jasmine Teabag embroidery, a teapot-size amount of water will be sufficient.

Next, pour the boiled water over a teabag or two, either in a teapot or in a big pot (I wanted to drink a cup while I was at it, so teapot it was!). If you want get that old-timey, classic tea-stained browned look, you’ll want to use a strong black tea. Orange pekoe or Earl Grey are great for this, but other black tea blends can also work. The more tea or teabags you add, the stronger the tea, and the darker the stain will be. I used only 1 teabag since my piece of fabric was very small.

 

flat lay showing embroidered teabag on tea-dyed fabric, teapot, teacup, a book, and dried florals

 

Let It Steep!

Let the tea steep for a good half-hour, if not more, until it’s very dark. Add your fabric to the pot once it’s cooled down, or pour the tea in a different container over the fabric. I just used an old tupperware, with the tea completely cold. Make sure that your fabric is fully submerged, and leave it to soak for several hours. You can stir it from time to time, to make sure it will be evenly dyed. I didn’t leave the teabags in while doing this, but you probably could!

When the fabric is looking nice and stained, wring it out gently and set it out to dry. I just placed mine on a soft towel. When it’s alsmot dry but still a little damp, give it a press with the iron to remove the wrinkles and help set the dye.

Fabric is now ready to be embroidered on 😊. Mine was still see-through enough to transfer the embroidery pattern with a lightbox and pencil no problem. Certain spots are still a bit white and it’s not fully even, but that’s the fun with tea-dyeing, and exactly the look I was going for.

 

white fabric and tea-dyed fabric side by side showing the before and after

Note: I haven’t tested the colourfastness of this method, so it might not be suitable for pieces that are going to be repeatedly washed. For the purposes of this embroidery project, or any embroidery you don’t plan on washing, it works great.

 

Jasmine Teabag Pattern

embroidered teabag with jasmine flowers on it

 

I’m calling this a β€œjasmine” teabag, even though I don’t think jasmine flowers have a purple center…but for this tea party, they do! You can of course, personalize your tea bag and embroider whatever tea motif you’d like. The jasmine was my inspiration simply because I wanted a floral motif somewhere on the design, and it was the first one I thought of that has to do with tea. Chamomile would have also looked really cute, but I love the scent and colour of jasmine for this time of year.

 

Pale green, flavourful, reminiscent of budding tree leaves…It just feels like a very β€œspring” tea! Although I’d go for a cup of Earl Grey anytime, and I do love my chamomile in the evening.

flatlay showing the embroidered teabag on tea-dyed fabric, Afternoon Tea book, and dried florals

Do you have a favourite kind of tea? What sort of lovely things would you include if you hosted your dream tea party?

 

I hope you enjoyed this post dear friend, and you’ll find the embroidery pattern waiting in your inbox tonight at 7pm EST if you’re a newsletter subscriber. If you’d like to sign-up, you can click the link here! Stitch & thread recommendations are included with the pattern, and I’ve got all the stitch tutorials you need here on the blog if you get stuck.

It’s a really simple little embroidery, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Follow on Instagram for more embroidery content if you fancy. πŸ™‚

 

Fondly,

image to pin
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Scallop Stitch: Very Easy Embroidery Tutorial

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Hello and welcome to another very easy stitch tutorial! Today we will look at the scallop stitch, which is a variation of the fly stitch. I realize that I haven’t yet posted a tutorial on the fly stitch, and that’s because I never really use it! I prefer the scallop stitch, which is basically a curvier version of a detached fly stitch. I often use it for small details in my embroidery, worked with only 1 or 2 strands of floss.

 

scallop stitch embroidery tutorial

 

For example, if you’re here following my Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch-along and you received the February Sweet Cherries pattern, you might have noticed that the scallop stitch was used for small details on the cherries. The scallop stitch, although really easy, is not a stitch I had heard much about when I first started to embroider, so I thought I would post a tutorial on how to do it. If you already know how to do lazy-daisy (detached chain), then you’ll have no problems at all with this one!

 

Scallop Stitch Tutorial

1. Bring your threaded needle (I’m using 2 strands for the tutorial) up from the back at point A, and back down again at point B. Don’t pull all the way through. The distance from A to B will be the length of your finished stitch.

needle going down from A to B

 

2. Start pulling the thread, until a small loop is left. Hold it down with a finger while you bring the needle up from the back at point C. Point C should be half-way across A and B, but slightly lower. The idea here is to create more of a curved line as opposed to the “V” shape of the fly stitch. So to do that, you don’t want point C to be too low. It’s the position of C that will determine how much or how little your line will curve.

needle coming back up between A and B at point C

 

3. Pull the needle all the way through, allowing the loop to rest against the working thread coming from point C. Bring the working thread over the loop, which should now be laying in a curved line from A to B.

thread being pulled all the way from point C to create curved line

 

4. Finally, anchor the curve in place with a very small stitch from C to D. Point D will be directly below point C, forming a very small straight stitch. This is the same way you would finish a lazy-daisy stitch.

needle going down in D to anchor scallop stitch

 

And that’s it!

finished scallop stitch laying nicely on the fabric

 

Repeat as many times as desired. Grouped together it looks like a flight of birds!

several scallop stitched grouped together

 

Here’s the pinnable step-by-step tutorial if you wish to save it for later.

scallop stitch tutorial

I hope this tutorial was helpful and that you enjoy giving the scallop stitch a go if you haven’t already! It’s such a handy stitch for little details. If you’d like to participate in the Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch along, I send you a free mini-embroidery pattern each month this year as part of my newsletter! You can subscribe right here. We are turning the embroideries into little hexies to make an EPP mini-quilt at the end of the year. πŸ™‚

 

Check out these posts for more info & tutorials on EPP:

english paper piecing: how to cut and baste shapes
stitching a hexie flower english paper piecing
mini-quilt project: epp & embroidery

Have a lovely week my dear readers, and happy stitching!

 

Fondly,

Of Hearts & Pretty Fabric Scraps

     Anne      4 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear friend! I hope today finds you in a happy mood and that that it’ll bring you a little something sweet and loving. I’ll be honest, I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t hold any special significance for me, and I eat enough chocolate throughout the year as it is. πŸ˜‰ Nevertheless, this February I’ve felt particularly drawn to the Valentine’s aesthetic in my needlework. Soft pink and red threads, appliquΓ©d hearts, delicate little stitches, and pretty fabric scraps have been my biggest source of inspiration these last few weeks. While preparing the EPP tutorial post I shared last week, I brought my box of fabric scraps out to play, and had fun just experimenting and trying new techniques.

I spend a lot of time working on large and time-consuming needlework projects that require a lot of planning and concentration, so it was really lovely to slow down a little and work on simpler, softer projects. I just let my inspiration flow and my needle and thread carry me. Shall we have a look at some of my recent makes?

flat lay showing a variety of sewing projects (laundry bag, appliquΓ© hearts, embroidered fabric heart) and basket full of haberdashery and sewing notions

 

Needle-Turn AppliquΓ©

I confess, a lot of my inspiration comes from Instagram, where it seems all the stitchers are also gracing this month with their prettiest fabric scrap projects. I’ve been seeing so many beautifully embroidered fabric hearts, appliquΓ©d journal pages, and just general heart-and-pastels loveliness, that I had to try a little something of my own. After coming across a fantastic video tutorial by Sarah Edgar of Pretty Fabrics & Trims on needle-turn appliquΓ©, I simply *had* to set everything aside and try it immediately. I’ve dabbled in appliquΓ© before and really enjoy it, but I had never tried this method before. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and fun it was! So here are some little scrappy hearts, made with love and new-found appreciation for the technique.

flat lay showing appliquΓ© scrap fabric hearts, with some pins and spool of thread

I really should try more spur-of-the-moment experiments like this! Not only was it fun to just play around with fabric scraps, but it was also very relaxing. I will definitely be trying needle-turn appliquΓ© again and can’t wait to incorporate it in a future project. I strongly recommend having a look at Pretty Fabrics & Trims, too!

 

The Cutest Clothespin Bag

Who says laundry has to be all drab and dull?! Not with this darling accessory!

clothespin bag with wooden pegs, ribbon, lace, and fabric scraps

I’m actually really proud of this project. I put my dusty drafting skills to use to make a pattern, and rummaged through my fabric stash and notions to find a satisfactory combination. This is a birthday gift for my dear mother, you see. Her clothespins currently reside in an old plastic bread bag, which deeply offends my sense of the picturesque. I must rescue them (the bag is about to pop, after all), and thus the idea for this project was born. It turns out that Pinterest is full of these charming creations, and the possibilities are nearly endless.

I spent more time deciding how to embellish the bag than drafting and sewing combined. I was tempted to embroider all over it, and to bedeck it with lace and ribbons but had to restrain myself to one ribbon bow and two buttons. My eternally practical mother wouldn’t use it if I made it “too pretty”. She has a good point of course, this is for the laundry room after all, not the next issue of Victoria magazine! And in this case, less really is more, it’s just the right balance between pretty and practical as it is, I think.

close-up of clothespin bag details; red ribbon bow and white buttons
clothespin bag hanging from door handle

In any case, this is a wonderful project to add a touch of vintage to your home and use up some of those fabric scraps! Very simple to put together, even to draft, and so easy to personalize. With a bag as cute as this one, you might even find yourself looking forward to doing the laundry. πŸ˜‰ And the clothespins will be very pleased of their new home, I’m sure.

 

Embroidered Fabric Heart

The last project I want to share with you is this stuffed fabric heart made with the softest antique linen, and featuring a most gorgeous embroidery pattern by Nicki Franklin of The Stitchery. I’ve been admiring and sighing over Nicki’s work for a while now, but hadn’t actually used any of her patterns until now! Since I spend more and more time only embroidering from my own designs, it’s now rare that I use someone else’s. But how can one resist Nicki’s incredibly beautiful work? (Here’s a link to the specific pattern I used: February Heart.)

embroidered floral heart featuring roses, branches of leaves and hyacinths

Embroidering this heart was some of the most relaxing and soothing stitching I’ve done in a while! Everything about it is so soft and sweet, it uses only basic stitches, and it comes together fairly quickly. I didn’t have all the recommended colours so I changed up the palette a little, but that was part of the delights of making this! I’ve been hooked on Agatha Christie’s Poirot series since the fall, but only started watching the TV show recently. It was perfect to put in the background while working on this!

I’d been wanting a new scented sachet for the closet, so I decided to turn the embroidery into a stuffed hanging heart. I used a mix of polyester fiberfill and scrap bits of thread and fabric for stuffing. Since I didn’t have any lavender buds but still wanted the heart to smell nice, I used a drop or two of pure lavender essential oil directly on the stuffing and it works so wonderfully! A really handy tip I got from Helen of Whitewood and Linen. πŸ™‚

stuffed fabric heart featuring embroidered heart pattern with lots of roses, leaves and other florals
close-up of embroidered fabric heart showing roses and hyacinths
I used my Awesome Hack for the bullion knots πŸ˜‰

 

The Joys of Antique Linen

The antique linen I used for the hanging heart is easily the best fabric I’ve ever embroidered on. So incredibly soft and beautiful, it’s simply dreamy. Many lovely creators I follow on Instagram always use the most gorgeous antique linens for their projects, and now that I’ve had a go at it, I can definitely understand why! I do not wish to go back to anything else, but alas, I have only a small amount. If anyone is interested, I got it as part of a bundle from this Etsy shop. Highly recommended!

That’s all from me for now dear friend, thank you for spending some time on my blog today, and happy Valentine’s Day! I’d love to know what you’ve been creating lately, and what has been inspiring you. Does anyone else not particularly care about the holiday, but likes the aesthetic? Who else loves antique linen?

Fondly,

february inspiration
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English Paper Piecing Basics: Cutting & Basting

     Anne      3 Comments

A year ago almost to the day, I discovered the wonderful world of English Paper Piecing (EPP). A relaxing and easy way to join fabrics together, EPP is a very creative form of hand-sewing. I published a post on the subject last November, in which I showed you how to make a hexie flower with embroidery. In today’s post, I will cover the basics of EPP in more details and show you all about cutting and basting various shapes.

 

Learn the basics of english paper piecing

 

If you’re here following my Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch-along, this will be a good post to refer to if you’re new to EPP and aren’t sure how to get started. 😊 I will be turning February’s embroidery pattern into a little hexagon as part of this tutorial.

 

What is English Paper Piecing?

an epp hexie flower with a pink house embroidered in the center, embroidery floss and pretty fabrics around the flower
Embroidery following the 2021 February House pattern from Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive.

 

English Paper Piecing – commonly known as EPP – is a method of creating and assembling various shapes using fabric and paper. Often done entirely by hand, EPP allows you to arrange shapes one by one to create different designs. It’s often used in quilting and appliquΓ©, or combined with embroidery to create a variety of lovely projects. It’s a really great way to use up small fabric scraps. With EPP, you begin by basting fabric to cardstock shapes, and then hand-sew them along the edges to create your design. The most shape commonto use is the hexagon, and β€œhexie flowers” are often made up of 7 hexagons pieced together. The hexagon is the best shape to start learning EPP, because its shape ensures clean edges when basting and piecing.

 

Materials & Tools

flat lay showing materials for epp: mini-iron, teacup pincushion, pink paper scissors, sewing shears, paper puncher, rose-patterned fabric squares, cardstock hexagons, embroidered cherries, pins, and thread

First, you’ll need basic hand-sewing supplies: a pair of sewing shears, some snips, pins, and a needle and thread. I like to use a small, sharp hand-sewing needle, and polyester or all-purpose thread. I also recommend using a thimble.

For fabric, you’ll want something woven and lightweight: quilting cotton is the best for this, but cotton and linen blends can also work. EPP is perfect for showing off pretty fabric prints and using up scraps. Of course, you use plain fabric too!

You’ll also want:

  • Cardstock paper or pre-cut cardstock shapes
  • Paper scissors
  • Iron and ironing board (if you have a mini-iron, it’s really handy for this!)
  • Paper hole puncher
  • Optional: washable glue stick

 

Cutting Your Shapes

If you’ve never done EPP before, I recommend starting with hexagon shapes, about 1” to 1 1/4” in size. However, many other shapes can be used for EPP, so I will also show you how to cut and baste different ones.

various shapes cut out of cardstock paper, with paper template beside, and teacup pincushion and pink paper scissors

Cut your shapes out of cardstock paper, exactly to size, without any allowance. You can follow a template like I’m doing above, or make up your own. You can also buy pre-cut cardstock shapes if you prefer!

 

Once the pieces are cut, I like to β€œtrue” them up to make sure they will fit nicely against each other. Simply arrange your shapes how you want them to be sewn together, and make sure that all the edges are well-aligned. Trim off a little excess paper if need be, so they will fit perfectly.

2 paper hexagons, 2 triangles and a diamond are arranged against each other to align the edges

 

Once you are satisfied with the fit, punch a hole through each piece with a paper puncher. This is to make it easier to remove the paper later.

paper shapes punched with hole puncher, pins, stork scissors, and rose-patterned fabric squares

 

Cutting your Fabric

Now we are ready to cut the fabric that will cover the shapes! To do this, place your shape on the wrong side of the fabric of your choice. If using patterned fabric, you can do what’s called β€œfussy cutting” to show off pretty prints. This means that you are cutting around a specific motif on your fabric. If you’re turning an embroidery into a hexie for example, you’ll want to center it over your cardstock hexagon.

embroidered cherries next to cardstock hexagon

 

Pin in place, or dab a bit of washable glue stick to hold the cardstock to the fabric. I prefer to avoid using glue, so I pin mine. I do use a little piece of washi tape to stick to the cardstock and center the embroidery properly, but it will be removed later. For smaller pieces, I simply hold them in place with my hand while I cut the fabric.

embroidered cherries pinned to cardstock hexie, ready for cutting
hexie pinned to embroidery seen from wrong side ready for cutting
cardstock shapes placed on wrong side of fabric for cutting

 

Leave a ¼” seam allowance when you cut the fabric around your shapes. Don’t remove the pins yet!

hexagon has been cut from fabric with seam allowance, threaded needle beside
cardstock triangle over cut fabric ready for basting
You can trim some of the excess SA at the points by snipping straight across – but make sure you leave enough for basting.

 

Basting Your Shapes

The next step in the EPP process is to baste the fabric seam allowances to the cardstock shapes. If you’re working with hexagons, these are very easy to do, which is why I recommend starting with them.

First, thread a hand-sewing needle and keep it close by.

Working with the paper side facing you, fold one side of the seam allowance against the paper at one of the corners. Hold it in place and fold the next side down, creating a nice, clean corner.

hand folding one side of the seam allowance down on a hexie shape
hand folding seam allowance down to form clean corner on hexie

Bring your needle through the fold, leaving a short tail, and take three stitches to secure the fold in place and save you from having to make a knot. Only stitch through the fabric.

Then, move on to the next corner, folding the seam allowances the same way as before. Carry the needle over and again take two or three stitches to secure the fold down. Again, you only need to go through the fabric when basting these corners. Take out the pin(s) when you feel the cardstock shape is secure.

hand holding hexagon, while needle goes through the fold to secure corner for basting
hand holding hexagon for basting the seam allowances

Repeat until all the seam allowances have been basted and your hexagon looks like this:

basted hexagon seen from the back
finished hexagon seen from good side showing cherry embroidery

How to Baste Other Shapes

For shapes such as triangles and diamonds, the idea is the same: leave ¼” SA when cutting your fabric, and then fold them inwards around the shape.

basted epp shapes seen from wrong side

 

For very small pieces, it is easier to use glue to baste, but if you’re stubborn like me and don’t want to use glue, I recommend pressing down the seam allowances with an iron. If you have one of those mini-irons, they’re really handy for this! A regular iron will also work, but you’ll want to use a knitting needle or something to hold the fabric down instead of your fingers. I also recommend running some basting stitches across like this, if you find that it’s not holding its shape too well.

 

small triangle seam allowances pressed back ready for basting
basting stitches going across small triangle seam allowances to hold them in place

If one of the shape’s edges is longer than 1 ¼”, you’ll want to baste through the paper as well as the fabric. Instead of carrying your thread from one corner to the next, take a stitch through the fabric and paper around the half-way point. Repeat as many times as needed if you’re basting a very long edge.

hand holding bigger triangle while needle goes through paper and fabric to baste long edge
basted triangle with long edge seen from the good side

Preparing to Assemble the Pieces

You’ll notice that these triangles and diamonds aren’t as neat and clean as the hexagons, and still have excess SA showing at the corners. That’s totally normal, and it’ll be dealt with when you sew the pieces together. For now, you can just ignore them, or iron/glue them to the wrong side. Don’t cut them away though, unless you really have too much excess.

basted shapes with rose-patterned fabric seen from good side

 

Here’s what the piecing could look like, following the template pictured earlier, which is part of my Mini-Quilt stitch-along:

finished epp pieces against each other for piecing, stork scissors, pins, rose-patterned fabric squares

 

Stay tuned for my next EPP tutorial…

You can use your EPP shapes however you’d like; turn them into flowers or other motifs, use them for appliquΓ©, or turn them into a mini-quilt! There are so many possibilities. I will have a future post showing you how to sew them together, but if you’re interested in hexagons and would like to make a β€œhexie flower”, you can find that post here.

If you’d like to participate in the Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch-along, you can sign-up for my newsletter right here! I send out a free mini embroidery pattern each month this year, and turn the embroideries into hexagons that will eventually become a mini-quilt to hang on the wall. Of course, you can also use the embroidery patterns for any personal project you’d like!

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you’ll give EPP a try if you haven’t already. Cutting and basting is only the beginning, sewing everything together is so much fun. Warning though, it’s incredibly addictive, and you won’t be able to stop!

 

Fondly,

introduction to epp: cutting & basting
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Very Easy Tutorial: Leaf Stitch

     Anne      1 Comment

Hello and welcome to another stitch tutorial! This time, it’s another of my favourite ones: the leaf stitch. There are so many ways to stitch leaves, but the leaf stitch is definitely one of the easiest. Essentially made up only of straight stitches, it’s a quick and accurate way to embroider a leaf.

 

very easy leaf stitch tutorial

 

The leaf stitch is very similar to the fishbone stitch in appearance, and to the satin stitch in technique. I find it even easier than either of those though, particularly for embroidering very small leaves. It’s also a very easy stitch for beginners to learn.

 

Leaf Stitch Tutorial

1. You can draw a leaf outline on your fabric if you wish, or simply free-hand it. Not all stitches are easy to free-hand and keep straight and neat, but this one can work.

leaf outline traced in pencil on white fabric

 

2. Bring your threaded needle up from the back at point A, the very tip of the leaf. I’m using 2 strands of moss green floss. Go back down at point B in the middle of the leaf, forming a straight stitch. This first stitch is usually quite short, only a few millimeters.

first stitch going from A on top of the leaf, to B in the middle of the leaf, forming a straight stitch

 

3. Bring your needle up again at point C, just below point A along the leaf’s outline. Go back down again at point D, forming a second straight stitch that ends just below point B, along the middle (this will form the leaf’s midrib – the middle vein). This stitch should lie on a slight diagonal angle.

second stitch from C to D right beside first A-B stitch

 

4. Continue to repeat this step until one half of the leaf is complete. Your stitches will get longer and more angled around the middle of the leaf, then get gradually shorter again. Always end them right along the midrib. You can start a few stitches just outside the outline if you wish to create a jagged edge.

needle going down at an angle to form the next straight stitch to fill the leaf
one half of the leaf stitched in straight stitches at an angle going towards the middle

 

5. Then, do exactly the same thing to fill the other half. If your leaf is quite big, I recommend snipping off the thread and starting again at the top instead of dragging it across.

needle coming back up at the top of the leaf to fill the second half

Ta-da! A cute little leaf!

finished embroidered leaf in embroidery hoop with needle threaded through the fabric above the leaf

To add more depth, you can use a different thread colour and run straight stitches along the middle and towards the outer edges to create the veins. I like to do this with 1 strand of a darker shade.

 

And that’s it friends, as promised this one is a very simple stitch, but one that looks so good! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and here’s the pinnable image if you wish to save it:

how to do the leaf stitch
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You Might Also Like:

I have other stitch tutorials you might be interested in! They can all be found in the Stitch Library on the main page’s menu.

5 embroidery stitches to learn as a beginners
the french knot easy tutorial
embroidery tutorial satin stitch

I’ve also been posting short Reel tutorial videos over on Instagram, if you’d like to see the stitch done that way.

Until next time!

 

Fondly,