The Diary of a Northern Belle

Hand Embroidery

THE LATEST

Beginner Friendly

English Paper Piecing Basics: Cutting & Basting

     Anne      Leave a Comment

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 appliqué, 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 “hexie 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 “true” 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 “fussy 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 appliqué, 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 “hexie 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
Pin to save for later!

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
Pin to save for later!

 

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,

3 Easy Ways to Transfer a Pattern Onto Dark Fabric

     Anne      2 Comments

Transferring the embroidery pattern onto fabric is probably my least favourite part of the whole embroidery process…and when it has to be done on dark fabric, it’s even worse! Luckily, there are many tools out there to make this process easier. Embroidery on dark fabric can really look stunning, so don’t be discouraged by this part of the process! I’ll show 3 easy ways to successfully transfer your pattern on a dark fabric.

flatlay showing a piece of dark blue fabric, an owl embroidery paper pattern, transfer paper, and an embroidery hoop

 

How do you transfer a pattern on dark fabric?

There are a few different methods and marking tools that you can try for transferring an embroidery pattern onto dark fabric. The best method will depend on the fabric type and weight, and how detailed your pattern is.

In this post, I will show you 3 different ways to successfully transfer a pattern onto dark fabric, using different fabrics and patterns. I will touch on the following materials:

  • Carbon and Transfer Paper
  • Chalk
  • Light Source
  • Dressmaker’s pencil
  • White gel pen
  • Steel-Ball Stylus
  • Ballpoint pen

 

1. Transfer Your Pattern With Carbon or Transfer Paper

This is probably my favourite method for dark fabric. It’s also probably the easiest, if you can find good carbon paper, or transfer paper. Carbon paper has a waxy side and the transferred lines aren’t as easy to erase. Transfer paper, on the other hand, is cleaner and the lines are easy to remove. I’ve been using the wax-free DMC Transfer Paper made for embroidery, and really like it (you can find it on the DMC website). It comes in different colours, so you can choose a colour that will be visible on dark fabric, like this yellow. The marks easily rub off with a cloth, or even just with your finger. This is a bit of a downside since it means they don’t last very long, but there are solutions!

carbon paper shown on waxy yellow side

 

To transfer the pattern, start by placing the carbon/transfer paper colour side down against your fabric, and then tape your pattern over it.

owl embroidery pattern taped to carbon paper, face down on dark blue fabric, with a pencil and stylus laying beside

 

Using a ballpoint pen or a steel-ball stylus, go over all the pattern lines, applying a good amount of pressure to transfer them. I like the stylus a lot since it’s “cleaner” than the pen, but the latter works really well too.

close-up view of owl pattern lines gone over with steel-ball stylus

 

Peel back all the layers, and your pattern is transferred!

transferred owl pattern on dark blue fabric

You will notice that the transferred lines, although visible, are a bit pale…And as soon as I pick up the hoop to stitch, they become even harder to see. As I mentioned earlier, the marks also rub off very easily. So, I would definitely recommend having a dressmaker’s pencil or white gelly roll pen at hand to go over the lines. The branch details on this particular pattern definitely needed a little help!

 

Different Marking Tools

I really like the white gel pen, but be mindful that the marks are really hard to remove. The dressmaker’s chalk pen is a better option if you think you’ll want to erase any lines later. Also, the gel pen doesn’t roll easily depending on your fabric choice. I used a dark blue linen fabric that is a bit loosely weaved for this transfer, and had a bit of trouble getting the pen to glide. Since the pattern isn’t too detailed though, it works just fine for what I needed.

close-up of the embroidery project in the hoop, showing tree lines drawn in white gel pen and an embroidered moon

*The products I’ve linked are not affiliate links, just genuine recommendations of tools I enjoy using.

 

2. Transferring a Pattern With Chalk

A quick alternative to the carbon or transfer paper if you don’t have any is to use some chalk instead. Print or create a reverse version of your pattern, and go over it with chalk. I’m using a piece of white tailor’s chalk (used for marking fabric), and going over the pattern lines very generously. This doesn’t have to be precise, you just want to make sure to go over all the lines. I’m using a thicker, dark purple cotton for the fabric.

reverse bird pattern on paper against dark purple fabric, a piece of tailor's chalk and an embroidery hoop
Bird pattern is a free download by Diana Vingert

 

Place your pattern reverse side down against the fabric, and go over it again with a pencil or stylus. You don’t need to apply as much pressure as with the transfer paper since there’s one less layer.

transferred bird pattern on dark purple fabric, with stylus and white gel pen beside it

 

Pattern transferred! Again though, the lines are rather pale, so I suggest going over it with the gel pen.

bird pattern traced over with white gel pen, framed by the embroidery hoop over the fabric
The fabric is more closely woven than the previous one, making it really easy to trace with the gel pen.

 

3. Transfer your Pattern With a Light Source

I’ve covered how to transfer a pattern using a window or a lightbox before in this post, and you can do exactly the same thing if your dark fabric is lightweight and transparent enough. The green cotton I’m using here worked really well with a window, since it’s see-through enough. The sun was really strong that day and I could see my pattern lines clearly, although it doesn’t show in the picture.

 

All you need to do is tape your pattern to a window or light box, and then tape your fabric over it. Transfer the pattern with the gelly roll pen or dressmaker’s pencil (or any other marking tool you can see on dark fabric), and you’re done! The dressmaker’s pencil worked better with this fabric type here.

paper pattern and dark green fabric taped over a sunny window in winter
sunflower paper pattern next to transferred image in white chalk on green fabric

Embroidery on dark fabric is certainly a little trickier to prep and a little harder on the eyes to work with, but it’s definitely worth it. I hope you found this post helpful and that you will be inspired to stitch something on dark fabric now that you know how to easily transfer your pattern!

 

You Might Also Like:

how to transfer an embroidery pattern
embroidery success: 10 tips before you begin a project
embroidery books - recommendation for beginners

Fondly,

3 ways to transfer a pattern on dark fabric
Pin to save for later!

Introducing: EPP Mini-Quilt Project for 2022

     Anne      4 Comments

I have something so exciting to announce!

 

I’ve decided to embark on a mini year-long project combining English paper piecing and embroidery, and I’m going to share all the fun with you! How would you like to receive an embroidery pattern every month this year, straight in your inbox?

In 2021, I had the immense joy of discovering English paper piecing. Each month, I made what is called a “hexie flower”, featuring Mollie’s cute house embroidery patterns from the Wild Olive Kawaii Crossing series. I wrote at length on this already in this post here, showing you how I make my hexie flowers.

It was so pleasant to have a new pattern to look forward to each month, and to create something in keeping with the same theme over the course of the year. I loved it so much in fact, that I’ve decided to do it again! The project will be a bit different this year; still combining EPP and embroidery, but instead of making separate hexagon flowers, I will turn the embroidered hexies into a mini-quilt. And of course, I will be using my own embroidery patterns this time!

 

Here’s what I have in mind for the mini-quilt piecing:

mini-quilt template for english paper piecing with months of the year written in 12 different hexagons

 

Embroidery Patterns

The theme will be “Tea Party”, so think pretty pastels, delicate teacups, and delectable little treats…A celebration of all things soft and lovely. The embroideries will be quite small, designed to fit 1 ¼ ” hexies. Each month, I will send out the pattern to my subscribers, and you can choose to turn them into a mini-quilt like me, or use them for something else entirely!

embroidered teacup in a fabric hexagon with pins and a thimble beside it

Here is the design for January, a lacy, romantic little teacup featuring a darling bullion knot rose and polka dots. It was such fun to design and stitch up, and I really hope others will enjoy it too. The downloadable pattern includes thread suggestions and simple instructions. Previous knowledge of embroidery is recommended, but it is beginner-friendly. You can find a tutorial for every stitch I used in the Stitch Library.

close-up of an embroidered teacup with bullion knot rose and polka dots

 

The mini-patterns will be available in each month’s first newsletter (except this month) as a thank-you to my subscribers. For now, these monthly patterns will only be available via the newsletter, but new subscribers are most welcome to join in! You can subscribe to my newsletter right here, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

I look forward to seeing your beautiful creations, and I hope you will enjoy this little project. You can tag me on Instagram @northernbelle.atelier or reach out if you have any questions.

 

Here’s to a fun year-long tea party!!

 

Fondly,

Hand-Sewing Basics: Easy Whipstitch Tutorial

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Welcome to another stitch tutorial: the whipstitch! This one will be a bit different since it’s not exactly an embroidery stitch (though you can use it for embroidery), but more a hand-sewing stitch. It’s quite easy and so incredibly useful. Definitely a great stitch to learn for many uses.

 

hand-sewing tutorial the whipstitch

 

Whipstitch Tutorial

I’ll show you first how to do it on a plain piece of fabric, without joining anything together so you can better see how it’s done.

I prefer to avoid knots when doing this stitch, since it’s usually used to join fabric together and securing it with anchoring stitches is more secure than a knot. You can see this post for how to start stitches without a knot.

 

1. For practice, I definitely recommend drawing two parallel guidelines of the width you’d like your stitches to be. Mine is about 0.5 cm wide. I also prefer to work this stitch horizontally from right to left, but that might be different if you’re left or right-handed.

fabric in embroidery hoop showing drawn parallel lines in pencil and anchoring stitches to begin stitching

 

2. Bring your needle up from the back at point A. Guide your working thread to lay at an angle towards the direction you’re working (to the left, in this case). Bring your needle down at point B (the distance between A and B will be how long your stitch is), and back up again in C in the same motion. C should be parallel with A.

thread coming up at point A, laying diagonally to the left and needle going back down at point b
needle going down in B and C at the same time to create whipstitch
first whipstitch laying at an angle from a to b, and working thread coming out at point c

 

3. Continue in this way for the remainder of the line, making sure that your stitches are even and equally spaced out. You can add more guidelines to your fabric to help you with this if you need! The stitches will lay at an angle naturally as you keep the needle straight while going through the fabric.

two stitches lain down to begin whipstitch line
finished line of whipstitch

 

Where Can You Use the Whipstitch?

As I mentioned earlier, the whipstitch is more often used as a hand-sewing stitch. Back before sergers came along, it was often used to overcast raw fabric edges by hand. I’ve done it on velvet and it works incredibly well! A bit time consuming compared to using a serger, but it’s actually a really neat and efficient way to finish an edge. The whipstitch is also used to join fabrics together, often along fold lines or when using felt. It’s widely used in appliqué and English paper piecing as well (two crafts I’ve become enamoured with this year haha!). It’s not invisible like the slipstitch though, so it can double as a decorative stitch too!

Below are a few different examples of the whipstitch in practice. I really love this stitch and find myself using it pretty often :).

 

Joining Felt and Creating a Border:

Last week, I shared a scissor case I made out of felt, where I used the whipstitch both to sew my pieces together and create a nice border. I used embroidery floss instead of sewing thread and it worked really well.

needle going through two pieces of felt to whipstitch the pieces together
flat lay view of finished scissor case surrounded by dried plants, lace, a red bow, and small copper kettle

Joining pieces together for EPP:

Here I used the whipstitch to join two hexagons together in EPP style (English Paper Piecing). The hexagons are fabric-covered cardstock, but I only sew through the fabric. A full tutorial on how to make a hexie flower using this method is available here.

two hexies held good sides together, needle going through the folds along one edge with a whipstitch
the two hexagons seen from the good side, sewn together along one edge

Finishing the back of an embroidery hoop:

A bit similar to EPP, here I’m using the whipstitch to join a fabric-covered backing to the back of an embroidery hoop. The fabric from the backing is whipstitched to the hoop allowance of the main embroidery project. I also shared a tutorial on how to finish your hoop like this in this post.

close-up of needle whipstitching backing to the back of embroidery hoop
close-up view of finished embroidery hoop back to show the whipstitching all around

To appliqué a piece of lace:

The whisptitch is super useful for appliqué, especially since in this case the edge of the lace is further covered with stem stitch in yellow thread. But in order to secure the lace to the fabric, I first ran a whipstitch all around. I kept my stitches small and close to the edge so they would be as invisible as possible. For a closer look at this project, you can have a look at my Wisteria Embroidery Inspired by Literature post.

lace appliqué being sewn on main fabric
stem stitch outline worked around lace appliqué

As you can see, the whipstitch is a super useful stitch to know and can be used in so many projects. It’s also a great alternative to the slipstitch for closing openings. I find it much faster to work, but it’s not as invisible, which is why it’s nice when it serves a decorative purpose as well.

I hope this whipstitch tutorial was helpful, and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. Happy stitching!

 

Fondly,

P.S. – Have a stitch you’d like to learn, or questions about hand embroidery in general? I’d love to help! You can send me an email at anne.marie@diaryofanorthernbelle.com or message me on Instagram!

learn how to do the whipstitch
Pin to save for later!

Making a Scissor Case With Victorian Embroidery

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Back in the spring, I found myself very inspired by strawberries. There were, naturally, too many projects to fit in that season and too little time. One of these hopeful projects had been a scissor case featuring a beautiful Victorian strawberry design. Strawberries may be out of season now, but I’m bringing them back in this unintentionally festive-looking project!

 

scissor case project with historical embroidery

 

I came across a beautiful strawberry pattern while browsing through a Briggs & Co. collection of patterns to transfer from the 1880’s. I immediately thought that it would be perfect to embroider on a scissor case. If you didn’t know, Internet Archive is FULL of historical books about needlework, embroidery, floriography, and so much more! There are some absolute gems to be found there. The Briggs & Co. embroidery designs for transfer are definitely among them.

 

flat lay featuring dried brown sprigs, lace, a pincushion, a mug of foamy drink, a teacup full of embroidery floss, a red bow, an embroidery hoop, and embroidered scissor case in the center

 

The Briggs & Co. Embroidery Patterns

“Universally known” by the 1880’s, these embroidery patterns were all the rage because they were ready to be transferred with an iron “on any fabric” (clearly they did not have polyester felt back in the 1880’s, haha!). This obviously sped up the process and lowered the costs for ladies’ embroidery projects. The particular book I’m referring has a large selection of floral and ecclesiastical patterns, as well as village scenes illustrated by Kate Greenaway. We are big fans of Greenaway here on this blog and I reference her Language of Flowers dictionary often. 😉

I absolutely love working with historical designs and knowing that somebody else also embroidered it a long time ago. (I like to imagine a fancy lady sitting at her embroidery frame, flowy skirt billowing about her, and intricate fire-screen shielding her from the fire, while I’m here in my pjs stitching in bed…lol)

The strawberry pattern can be found on p. 37. I’ve adapted it to fit on my case by only transferring part of it, and moving a few elements slightly.

For some reason, I was really set on making the scissor case out of felt, so I had to find a good way to transfer the pattern… Since you know, as fabulous as these patented designs for transfer are, I sadly don’t have access to a physical copy. I love embroidering on felt (although I don’t do it very often) because the needle glides through so easily. It’s not so easy to transfer a pattern on it, however. I decided to give the tissue paper method a try, and it worked SO well! Definitely recommended it if you want to transfer something on felt.

 

Transferring the Pattern…the “old-fashioned way”!

I just used a piece of white tissue paper (the kind for gift-wrapping), and transferred my design on it with a pencil. Then I pinned the paper in place over the felt and started stitching my design right through both felt and paper. It tears a little as you go, but that’s ok! I was able to follow the pattern pretty easily. I only stitched the necessary outlines, leaves, and sepals before pulling the rest of the paper away.

 

tissue paper with transferred embroidery pattern pinned aver hooped piece of felt
close-up view of embroidered strawberry pattern over tissue paper and felt

Lovers of fancy work cannot but remember with a sigh how much money and trouble they have been obliged to expend over their designs in past days. If they wanted a braiding pattern they either had to tack on strips of tissue paper, and after stitching the braid on to pick the paper out laboriously with their fingers […]

Ladies’ Pictorial, May 6th 1882, in Briggs & Co. Patent Transferring Papers.

 

Well, excuse me, Ladies’ Pictorial, but removing the tissue paper was an immensely satisfying step! I used a pin and a pair of tweezers to grab the little pieces of paper stuck under certain parts of the stitching. Now there’s no trace of tissue paper anywhere! Plus, it leaves no visible pencil or water-soluble/heat-erasable pen marks, which is really nice. (I only traced the outline for the scissor case piece in water-soluble ink, and that washed away very easily.)

 

close-up view of strawberry embroidery outline once the tissue paper is removed

And now I feel as though I’ve completely defeated the purpose of using a pattern from genius groundbreaking 19th century innovative embroidery technology, by reverting to the method which these patented transfers were intended to supplant. Oh, dear.

 

Stitching the Design

I kept the stitching very simple for the most part; the stems are done with stem stitch, the leaves and sepals with satin stitch, and the flowers with satin stitch and French knots. I outlined the strawberries with backstitch before filling them with trellis stitch. Needle-painting was quite popular in the 1880s, so it’s very possible that the design was intended to be stitched that way, but I went for a quicker route.

 

view of finished strawberry embroidery on scissor case pocket piece
close-up view of embroidered leaves with satin stitch
close-up view of embroidered strawberry flower

 

For the strawberries, I was partly inspired by a series of posts I saw on Mary Corbet’s Needle n’ Thread. She used some lattice work over satin stitch for one of the strawberries in her sampler. The effect was so lovely and such a good idea for filling a berry! I skipped the satin stitch and just did the lattice work (trellis stitch). I used one strand of gold DMC metallic thread for the little “x”s anchoring the lattice. It adds such a nice touch and I love it!

close-up of embroidered strawberry with trellis stitch

 

Making the Scissor Case

I designed the case myself, and it’s 2 very simple pieces designed to hold a pair of small embroidery scissors. I used my 4 1/2″ long stork scissors for reference.

two pieces of scissor case side by side with snips and embroidery floss bobbin
close-up of lace bordering the top of scissor case piece

 

After adding a bit of decorative lace to the top of the pocket piece, I simply laid this piece atop the bigger one. Then I sewed them together with a whipstitch. I used 2 strands of floss instead of sewing thread to create a nice border, and it worked really well! The best thing about felt is that the raw edges don’t fray, so there’s no need to worry about seam allowances and how to finish edges.

finished scissor case over lace background

 

Because I used rather thin felt and the scissors are very pointy even when closed, I reinforced the bottom with a bit of interfacing. (Applied to each case piece before I sewed it together.) And to prevent the scissors from slipping around, I also added a little ribbon to hold them in place with a bow. All I did was poke two holes with a tailor’s awl on the back piece just above the pocket, and thread the ribbon through. When the scissors are in, you can easily tie the ribbon in a bow to hold them in place 😊.

flat lay view of finished scissor case surrounded by dried plants, lace, a red bow, and small copper kettle
flat lay view of embroidered scissor case with dried plants, lace, embroidery hoop and red bow

 

And that’s all there is to it!

It was a pretty quick project, perfect for a day of quiet stitching with warm coffee, watching the snowflakes flurrying outside. The red, green, and gold were a nice festive bonus! On its own the case doesn’t look strictly “Christmas” and works year-round, but it was fun to work with holiday colours at this time of year.

I hope you enjoyed this little project and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you also have a scissor case? What do you think of the trellis stitch? I can’t wait to stitch another Briggs & Co. embroidery pattern, they’re so beautiful. (And read what other snarky comments such periodicals have to offer!) Again, you can find the book where I found the strawberry pattern here.

 

Fondly,

victorian embroidery scissor case project