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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. 😉

 

Jar Bonnet Tutorial With Embroidered Appliqué

 

I will be using a similar method for the appliqué 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 appliqué 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 appliqué in place.
  • Matching sewing thread for sewing the appliqué
  • 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 appliquéing it onto another piece of fabric. I didn’t add seam allowance because I know I want my appliqué slightly smaller than the ring’s inner circle size (so I’ve already included it). If you want your appliqué 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 appliqué piece centered and pinned onto main fabric

 

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

appliqué being sewed down with whipstich
side view of the finished appliqué

7. If you want to add a border around the appliqué, 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 appliqué, 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 appliqué
finished hem stitch border around embroidered appliqué

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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The Best Embroidery Book Recommendations For Beginners

     Anne      1 Comment

A few people have been asking for embroidery book recommendations for beginners lately, so I thought, why not make a post about some of my favourite ones? I know I said in my last post that I would be concluding the Garden Bouquet project next, but I’ve had to push that to Monday, October 4th. It will be a Grand Affair and Saturday was going to be too busy to sit down and have a cup of tea with you all. So Monday it will be! I still wanted to post something this week though, so this is like a bonus post!

 

my best recommendations for embroidery book

 

One of my favourite past-times – aside from the actual embroidery – is to go to the library to browse the craft books section. That was how I came across several wonderful books about hand embroidery some years ago, and how I mostly taught myself how to stitch. I love using books to learn new skills. Even though the Internet can be a wonderful wealth of information on so many hobbies, sometimes it’s just nice to do something that doesn’t require a screen. Hence, books.

Below is a short list of some of my favourite hand embroidery book recommendations (and a few blogs I love). I’ve used all of them and own two of them (the ones pictured). They were all incredibly helpful one way or another, so here’s a little break-down to help you decide which might be best for you.

 

Best Embroidery Book Recommendations for Beginners:

 

1. Embroidery Techniques & Patterns by Marie-Noëlle Bayard

 

book copy of Embroidery techniques and patterns by Marie-Noëlle Bayard

 

I was lucky enough to buy this wonderful book for only three dollars at a charity shop several years ago, when I began to be more serious about learning embroidery. This was the book I used to teach myself the basics, and I highly, highly recommend it. It has tons of stitches, all grouped by “families”, so that you can practice one type of stitch a few different ways before moving on to the next one. Ranging from the very basic stitches such as the stem stitch, all the way to the more complex ones such as the Palestrina stitch (haven’t used that one yet), the book covers all the stitches you will need, and more.

 

inside peek of Embroidery Techniques & Patterns

 

It features step-by-step photos of each stitch being worked, and it’s very easy to follow and well-explained. Each section also has a project with some instructions and a pattern to transfer. I haven’t done any of them, but there’s a wide variety of projects, from a cross-stitch wall hanging to curtains with drawn-thread work.

A very thorough, informative book that covers more than just the basics, and allows you to discover tons and tons of new stitches and techniques.

Available for purchase on Amazon.

 

2. A-Z of Embroidery Stitches by Country Bumpkin Publications

 

This is a very colourful and inspiring collection of embroidery stitches, with very clear step-by-step photos on how to work each stitch. I wrote in my Goodreads review that it had a really great French knot tutorial and really helped me during one of my first projects. The book is quite detailed, and provides useful information on things like fabric choice and working with hoops. There are even tips for left-handed stitchers! That can be hard to find sometimes as most stitchers tend to be right-handed, but this book has you covered if you’re left-handed.

The coloured photographs are beautiful and easy to follow, and it feature different stitches than in Embroidery Techniques & Patterns. Definitely another great book to peruse if you want to teach yourself many different stitches.

You can find it on Amazon, Chapters, and Barnes & Noble.

 

3. Long & Short Stitch Embroidery: A Collection of Flowers by Trish Burr

If you’re interested in needle-painting (also called silk shading or art needlework), then you simply must have a look at Trish Burr’s breathtaking work! She’s the expert on all things needle-painting, and there’s no one better to learn from than herself. The long & short stitch is what’s principally used in needle-painting, and this book will show you everything you need to know to get started! It has both beginner and more advanced projects, full stitch diagrams, thread keys, and instructions. You definitely don’t want to miss this book if you want to learn needle-painting and love botanical-illustration style flowers. Everything in this book is simply gorgeous.

See it directly on Trish Burr’s website, or buy it at Chapters , or on Amazon.

 

4. Colour Confidence in Embroidery by Trish Burr

book copy of Colour Confidence in Embroidery by Trish Burr

 

Yes, I’m listing another book by Trish Burr, because I find this one so useful too, and wish I had it sooner. This one is less about how to learn the long & short stitch, and more about how to accurately choose colours for your embroidery. It has pages and pages of useful colour schemes and everything you should know about colours; how to pick them, how they affect your embroidery, how to shade them correctly, etc…Even if you’re not as interested in realistic-looking needle-painting, the book is still a wealth of information if you need some help with colour palettes and preparing a project of your own design. It has helped me tremendously so far when picking shades for a project and using them appropriately to achieve a realistic floral effect.

 

inside pages of Colour Confidence in Embroidery by Trish Burr

 

Plus, there’s a whole section of patterns with diagrams and stitching instructions, featuring beautiful flowers and colourful birds. Some previous knowledge of needle-painting is definitely helpful for those projects, which is why I also strongly recommend Long and Short Stitch Embroidery.

See it on Trish Burr’s website, or buy it at Barnes & Noble, Chapters, or Amazon.

 

Blogs:

Blog posts and tutorials are also a wonderful way to learn a new skill. Sometimes, you don’t need or want an entire book to practice just one stitch, or follow a long Youtube video to complete a project. Sometimes a good old blog post is the best way to go (not biased at all, LOL). Below is a short list of some of my favourite embroidery blogs that I highly encourage you to check out!

 

Mary Corbet’s Needle n’ Thread:

Who in the embroidery world hasn’t ever consulted the Queen of All Things Embroidery? Most of us have definitely learned a thing or two from the one and only Mary Corbet over at Needle n’Thread, for the simple reason that she somehow manages to cover everything under the sun about hand embroidery! Her website is truly phenomenal. There’s everything and anything you could possibly be looking for, from basic stitch tutorials to sew-alongs, book recommendations, and other super useful posts, such as tips to create your own patterns, and what kind of needle you should be using. If there’s one blog you don’t want to miss, it’s this one!

 

Stitch Floral:

This is an absolutely beautiful blog dedicated mostly to floral embroidery and needle-painting. If you want to learn the long & short stitch and perfect your skills, Stitch Floral is also a wonderful place to start. Amina is lovely, comes up with the most beautiful colour combinations, and offers easy and informative posts. There’s also some bonus freebies on her site, and many posts full of helpful tips and tricks. Very inspiring, stunning work!

 

Wild Olive:

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love to stitch the occasional Mollie Johanson pattern, because they’re just so irresistibly cute. If you like Things With Smiley Faces, Wild Olive is the perfect blog to check out! It’s full of cuteness, freebies, and fun craft ideas. Most projects are super beginner-friendly, quick and easy to stitch. Mollie’s patterns are my favourite to stitch when I just want to relax. They bring me so much happiness, and are just plain fun! Totally recommend if you’re looking for some easy projects to begin with.

 

embroidery book recommendations and vintage teacup

 

There are so many more resources I could have included in this list, but this will have to do for now! If you like this kind of post, I could definitely do a Part 2 with more embroidery book recommendations in the future. You’re also most welcome to have a look at my craft-books shelf on Goodreads, where I’ve reviewed and rated several craft books of various genres.

I hope this was helpful, and happy stitching! If you have any more questions or are looking for something more specific, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments.

 

Fondly,

recommendations for beginners embroidery books
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Easy Daisies: Garden Bouquet Part 5

     Anne      2 Comments

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!

 

yellow daisies garden bouquet part 5

 

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.

 

garden bouquet project part 1
Garden Bouquet part 2: wild roses
beautiful berries garden bouquet part 3
ribbon work lily garden bouquet part 4

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.

 

thread key for daisies: stems & leaves DMC 3345, Flowers DMC 726, 728, 729, 743

 

Tutorial – Yellow Daisies

embroidery tutorial pin for stitching the 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).

 

lazy-daisy stitches being worked to create flower petals
lazy-daizy stitches of varying sizes stitched all around the daisy, creating the petals
This is from a different flower, because I’m terrible at step-by-step photos. Sorryyyyyy.

 

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.

 

French knots added to the center of the daisy

 

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.

 

view of the bouquet to show the daisies stems
finished daisy flower with straight stitches around it to create the thin leaves

 

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

 

close-up view of bouquet showing finished yellow daisies

 

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,

daisy embroidery using only easy stitches
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Ribbon Lily: Garden Bouquet Part 4

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Hello dear friend,

It’s back to the Garden Bouquet embroidery this week with Part 4, the ribbon lily! I have been so excited about the lily since the beginning. I knew I wanted to dive back into ribbon-work, and I just had this beautiful vision in my head of a gorgeous lily in shiny ribbon, full of life and bloom.

 

garden bouquet part 4 ribbon lily

 

It’s a success, I think. I love my lily. It crowns the whole piece beautifully. Amazingly, this is the part that was the least time-consuming yet produced a most stunning effect.

 

thread key for the lily: stem and leaves = dmc 3346, 1.5 cm wide green ribbon. Flower = DMC 433, 734, 3779, 2.2cm wide pink ribbon, 1.9cm pale pink ribbon

 

I rummaged around for pale pink ribbon and found two different colours that go perfectly together in my stash. One is Celebrate It from Michaels, and I got the other one in a Dollar Tree years ago. The former is pretty wide, 2.2 cm large, and the latter is a bit smaller, at 1.9 cm large. They are both polyester ribbon.

The wider the ribbon, the wider your single-stitch petal will be. That’s the beauty of ribbon embroidery. You can use only one stitch and create a beautiful petal. The needle is admittedly harder to pull through the fabric than for embroidery, but you can also create a flower in a fraction of the time that embroidery takes!

 

Let’s Stitch a Lily

For ribbon-work, we generally use chenille needles. A chenille needle has a really big eye, thick shaft, and a pointy tip. You need a pointy tip to be able to pierce the fabric, unless you’re stitching on something with a really broad weave like Aida cloth. I’m using a cotton for my project that’s heavy enough to sustain ribbon-work, but the weave isn’t broad enough to use a blunt-tipped needle.

My ribbon was so wide that I couldn’t thread it completely through the eye of my widest chenille needle! But it’s ok, because I was able to thread enough of the ribbon so that it wouldn’t slip out. It just meant that I didn’t have a tail like you normally would with embroidery thread, but you don’t really need it in this case.

 

trying to thread the large ribbon through a chenille needle

 

As well, I didn’t knot or anchor the end of my ribbon in any way. Usually for ribbon embroidery, you thread the needle through the end of the ribbon so it forms a knot on itself. This wouldn’t have worked with so wide a ribbon here, and would have created too much unnecessary bulk. So I just left a small bit of ribbon hanging from the back after each stitch, which I eventually secured with a sewing needle and thread at the end.

 

How to Start

Once the needle is threaded as best as you can, it’s time to take the first stitch!! The ribbon is very bulky where it sits in the needle’s eye, so you need a pretty big hole to be able to stitch through the fabric. I used a small tailor’s awl to poke a hole through the fabric first, before making a stitch, and it helped tremendously. I also used a gripper to help pull the needle through, since my hands were sweating uncontrollably. If you have dry hands, you might not have as much difficult pulling, although you will probably need to wiggle the needle quite a bit to make it come through.

 

using an awl to poke holes through the fabric for the ribbon lily

 

I worked from the center of the flower to the tip of the petals, careful to leave a bit of space between the stitches in the center. You don’t want them all the same hole or too near the same hole, or they risk coming undone and you’ll likely pull the stitches out accidentally when making a new one.

Each stitch is basically just a straight stitch (it just looks so much more impressive because it’s wide ribbon!). You start at point A (flower center), and go back down at point B (petal tip). You can decide how much ribbon you want for each petal. The tighter you pull, the thinner the petal will look. The looser you leave it, the more the ribbon will arch to form the petal.

 

single straight stitch to form a lily petal

 

You can also place the ribbon however you want it before bringing your needle back down. For example, the second petal to the right (from the top) was folded on itself before I ended the stitch. This gives the flower more dimension and a more realistic appearance. I also alternated between my two ribbon colours to vary the petal shades.

 

lily ribbon petal folded on itself to create realistic effect

 

Next, I added a little flower bud near the leaves. I also used straight stitches to create it, one stitch overlapping the other to create the appearance of folded petals.

 

ribbon work lily leaves

 

I worked the two leaves with straight stitches again, but with a thinner ribbon (that actually fit through the needle’s eye!). The ribbon was from my stash, but it was exactly the shade of green I wanted. 🙂

 

making a straight stitch with green ribbon for the leaves

 

Flower Details

Once I was satisfied with all this, I stitched the stem, using two strands of DMC #3346. I used long & short stitches with longer stitches than usual, and did a bit of whipping at the top where the stem was thinner. “Whipping” is when you weave your thread behind existing stitches without going through fabric. It creates a nice twisty look.

 

view of the full bouquet so far, to show the lily stem

 

I also added a few straight stitches (in floss) around the bud for the sepals.

 

close-up of lily bud to show embroidered sepals in embroidery floss

 

And finally, it was time to add more dimension to the flower and really make it look like a lily. I used one strand of DMC #734 and one strand of Brillanté d’Alger #511 (DMC #3779 is a close match) at the same time (so two strands in my needle, one of each colour) to create the filaments. I started from the flower center and just made straight stitches into the upper petals.

 

lily center with embroidery floss and straight stitches

 

Then I used two strands of Anchor #357 (DMC #433) to make smaller, slightly curved stitches to create the anthers above the filaments. (Yes, I had to google all these flower parts :P)

 

Finishing Touches

To secure all my dangling bits of ribbon at the back, I un-hooped my work, threaded a sewing needle with matching pink sewing thread, and sewed down each bit to anchor it.

 

backside of embroidery work to show the ribbon ends to secure

 

I also did a bit of sewing on the good side, to really place my petals as I wanted them, anchoring a fold here and there. To do this, you want to take very small stitches underneath the folds you wish to create so that the thread won’t be visible. It was also necessary to anchor a few petals down. Their arching form revealed the pencil marks underneath (and unfortunately this isn’t a piece you can wash easily – if at all).

 

complete ribbon lily flower

 

Voilà!! Now you know the secrets to stitch a beautiful lily flower with ribbon. I used to do a lot more ribbon embroidery a few years ago, and hope to get back into it. Each stitch is so satisfying, so lush, so beautiful!

 

view of completed bouquet so far, showing embroidered roses, currants, raspberries and lily flower in ribbon

 

With the lily now complete, my bouquet is really starting to look like something! All we have left are the little yellow daisies, the title, and a few finishing touches. I’m already prepping Part 5 for you 😊.

 

If you need to catch up on Parts 1, 2, and 3, here they are:

garden bouquet project part 1
Garden Bouquet part 2: wild roses
beautiful berries garden bouquet part 3

I hope you enjoyed embroidering a ribbon lily with me! Which has been your favourite part so far? Do you prefer needle-painting, stumpwork, or ribbon-work? Let me know in the comments!

 

Fondly,

ribbon lily garden bouquet part 4
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Make Darling Embroidered Buttons: Tutorial

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Hello and welcome back to my blog! In today’s post, I have a new tutorial for you – we’re going to make embroidered fabric-covered buttons. 😊 They’re soooo much fun and very easy to make.

 

embroidered buttons step-by-step tutorial

 

One of the things I love the most about embroidery is how easily you can weave it anywhere you want, especially on clothing. The endless possibilities for embellishing your clothes with embroidery are mind-blowing. What better way to create something absolutely uniquely yours. In my last year of Costume Studies, I tried to incorporate embroidered touches as much as I could in the projects we got to make for ourselves.

 

Buttons on a Dress

 

I designed and sewed this cute lilac dress for an assignment in Draping, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to add a bit of embroidery.

 

girl in a field wearing lilac dress with embroidered buttons
girl in field wearing lilac dress holding flower bouquet up to her face

 

I had previously discovered (and became enamoured with) fabric-covered buttons while working on an assignment for another class. They were so fun and easy to work that I knew I had to get my own kit for making them.

They don’t have to be embroidered of course, you can definitely just cover them with any fabric you like. But everything is better with embroidery, so I just had to give it a go. I love how they look on this dress. They’re so cute and dainty and exactly what I had in mind.

 

close-up of embroidered buttons on dress front

 

Embroidered Fabric-Covered Buttons Tutorial

 

Without further ado, let me show you how to make your own! It’s very easy and adds such a detailed personal touch. The embroidery is very small though, so it might be a bit challenging in that respect, but it also means the design isn’t very detailed.

The tiny flower cluster I went with is very easy to stitch. Here we go!

 

Materials

 

First, you will want to gather the following supplies:

materials for making the embroidered buttons; button kit, fabric, paper scissors, fabric shears, snips, embroidery hoop, embroidery floss, needles, marking tools, wood block

 

You will need fabric, either to match an existing project, or something different entirely. The lilac fabric I used for my dress was 100 % cotton, and the pale turquoise I’m using for the tutorial is a cotton as well. I recommend using a medium weight fabric, or a thinner fabric with interfacing. You will also need fabric shears to cut the fabric.

 

Next, you will need basic embroidery supplies:

  • Snips
  • Needle (I used DMC #9 embroidery needle)
  • 3 1/4″ inch embroidery hoop (you can use a bigger one too if you’re making many buttons on the same piece of fabric)
  • Floss: for the tutorial, I used DMC #3347, #744, #402
  • Marking tools: A water-soluble pen (or any other “erasable” pen) is useful for this project and/or a pencil.

You will also need a button-covering kit. These can be found in fabric stores such as Fabricville (Canada) or Jo-Ann’s.

 

Inside the kit you should have:

 

  • Buttons to cover
buttons to cover

 

They have two parts. The top is shaped like a dome and has a smooth surface, and the back is a little disk with the shank on top.

button to cover separated; smooth surface top and bottom with shank

 

  • A plastic holder
plastic holder for covering buttons

 

  • A “pusher”
plastic pusher for covering buttons with fabric

 

  • Instructions and template

Don’t throw out the packaging! Likely, the kit’s instructions will be written on it. You will need the templates that are printed on the back of the package.

back instructions and templates for fabric-covered buttons

 

The kit you buy will tell you what button size is included. The one I got was for #24 buttons, so that means I will cut out #24 circular template on the back.

bottom of packaging shows what size of buttons and template to cut
circle template cut out from back packaging
The cutout template here is from another kit.

And lastly, you will need paper scissors to cut out the template, and an optional piece of wood (or other smooth and slightly heavy object) to help with making the buttons.

 

The Tutorial:

 

  1. Cut a piece of fabric to fit inside your embroidery hoop. Consider how many buttons you want to make. If you’re making the #24 size, you will need approx. 5/8” in between each.

fabric cut to fit inside small embroidery hoop

 

2. Mark the size of the button on your fabric to determine where to embroider. Normally markings are made on the wrong side of the fabric, but in this case that wouldn’t be very helpful. This is why an erasable pen works well, because you will be able to get rid of the mark easily. You can also use chalk or a heat-erasable pen if that works for you.

trace the button size on your fabric

 

3. Make any markings you might need for your embroidery design. Because it’s so small you might prefer not to mark anything. I used a 0.5 mechanical pencil to lightly mark the stem and leaf placement of my flower. If you want to make the same design I did, simply draw a vertical line for the main stem. Add two little lines at an upward angle about the middle of the stem, one on each side for the leaves. I also added two slightly longer lines angled upwards at the top of the stem for more “leaves”. You can definitely do all this with your thread though, and skip the markings entirely. I work more steadily with markings so I prefer to do it.

make any markings you need for your embroidery within the button size

 

4. Embroider the design. Place the fabric inside your hoop and tighten the screw until the fabric is nicely taut. Thread your needle with 2 strands of DMC #3347 or the colour of your choice. I’m using a knot to secure my thread because it makes the most sense for such a tiny area. See this post on how to start & end your threads for other methods.

 

a) Stitch the main stem and upper “leaves” with a splitstitch or other outline stitch of your choice. The leaves are so tiny that they’re just a small straight stitch.

b) Work French knots above the stem using two strands of DMC #402 and #744 to create the flower cluster. There is no real order to this, just scatter the knots as you wish to create a flower head or cluster form.

 

tiny flower embroidery tutorial

 

Embroidery is done! Secure your threads at the back and un-hoop your fabric.

 

5. Cut out the appropriate template at the back of your button kit packaging (I’m using size 24) and place it evenly over your embroidery. You can do this at the back too, but I find it’s more accurate to do it on the good side. Trace the template with a pencil or erasable pen. This creates the seam allowance necessary to cover the button successfully.

place the circle template over your embroidery to cut seam allowance
seam allowance added all around the emroidery

6. Cut out your fabric along the template line you just marked.

cut out button cover with seam allowance

 

7. Take the plastic holder, and center your embroidered fabric over its hole. The original marking you made of the button top should fit right along the edge of the white thing. You can also center the white thing on your fabric right side up first if that’s easier, then slowly turn it around so that the fabric is closest to you, good side facing the hole.

place the plastic holder right over the embroidery, the original button marking right around the edge of the holder
flip the holder over so that the fabric rests good side down against it

8. Place the button top smooth face down on the fabric. Make sure it’s well centered over the embroidery.

button dome face down over embroidered fabric

 

9. Push down with your thumb, or the pusher provided in the kit (I like to use a piece of wood to push down on the pusher to make it even easier). The button top will end up at the bottom of the holder and the seam allowance will fold on itself around the dome. If you see that the button isn’t straight, that there is too much fabric on one side and not enough on another, you can pop the button out and start again, re-centering your fabric better.

thumb pushing the button to the bottom of the holder
pusher is put over the button piece, and a block of wood used to push down on it

10. If you’re satisfied with the eveness of the seam allowance, push down gently on it even more to make sure none of it sticks out. Add the button back, shank facing up atop the folded seam allowance.

seam allowance folds on itself around the button dome inside the holder
button back placed atop the folded seam allowance, on top of the holder

11. Here is where the pusher is definitely useful! Place it over the shank (the hole covering the shank) and push down until you feel it sink in to the button top. I like to use the piece of wood again to push down, but you can do it with your palm or another object.

pusher placed over the shank of the button back
hands pushing a wooden block on the plastic pusher to secure button back

12. Pop the button out of the holder.

hands pushing the covered button out of the holder

 

13. Pray and hope the embroidery is well-centered.

embroidered fabric-covered button

 

14. CONGRATS, YOU DID IT!!!!! Look at that cute little button!

finished embroidered button seen from the front

And that’s it! Now you’re ready to cover everything with embroidered buttons. 😉

 

how to make a covered button step-by-step tutorial

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it will give you some inspiration for adding subtle and delicate touches of embroidery to your work. The good news with this sort of embroidery, too, is that it doesn’t take long at all, but really pulls an outfit together.

The lilac dress would be very different without the embroidered buttons.

 

lilac dress close-up on embroidered buttons down bodice front
close-up of top embroidered button on lilac dress bodice front

 

I added embroidery to the back as well, but not because I wanted to add more delicate touches. No, I added embroidery there BECAUSE I CUT A HOLE WITH THE SERGER. A big, super noticeable gash right in the middle of the mid-riff section, just before my project was due. If you know me, this is EXACTLY the kind of stupid mistake I often make and there is zero surprise in this happening, BUT IT WAS A SAD MOMENT.

 

view of embroidered bodice on lilac dress back

 

Thankfully, embroidery is here to solve all your problems, so I just mended it with matching thread first, then covered up the ugly scar with a little branch of some nondescript purple flower.

HA! TAKE THAT, SERGER.

 

model wearing lilac dress in field leaning forward with flower bouquet

 

Thank you for coming to “Part 75 Why Anne Will Never Buy a Serger”.

Have a lovely week and happy button-covering!

 

Fondly,

learn how to make embroidered buttons
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French Knot Made Easy: Stitch Tutorial

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Hello and welcome to another stitch tutorial! Today we are going to be looking at one of my favourite stitches ever, The French Knot. I know some people strongly dislike it or aren’t inclined to try it, but it’s really easy once you get the hang of it! And it’s SO useful. Not only does it add texture, but it’s also perfect for small details such as eyes or flower centers. I use it in nearly every project I make!

 

easy french knot tutorial

 

Last week I shared a raspberry embroidery project, where I combined French knots and beads to create the berries. The effect was wonderful, I thought! It made the fruits very dimensional, and the French knots are quick and easy to work. And this is coming from someone who struggles with hyperhidrosis and has a lot of trouble with bullion knots. I wrote a good hack for that one in my post Awesome Bullion Knot Hack. 😉 So anyways, the French knots are your friend! Even if your thread gets all wet like mine because of sweaty hands, they are still very manageable. (Right, so it’s very unpleasant to stitch with hyperhidrosis sometimes, but it’s doable!!)

 

Let’s Begin

Without further ado, let me show you how to work those fabulous French knots! First, you will begin by threading an embroidery needle and hooping your fabric. Then, anchor or knot your thread and you’ll be ready to begin.

For a list of embroidery tools you need to get started, check out this post: The Only Embroidery Tools You Need

For tips on how to start and end your stitches, check out: How to Start and End Embroidery Stitches

I used 3 strands of floss for this tutorial.

 

French Knot Tutorial

 

Bring your needle up from the back once it’s threaded and anchored.

With one hand (I’m right-handed so I’ll do this with my left hand because my dominant hand will hold the needle), hold the thread up a little, slightly above where it came up the fabric. With your dominant hand, hold your needle behind the thread, perpendicularly.

 

hold the needle behind the thread

 

Wrap the thread twice around the needle. For best results, you always want to wrap only twice. If you want your knot to be bigger or smaller, reduce or add the number of strands you work with. Wrapping more than twice usually only creates a mess. You can wrap clockwise or anti-clockwise, it doesn’t really matter.

 

wrap thread twice around needle

 

Pull the thread to tighten the wraps a little. You want them to be tight enough that they both rest against each other, but loose enough to be able to move the needle.

While still holding the thread with one hand, let your other hand guide the needle to go through the fabric again. Position the tip of the needle just beside the point where you first came up. You don’t want to be in exactly the same hole, or the knot won’t hold, but you want be as close as you can get.

 

tighten the wraps and angle the needle to take a stitch

 

As you angle the needle upwards to go through the fabric, relax your hand holding the thread just a little, allowing the loops to slide down the needle.

When they get to the bottom, hold the thread tight to tighten the loops against the needle shaft again, and keep holding the thread! Usually at this point, I like to use one finger to hold the thread down against the fabric to make sure those loops stay wrapped tight around the needle.

 

hold thread with one hand and pull the needle through with the other to make french knot

 

While you hold the thread, pull the needle through. It will go through the loops and the fabric. Hold on to the thread with your finger until the needle goes through completely. You can let go once the needle is fully on the other side, and just keep pulling the thread all the way.

pull the thread all the way
thread being pulled to form French knot

Once the needle is pulled all the way, you end with a beautiful, tidy knot like this!

finished French knot

 

You can repeat the steps to create as many knots as you want, all close together, or further apart depending on what you’re stitching.

 

clusters of finished french knots

 

When I worked on my raspberries, I wanted my French knots to be close enough together, with a few spaces for adding beads later.

 

first embroidered raspberry with french knots

 

Final Thoughts

There are so many possibilities with this stitch, and I think you will have a lot of fun with it if you try it and practice a few times!! I know it sounds a bit convoluted when detailed out like this (this is a stitch that is very quick to make, but writing it out makes it seem a bit long!), but it’s really not as bad as it might sound.  A video tutorial would probably be best suited for this stitch, and I hope to make one someday soon! I’m not very equipped for making videos at the moment, but it’s something I’d be interested in trying if there’s enough interest. Let me know if you think that would be helpful for you!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, and please let me know if you give it a try! If you already know how to do it, do you also really like it? What other stitches would you be interested in learning? Let me know in the comments!

In the meantime, check out my other stitch tutorials!

 

the chain stitch easy tutorial
Chain stitch & lazy-daisy stitch
Straight stitch, running stitch, backstitch, stem stitch, & split stitch

You can find all stitch tutorials under the “Tutorials” -> “Stitches” section in the menu, or by clicking the images above.

Happy stitching my friend, and I hope you have fun with the French knot!

 

Fondly,

learn how to do the french knot
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