The Diary of a Northern Belle

Hand Embroidery

nature inspiration

Two Different Ways to Embroider Hydrangeas

     Anne      2 Comments

Hello friend, it’s already time for a new mini-embroidery pattern for the 2022 Tea Party Mini-Quilt Stitch-along! For August, we have a sweet little posy of hydrangeas in a vase, freshly picked from the garden and ready to adorn our tea table. I spent a very peaceful afternoon playing around with different stitches and colour combinations to embroider the hydrangeas, and thought I’d share a bit of my process with you here today.

 

 

An endlessly fascinating and beautiful subject, florals can be embroidered in about as many different ways as there are embroiderers. I absolutely love scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest to see how everyone likes to stitch flowers. There are so many lovely colours, and so many stitches to choose from! The best way to figure out what works best is to just try out different things and have fun.

 

August’s Hydrangea Posy

I absolutely love a good hydrangea bush, all puffy with big pastel pompoms. And when dried well, they look nearly just as good in a vase as they do crowding the front steps. They are also wonderful to look at during the colder months.

For this mini-embroidery pattern, I knew that the hydrangeas would be quite small so anything too detailed (like long & short stitch) would likely not work. French knots and lazy-daisy stitch are both so versatile and useful for depicting many kinds of flowers, especially for small subjects. So I had a go an embroidering hydrangeas with both stitches, and ran a little poll on Insta to see what people preferred.

The French knots won, but I admit I was more drawn to the lazy-daisy stitch version. I love the fullness that the French knots give, but I feel it could also be mistaken for other flowers (like chrysanthemums or zinnias) and looks a bit too abstract. The lazy-daisy stitches give it a bit more definition. You can place your stitches to form an “X” to imitate the petals, but since the flower was pretty small, they kinda crowded over each other and ended up looking a bit messy.

 

French Knots vs. Lazy-Daisy Stitches

I think the size of the flower greatly influences the type of stitch that works best. For a very small flower, the French knots are perfect for giving it dimension and texture. The lovely combination of the sweet shades of blue #3811 and #827 leave it with no mistake that it is in fact a hydrangea. (Plus, when it’s your embroidery, you can absolutely claim that it’s whatever flower you say it is, even if it doesn’t exist!). If I were stitching a hydrangea bush or flowering pot, I would definitely use French knots, since they would be depicted from even further away.

But for a single flower, I really do love the lazy-daisy stitches.

I made this one bigger, and used the same two shades of blue. It’s not as dimensional, but it does have more definition and works better for this size. The bigger is it, the easier it is to add details. If I were to stitch a much larger, detailed version, I would probably use satin stitch or long & short, and perhaps bullion knots to add some texture, much like I did for the lilac branch project.

 

Which version?

This was a fun little exercise, but in the end I just couldn’t decide! Both versions ended up in the August pattern! Everything is stitched with 2 strands, but you can of course substitute the lazy-daisies for French knots or vice versa. Or use another stitch altogether, if you have another way to embroider hydrangeas! I’d love to know.

Also, if anyone has any great tips for drying hydrangeas to display, please let me know! The last bunch I tried failed miserably, and the ones I did manage from a few years ago have sadly lost most of their colour.

I hope you enjoyed these different ways to embroider hydrangeas, and that you enjoy stitching the August pattern. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram (@northernbelle.atelier) and use the hashtag #northernbellesal. I always love to see your work!

 

Fondly,

Pin to save for later!

Stumpwork Robin Eggs: Easy Embroidery Tutorial

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Today on the blog, I have a really fun tutorial to share with you: how to make stumpwork robin eggs! I shared a glimpse of the making process a few weeks ago on Instagram, and some of you were interested in seeing the full tutorial so I’m happy to oblige. One day, I hope to be able to film things properly, but for now I hope you’ll enjoy this step-by-step photo tutorial.

 

 

The eggs and nest are part of a larger pattern, which is available as a PDF download in my Etsy shop here!

embroidered robin bird on a blossoming branch with its nest of blue stumpwork eggs

So if you fancy a bit of needle-painting, a bit of stumpwork, and a bit of French knot magic, you’ll love “The Robin’s Nest”!

The stumpwork was actually the easiest and most fun part of the whole project, so I’m excited to share more about it with you today.

 

What is Stumpwork?

“Stumpwork” is, quite simply, a fancy word for 3D embroidery. It refers to the various techniques used to “raise” embroidery, from 3D stitches to padding, stuffing, and the use of any other material to create three-dimensional scenes or elements. I’ve shared a bit about stumpwork here on the blog before, in these two projects:

flat lay close-up on beaded blackberries project and plate of blackberries with embroidery notions and dried flowers
Beaded Blackberries: Inspired by Regency Fiction
finished embroidered currant berry branch on garden bouquet project
Garden Bouquet Embroidery Part 3: Beautiful Berries

There are pretty much no limits when it comes to stumpwork, and a million ways to get creative and make your embroidery pop. Bird eggs seemed to me the perfect subject to try a little felt padding, and I absolutely love it!

 

Materials:

To make these stumpwork blue eggs, you’ll need:

  • Scrap of blue felt big enough to cut 3 little eggs from. My eggs were about ½” each, so you really only need a tiny scrap.
  • Sewing thread (use a matching blue, or anything pale) and a hand-sewing needle
  • Snips
  • Embroidery floss DMC #3811 or other lovely robin egg blue shade you have
  • Hand-embroidery needle

 

Stumpwork Eggs Tutorial:

1. Start by cutting 3 little eggs from the blue felt. The felt is used as padding and will be entirely covered with stitching, so don’t worry if it’s not exactly the right shade of blue. You can use white felt too, if you don’t have blue.

3 eggs cut out of blue felt

 

2. I’m stitching these eggs inside a nest here, so I’ve arranged them how I want to determine which to stitch first. I like them to overlap, especially with the angle my nest is seen from, but they could be beside each other and not touching if you prefer.

felt eggs arranged in nest

 

3. Once you’ve decided how to arrange your eggs, stitch the first one in place with sewing thread and a simple backstitch. This is to prevent the shape from shifting when we embroider.

first egg stitched down

 

4. When it’s stitched in place, thread your hand-embroidery needle with 2 strands of #3811 and cover the egg with satin stitch, vertically (top to bottom or vice versa).

egg embroidered with satin stitch

 

5. Arrange the second egg, and sew it down in place like you did the first one. If they are overlapping, stitch right through the other egg. Again, cover with satin stitch in the same way as the first.

felt egg being covered with satin stitch
two eggs fully covered with satin stitch

6. Finally, place the last egg and stitch it down in place over the previous two. Cover with satin stitch, always following the direction the egg is laying in.

third egg overlapping the other two

 

And now you have the cutest, bluest little 3D robin eggs!!

3 stumpwork eggs finished

 

Felt is truly amazing for stumpwork, and really easy to work with. I even considered stuffing the felt, but didn’t need to since it turned out dimensional enough. You can use bits of felt like this to raise any embroidered element that you like.

stumpwork eggs in their embroidered nest surrounded by blossoming flowers

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and small glimpse into “The Robin’s Nest”! The full pattern is available for purchase here if you’d like to stitch the whole thing. Suitable for enthusiastic beginners of the needle-painting technique and more advanced stitchers. If you’re just starting out with needle-painting, it’s not too difficult as the robin is pretty straightforward. If you’re a complete beginner to hand embroidery, I do suggest practicing basic stitches and needle-painting first.

 

You can visit my Stitch Library for full tutorials on basic embroidery stitches and more!

 

As always, thank you for reading my blog and happy stitching!

Fondly,

Pin to save for later!

How to Paint Fabric For Embroidery

     Anne      3 Comments

Hello dear friend, and welcome back to another fun fabric adventure! A few weeks ago I shared how to tea-dye fabric for an embroidery project, and today I’ll be sharing how to paint your fabric for embroidery using watercolour. It’s super easy and fun and you don’t need to be an expert watercolour artist.

 

watercolour painting for embroidery

 

In fact, I will preface this tutorial right away by readily admitting that I know next to nothing about watercolour painting. I’ve never taken any lessons or anything, and I don’t know all the correct techniques…but that’s ok! For our purposes here, we really don’t need anything fancy. The point of this little tutorial is to show you how to complement an embroidery project by adding simple painting such as for backgrounds, or other areas you’d rather not fill with stitches. Nothing detailed, and nothing complicated. Very beginner-friendly stuff. 🙂

Of course, if you do happen to know a thing or two about watercolour, I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!

 

Please Note:

Using watercolour paint on fabric is only suitable if you don’t intend to wash the embroidery piece. It’s perfect for when you intend to frame a piece, or turn into a box cover or something like that.

 

There are so many techniques that look beautiful paired with embroidery. Appliqué, stumpwork, ribbon-work, or even adding pressed flowers to a piece. Sometimes, you just don’t want to fill everything with thread, and you don’t want to leave just an outline either. Sometimes you just need to use another medium. All the techniques I mentioned above are very lovely, but there is none so quick and subtle as adding a bit of watercolour paint.

While appliqués and ribbons are gorgeous, sometimes they take a bit too much attention away from the actual embroidery. Sometimes that’s the look you’re going for, but sometimes it’s not. That’s why adding paint is so perfect! Simple, subtle, yet really makes a piece of work come alive.

 

Ready to see how I do it? I’ll be working on a little sample piece for my next pattern, experimenting with greens and grasses.

 

Materials

In addition to basic embroidery supplies (as needed for your project), you’ll also need:

  • Watercolour paint. This is where my non-expertise comes in as I tell you that I have no idea which paint is best. Since we’re not doing anything fancy here, I’m sure a basic set would be just fine. I’m using these Pébéo tubes since I already had them and they work really well, but there are a number of sets you can choose from and you don’t have to get the tubes if you prefer a tablet set. I actually find the latter easier to work with and carry around.

  • Watercolour paintbrush. Again, I really couldn’t say which brand is “best”, but then again you really don’t need a “good” brush necessarily. I like to use the rounded brushes since they work great for dabbing the paint gently on fabric. Unless you intend on adding lots of details, I would suggest experimenting with a few different sizes, depending on the size of the areas you intend to fill. For example in my project here, I used a size 8 (bigger) for the grass and a size 3 (smaller) for the door. My paintbrushes are kinda old and not the best quality, but something like this it works just fine.

  • Paint palette: this is really helpful for mixing colours if you’re using paint tubes, but you can also use a small dish if you don’t have one. If you’re using a tablet set, you can often do the mixing directly in the inside of the lid.

  • Some water and a towel. This will be needed to activate the paint, and rinse your brush as you go.

  • Sketchbook or paper to test out colours (doesn’t need to be watercolour paper, it’s just to get the colours you want).

  • Scrap of the fabric you intend to use for your final project. I am working with this Ditte cotton fabric from IKEA.

  • Scrap paper (to put underneath your fabric and protect your work surface as you paint).

 

Painting on Fabric Tutorial

1. First, have your embroidery pattern ready. This can be just a little sketch, or a pattern you’ve downloaded or purchased. (You can check out my Etsy shop if you need ideas!) Having the pattern ready will help to visualize how you’ll want to approach it, which areas you’ll want to paint, etc… Here I have my little sketch of a rounded door in the grass. I’m thinking of painting the door in brown, and playing around with the green to add the grass effect.

sketch of a rounded door in the grass on fabric

 

2. Test out the paint on paper. Watercolour paint needs water to activate it, so dip your paintbrush in water and rub it over a tablet, or mix with a dab of paint if you’re using a tube. I’ve found that you really only need a little bit of the actual paint from the tube, and lots of water to give it the right look and consistency. Play around with it until you are satisfied with the ratio and the paint isn’t too opaque or overly watery. Depending on the watercolour set you’re using, you might need to do a lot or very little mixing between colours to get your desired shade. The only green I had was sap green, which actually ended up being pretty close to what I wanted. I added a bit of black and a bit of primary blue, until I was satisfied with the result.

paint swatches on paper to get desired shade

 

3. When you’re satisfied with the colour, test how it feels on a scrap of the same fabric you intend to use for your project. I suggest sketching out the basic shapes you intend to fill on your fabric to practice and see how you like it. I like to use a pencil for this, since it will still be visible under the paint and won’t wash away.

adding green paint to fabric swatch

Applying watercolour paint to fabric feels different than on paper, since it’s hard to really “spread” the paint. It works better if you just dab the brush gently on the fabric, and let the colour run. Be mindful that it runs a lot more on fabric than on paper, so try applying colour from the middle of the shape you want to fill, slowly going outward toward the edge. On certain fabrics especially, the paint will still run a bit after a few minutes, so I like to stop a little before the edge of the shape to make sure it won’t “bleed out”.

 

4. Once you are satisfied with your results, it’s time to do it on the real piece! Transfer your embroidery pattern onto your good fabric with a marking tool that won’t easily wash away. Water-soluble pen isn’t good for this, and the heat-erasable pen might not be either if you want to blow-dry the fabric to dry the paint. I like using a pencil instead, and making sure that all markings will be covered with stitching.

painting the door brown
background painted on fabric

 

5. Paint the desired areas of your design, and then wait for it to dry or speed up the process by using a hair-dryer before you begin stitching.

embroidered door and flowers over the painted background on fabric
same embroidered piece with more green paint added to background fabric
I decided to add more green all around the design after I embroidered, but I would suggest adding all the paint before you embroider. It didn’t seem to stain the embroidery or anything though, so it was a good test.

 

And that’s it! Not so intimidating, right? It really just comes down to: practice before trying it on your final project! Be patient, don’t rush it, and don’t worry too much about it either. Adding watercolour to embroidery really gives it a soft, unhurried feel that easily forgives little mistakes. Plus, you can always cover anything with a few stitches if you don’t like it. Embroidery always saves the day.

I hope this tutorial was helpful and that you’ll give painting your fabric a try for your next project! I’m excited to work on the final version of this little home in the high grasses. Who do you think lives there?

 

Happy embroidery adventures my friend!

Fondly,

how to paint fabric for embroidery
Pin to save for later!

New in the Shop: Easter Eggs Decorations

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Can you believe it’s Holy week already and Easter is next Sunday?! April seems to be absolutely flying by so far. I for one am very excited to welcome Easter (and sunnier, spring-like weather) and celebrate the resurrection of Christ with a warm cup of tea and a box of chocolate! I don’t drink tea or eat chocolate during Lent, so Easter Sunday is always made extra special by indulging in favourite treats again. Only a few more days to wait now, so in the meantime…I’ve been stitching flowery Easter eggs! Next to eating them, stitching them is best, right?

 

pdf embroidery patterns floral easter eggs

 

I have my sweet Mom to thank for this lovely idea. She thought it would be great if I added a few Easter-themed embroidery pattern to the shop. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it since it was already late March and I was still immersed in embroidering this robin…

embroidered robin bird

…but he is taking quite a long time, and I doubted he’d be done in time for Easter. So when Mom suggested embroidering Easter eggs, it seemed like the perfect idea to add new products to the shop and take a little break from my feathery friend. I’ve always loved painting eggs, so I thought why not come up with some cute designs and embroider them instead? I’m much better at embroidery than painting, anyways!

 

Floral Easter Eggs

So the embroideries quickly took form, but I found it a bit odd just to have a decorative egg by itself on the fabric. It would look much better as a decoration! Which is why I transformed them into little hanging ornaments, perfect for a touch of Easter decor, and perfect to keep throughout Spring as well!

embroidered easter eggs

Aren’t they just adorable? They’re available as PDF downloads in my shop so that you can make your own! All three designs are beginner-friendly and quick to stitch. Each pattern also includes a step-by-step tutorial on how to make the ornament. It’s really easy, and all you need in addition to embroidery supplies are a piece of felt, ribbon, some cardboard, and hand-sewing needle & thread.

You’ll have these whipped up in no time, just in time for Easter!

 

Visit Northern Belle Atelier on Etsy and grab your pattern today!

 

Tulip

embroidered tulip egg
Shop this pattern

This one is probably the easiest. You only need 4 embroidery stitches: satin stitch, stem stitch, whipped backstitch, and French knots. All stitch tutorials are included in the PDF.

 

Flower Meadow

embroidered floral meadow
Shop this pattern

This lovely meadow was such a joy to embroider, and is very easy to personalize. Follow the pattern or create your own!

 

Pansy

embroidered pansy egg
Shop this pattern

And finally, this lovely pansy stitched on a soft background. This one has the fun addition of using DMC Light Effects thread, which creates a beautiful shine. Also a beginner-friendly pattern, using few stitches but featuring lovely little details.

 

Which one is your favourite?

If you love them all and want to purchase all three designs, be sure to do so through this listing! I created a little bundle so you can have all three patterns for less the price of two.

3 floral embroidery eggs
Shop pattern bundle

I hope you enjoy these floral Easter eggs my dear friends! Are flowers already blooming in your garden? We’ve started sowing many flowers and vegetables inside, but it will be a couple more weeks before things bloom in earnest. At least the birds are singing happily, and it hasn’t snowed in over a week!

 

I look forward to chatting with you all again after Easter, cup of tea and chocolate eggs at hand. 😉

 

Fondly,

My New Etsy Shop: Northern Belle Atelier

     Anne      Leave a Comment

Dear friends, it is with such excitement that I proudly announce the opening of my Etsy shop: Northern Belle Atelier! It’s been months in the making while I figured out what I wanted to do and learned how to develop patterns for my embroidery pieces. I’ve been experimenting a lot, and learning so many new skills. It’s been a great journey, but I am so ready for this new chapter!

 

Welcome to Northern Belle Atelier!

I have opened my shop with 4 downloadable PDF patterns for embroidery, suitable for different skill levels. Each pattern has first been hand-drawn by me, then turned into a lovely booklet full of instructions and photos. Here’s what you can expect when you purchase one of my patterns:

  • The actual pattern (and reverse pattern) to transfer
  • List of the materials & tools you’ll need
  • Thread & Stitch Key to show which colours are used where, with what stitch
  • Stitch tutorials with photos for all the stitches you’ll need in the project (you can also find more in-depth tutorials here on the blog!)
  • A section of info on how to prep your project, including how to bind a hoop, how to start & end your stitches, how to transfer your pattern, etc.
  • Detailed step-by-step instructions with lots of photos to guide you through each part of the pattern
  • Suggestions on how to care for & finish your embroidery

I’ve tried to make the PDFs as detailed as possible, but of course there is so much to say about embroidery that it can fill several books! You’re always welcome to reach out if you have any questions, and you’re also welcome to browse the various sections of my blog, where I’ve written several posts with beginners in mind, and to see samples of my work (and grab some freebies!).

 

The Patterns

Let’s have a peek at some of the designs, shall we?

 

embroidered umbrella with wisteria spilling out of it
Shop this pattern here!

 

If you’ve been following the blog for a bit, this one might strike you as familiar. That’s because I first designed it back in April 2021 after being so inspired by the wonderful novel The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. I first stitched it with a different colour palette and different lace, and wrote a whole post about it while praising Enchanted April to the skies (read it here).

I revisited the pattern later and decided to try a different palette, which I like even more than the first. The softness of the tones and the delicate lace really evoke the gloriousness of the leisure hours spent in the dreamiest Italian garden by the characters in the book. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do and that you’ll enjoy stitching it if you fancy giving it a go.

The pattern is not too difficult, but I do recommend having some previous knowledge of embroidery. None of the stitches are complicated, but it does feature a lace appliqué and requires you to stitch over other stitches. This can get a little frustrating if it’s your first attempt. Luckily the nature of the wisteria is very forgivable. Little mistakes can be easily covered up with an extra tumbling flower or two. 😉

 

Bonus:

If you want to try stitching wisteria but don’t want to commit to a full pattern just yet, I have a freebie version! A sweet branch of wisteria, perfect for practicing those lazy-daisy stitches. Find it here.

 

mouse holding a strawberry done in redwork
Shop this pattern here!

 

Also available in the shop is this cute mouse offering you a strawberry! I originally designed it for the center of an EPP hexie flower for a friend’s birthday. It was so sweet that I couldn’t resist adding it to the shop.

I stitched my version in redwork, but you could easily customize it! It’s a beginner-friendly pattern, although some might find the small details a bit challenging. It was designed to fit a 3″ hoop so it’s overall pretty small, but you can always make it bigger if you want. Most of it is done in backstitch, so not too hard at all. 😉

 

Visit Northern Belle Atelier on Etsy to see the rest!

I can’t wait to show you what I’m planning next! I have so many ideas, and not enough time haha. While I’m only starting with PDF patterns at the moment, I do hope to add physical goods in the near future. If there’s anything in particular you’d be interested in, please let me know. 🙂 Any feedback/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

For now, I really love the downloadable PDFs because you get instant access to them after purchase. No extra cost or wait on shipping! Plus, you get to use your own fabric, switch up the colours if you like, or use whatever you already have in your stash. A good win-win for everyone.

 

Freebies!

Before you go, don’t forget to have a look at the freebies section here on the blog! I have a few patterns that you can stitch if you want to practice, and you can download them for free.

I also send out a free mini pattern per month as part of the Mini-Quilt stitch-along included in my newsletter. You can subscribe here.

 

Alrighty, I think that’s enough info-dump for one post! I hope you have a great week and thank you for taking the time to read my blog today. I look forward to sharing more shop updates with you soon! Feel free to follow along on Instagram.

 

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? 😉

 

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 “jasmine” 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 “spring” 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. 🙂

 

Fondly,

image to pin
Pin to save for later!