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The Diary of a Northern Belle

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THE LATEST

Floral Garden Bunting Project: a Wrap-Up on the 2023 Stitch-Along

Fall Floral Embroidery Pattern: Calendula Wreath

“Embroideries From an English Garden” by Carol Andrews – Book Review

pdf patterns

Stumpwork Robin Eggs: Easy Embroidery Tutorial

June 20, 2022      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,

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My New Etsy Shop: Northern Belle Atelier

March 29, 2022      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.

  • Wisteria Branch
  • Apple Jelly Jar Bonnet
  • Little pumpkin outline to practice satin stitch

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,

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Recent Posts

  • Floral Garden Bunting Project: a Wrap-Up on the 2023 Stitch-Along
  • Fall Floral Embroidery Pattern: Calendula Wreath
  • “Embroideries From an English Garden” by Carol Andrews – Book Review
  • Botanical Wreath Project: A Pattern for Each Month
  • 2023 Free Yearly Stitch-Along + Mini Needle-Painting Tutorial

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photo of Anne-Marie from The Diary of a Northern Belle

Hello I'm Anne! Welcome to my little corner of the Internet where I share my passion for hand embroidery with you through tutorials and patterns. I hope that you enjoy browsing and leave with some new inspiration!

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~ Diary of a Northern Belle

Northern Belle Atelier is taking a break 🌸💖 Northern Belle Atelier is taking a break 🌸💖

Today (Feb. 09th) is the last day to place your order for any physical items in my shop (kits, needle minders, or finished works). I will be removing the listings over the weekend. PDF patterns will remain available for now, but they may be taken down at any time (so if you've had your eye on one, I suggest grabbing it before they're gone! 🥰).

I will also be tuning off Instagram in the coming days, but you can still reach me via my business emails if you need. My blog will remain up for the time being. 💕

Thank you ever so much for all the support you've shown my little business since I began sharing my embroidery here! It has meant so much to me to be able to do this, even if just in a small way. 💖🪡 Wishing you all some beautiful stitches ahead!

Anne
Xoxo
February Wreath aka "Victorian Valentine" pattern February Wreath aka "Victorian Valentine" pattern from last year 💖🌸🎀 I love this one so much and it's perfect for Valentine's Day coming up!

Find it in my Etsy shop 💜

(Sorry for the shaky video!!)
Needle minders will be leaving my shop soon!! 🍒 Needle minders will be leaving my shop soon!! 🍒 Snag a cute little fruity needle minder for your next embroidery project before February 9th! All remaining needle minders in my shop are 10% off until then 💕🍓🍒💛
✨️ IMPORTANT UPDATE ✨️ I will be disconti ✨️ IMPORTANT UPDATE ✨️

I will be discontinuing embroidery kits from my shop very soon, but I still have 2 left of this pretty summer wreath up for grabs!! 🌼🍓

I love this design and the kit comes with everything you need to make the project: two pieces of cotton fabric, thread card loaded with DMC floss, two needles, a good quality 6" hoop, and the PDF pattern! All presented in a handy folder to make it easy to keep everything together 🤍💛❤️

Visit my Etsy shop (linked in bio) if you're interested!! They won't be around for long!
Thank you so much for all the love on the Floral G Thank you so much for all the love on the Floral Garden bunting!! 💖🌷🌻 Following several inquiries from some of you who were missing some or all of the patterns from this project, I've decided to link them in a handy-dandy blog post for easier access! 💕 I've linked it via my bio if you want to have a look and get the patterns! I like to give my subscribers a bit of exclusivity, but since this project has now come to a close, I've decided to make it available to everyone. 🥰

I may also have taken that opportunity to write a bit about each flower, the inspiration behind the designs, and of course their meanings according to the Language of Flowers 😊🌿🌻 If that sounds of interest to you, read  the post to find out more! I've also linked some stitch tutorials that may be helpful. 

Happy stitching! 🎀🪡🌼

Anne
The Floral Garden stitch-along has come to a close The Floral Garden stitch-along has come to a close and the bunting has been sewn and hung! 🌻🌷🌿 what a joy it was to work on throughout the year, and I hope you've enjoyed it too! I'm thrilled with the final result 😍

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and enthusiasm for this project. I've just sent the final instructions + bunting template to my email subscribers 💌 it isn't too late if you'd like to give this project a try - you can sign-up via the link in my bio and receive the links to all 12 floral motifs from last year + the instructions for the bunting!! 💕

The embroideries are beginner-friendly and perfect if you want to try a bit of needle-painting, and the bunting part is quite easy and quick to put together (compared to last year's mini-quilt haha!) 🌷💕🌿

Happy stitching!!
Winter Fox 🦊🤍🌲 I think this makes the fir Winter Fox 🦊🤍🌲 I think this makes the first completed embroidery for 2024! Absolutely loved working on this and love the mix of watercolor with embroidery! Can't get enough of the little pinecones 🤎
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