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Scallop Stitch: Very Easy Embroidery Tutorial

     Anne      Leave a Comment

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

 

scallop stitch embroidery tutorial

 

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

 

Scallop Stitch Tutorial

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

needle going down from A to B

 

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

needle coming back up between A and B at point C

 

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

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

 

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

needle going down in D to anchor scallop stitch

 

And that’s it!

finished scallop stitch laying nicely on the fabric

 

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

several scallop stitched grouped together

 

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

scallop stitch tutorial

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

 

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

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

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

 

Fondly,

English Paper Piecing Basics: Cutting & Basting

     Anne      3 Comments

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

 

Learn the basics of english paper piecing

 

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

 

What is English Paper Piecing?

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

 

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

 

Materials & Tools

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

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

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

You’ll also want:

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

 

Cutting Your Shapes

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

Cutting your Fabric

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

embroidered cherries next to cardstock hexagon

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

Basting Your Shapes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Baste Other Shapes

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

basted epp shapes seen from wrong side

 

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

 

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

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

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

Preparing to Assemble the Pieces

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

basted shapes with rose-patterned fabric seen from good side

 

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

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

 

Stay tuned for my next EPP tutorial…

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

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

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

 

Fondly,

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

     Anne      1 Comment

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

 

very easy leaf stitch tutorial

 

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

 

Leaf Stitch Tutorial

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

leaf outline traced in pencil on white fabric

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

Ta-da! A cute little leaf!

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

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

 

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

how to do the leaf stitch
Pin to save for later!

 

You Might Also Like:

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

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

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

Until next time!

 

Fondly,

Hand-Sewing Basics: Easy Whipstitch Tutorial

     Anne      2 Comments

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

 

hand-sewing tutorial the whipstitch

 

Whipstitch Tutorial

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

Where Can You Use the Whipstitch?

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

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

 

Joining Felt and Creating a Border:

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

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

Joining pieces together for EPP:

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

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

Finishing the back of an embroidery hoop:

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

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

To appliquΓ© a piece of lace:

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

lace appliquΓ© being sewn on main fabric
stem stitch outline worked around lace appliquΓ©

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

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

 

Fondly,

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

learn how to do the whipstitch
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How to Finish the Back of an Embroidery Hoop For Framing

     Anne      2 Comments

You’ve just placed the very last stitch on your embroidery project and now you wonder – what to do with the finished piece? Likely, a lot of hard work went into it, and it surely deserves a place of choice. There are many different ways to use and display embroidery pieces, and one of the easiest ways to do so is to simply leave it in the embroidery hoop. By neatly finishing the back of the hoop to hide the wrong side of the embroidery and encase all seam allowances, you can turn a useful embroidery tool into the perfect frame!

 

how to back embroidery hoop (without glue)

 

Embroidery Hoop as a Frame?

The β€œhoop art” look is not for everyone, and I’ll admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of it when I first started embroidery. To me, the embroidery hoop was only temporary, a tool to help me as I embroidered, but nothing more. I much preferred framing my pieces in real frames. It takes a bit more time and it can get more expensive, but it looks really stunning and suits certain styles of embroidery a lot better. Over time though, I’ve come to appreciate a good hoop as a frame.

For one thing, embroidery hoops are generally much cheaper than traditional frames, and for another it really is easier to leave it in. The fabric is already all nice and taut, and the placement of the screw allows you to hang it on the wall very easily.

I also came across beautiful faux wood hoops recently, and they are definitely a wonderful option for displaying embroidery! Prettier than normal bamboo hoops, they are more made to be hung on the wall than to keep the tension even as you stitch. They come in different sizes and shapes too, and you can find some in Michaels stores.

 

How to Finish the Back of a Hoop (Without Glue):

Again, as with many things regarding embroidery, there are many ways to finish the back of an embroidery hoop. Some like to use hot glue, a piece of cardboard, felt, a piece of pretty fabric, etc… There are many options. I personally prefer to stay away from glue if I can, and use a needle and thread. My method is a bit lengthier than many I’ve seen, but I find it neater.

To show you how I do it, I’ll be finishing my Blackberry Branch project from my Venetia post in one of those faux wood hoops I mentioned earlier.

flat lay showing finished blackberry branch embroidery in finished faux wood hoop, with haberdashery items, vintage teacup and dried plants in the background

The easiest way to back a hoop without glue is to use a piece of felt. Felt doesn’t fray, so you don’t have to worry about raw edges and it’s quicker to sew to your hoop. But what if you don’t have felt, or you’ve ransacked your stash and can’t find a suitable colour? Yes, this is what happened as I was preparing this tutorial. I couldn’t find a decent piece of felt that I liked for this hoop, so I came up with a different way to finish the back. It’s a few extra steps, but it looks amazing!

 

The Tutorial

1. First, there are two measurements we need, from the inside hoop ring. Gently pull it out from your work (or if you happen to have a second hoop of the same size, use that one!) and trace around the outside on a piece of light cardboard or cardstock paper. Cut the shape along the line you just traced and set it aside for now.

inner hoop ring placed on piece of carboard for cutting with an arrow drawn to show to cut on the outside of the ring

 

2. The second measurement we need from the inside ring is optional. Since I’m finishing a piece of rather heavy embroidery because of the beads, I’ve decided to add another layer of fabric to the back. I traced the inside circumference of the inner ring on a piece of felt (the felt I deemed too bright to show on the back) and cut it out. We can also set it aside for now.

inner hoop ring placed on felt piece with arrow pointing to cut along the inside of the ring

 

3. Now we need to trim the hoop allowance of the main fabric to about a ½” seam allowance all around.

embroidery hoop seen from good side with lots of hoop allowance all around
embroidery hoop seen from the wrong side with proper seam allowance for backing

 

4. Once that’s done, flip the hoop to the wrong side and place the piece of felt inside the hoop if you’ve decided to add it.

embroidery hoop seen from wrong side with cut piece of felt placed inside

 

5. Then, run a gathering stitch (running stitch) around the seam allowance to gather it against the inner hoop. Secure your thread and snip.

close-up of running stitch being sewn all around hoop seam allowance
hoop seen from the back showing gathered seam allowance towards the inside of hoop

The raw edges of the main linen fabric will continue to fray and I don’t like leaving the gathering visible, so I will further cover the back.

 

6. Using the cut out piece of cardboard from Step 1, place it over a piece of decorative fabric of your choice, on the wrong side. Add ½” seam allowance before cutting the fabric.

close-up of cardboard backing placed on wrong side of fabric for cutting

Note: If you want to finish the back of your hoop with felt, you don’t need the cardboard or cardstock. Simply cut out the felt to the size of the inner hoop without seam allowance.

 

7. With an iron, press your cut out piece of fabric to make sure there are no creases.

 

8. Working on the wrong side, center the piece of cardboard on the fabric. Sew a gathering stitch around the seam allowance. Pull to gather around the cardboard.

close-up of cardboard over fabric showing where to place gathering stitches along seam allowance
view of cardboard and backing fabric from the wrong side with running stitch sewn all around the seam allowance
gathered fabric around cardboard shape for backing hoop

 

9. Once you’ve secured and snipped your thread, we are ready to attach this piece to the back of the hoop. To do this, we will whipstitch the cardboard-covered fabric to the gathered seam allowance around the inner hoop ring. Use matching thread or contrasting thread to create a nice border if you have confidence in your whipstitching abilities. πŸ˜‰

unfinished hoop lying wrong side up with backing fabric-covered beside it, right side up
close-up of wooden spool of brown thread against embroidery hoop
close-up of needle whipstitching backing to the back of embroidery hoop

 

And the hoop is now fully finished with a beautiful back and ready to be hung on the wall! I like knowing that there’s a pretty back behind the embroidery, even though no one will likely see it haha! Which is funny because I have a very different attitude when it comes to the back of the actual embroidery…if it’s going to be hidden, who cares about a neat back? Lol.

flat lay view of finished embroidery hoop with fabric backing seen from the back, with haberdashery, a teacup and dried plants in the background
close-up view of finished embroidery hoop back to show the whipstitching all around

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are many variations on how to close the back of an embroidery hoop. Instead of gathering stitches, you could use glue, just cardboard or cardstock and no fabric at all, just felt, etc. I don’t like using glue because I find it messier and knowing me I’d probably end up with an ugly glue smear all over my embroidery. I prefer to use needle and thread when I can, but using glue is not β€œwrong”. It’s certainly quicker! Note that it is harder to stitch over glued fabric. If you glue down your seam allowances instead of gathering them, it becomes harder to sew the back fabric to it if that’s how you wanted to finish the hoop.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful, and I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you have a different method for backing your hoops? Glue or no glue? If there’s another way to back that you’d like me to cover, I’m very open to suggestions.

 

You Might Also Like:

embroidery success: 10 tips before you begin a project
how to transfer an embroidery pattern
how to start and end embroidery stitches

 

Fondly,

how to back embroidery hoop
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Cozy Sweater: How to Mend With Embroidery

     Anne      6 Comments

β€œIt was November – the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines.”

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

 

And with parting birds and sad sea hymns, what better way to stay warm and cozy than with your favourite woollen cardigan and a hot cup of tea? But alas, those pesky moth holes have appeared out of nowhere and your favourite sweater has been relegated to the back of your closet or your ever-growing mending pile.

Perhaps you’re not too sure how to mend the sweater hole or you just haven’t found the motivation to do it. In this week’s post, I will show you a really quick and easy way to mend a knit garment with a little embroidery. The possibilities, as is always the case with embroidery, are pretty much endless. So grab that cozy sweater, and let’s mend it together! You can even skip to the embroidery part if your garment doesn’t need mending but you’d like to add a little decorative stitching to it.

 

cozy sweater embroidery: creative mending

 

I will be patching up one of my favourite cardigans, this sweet blue cashmere vintage piece I thrifted a few years ago. It has indeed been sitting in the mending pile forever, since I bought it at a really low price but sporting several moth holes already. As you can see, there’s a big one on the back that really needs fixing!

 

blue cashmere cardigan hanging on closet handle, seen from the back to show a moth hole near the left sleeve
close-up view of moth hole on cardigan back

 

Since this hole is on the back of the cardigan, I’m able to use an embroidery hoop to keep the tension even. If you want to fix a hole that’s in a more awkward spot, like on a sleeve or the heel of a sock, use a darning egg or mushroom if you have one, or another object that you can slip under the hole to give it a hard surface underneath. I really love the mushroom because it’s easy to hold while you stitch. Etsy has a nice selection of them if you’re interested in getting one!

hand holding a darning mushroom with cardigan in the background
cardigan sleeve wrapped over darning mushroom, hand holding the handle, with embroidery hoop and blue sewing thread in the background on an embroidered table runner
Darning mushroom placed in the sleeve where there is another hole.

 

Mend a Sweater Hole

 

1. We’ll start by flipping the garment to the wrong side and threading a hand-sewing needle with matching sewing thread. This is a time when you really want as close a match to your garment fabric as you can find. I like to double the thread for this, and tie the end with a knot.

close-up view of cardigan hole with threaded needle lying beside it

 

2. Then, we will do a running stitch around the hole, a few millimeters away from the edge. Your needle should be going under and over the knit stitches. Do not pull!

close-up view of needle doing a running stitch around cardigan hole
close-up of cardigan hole with drawn dashed line running around it to demonstrate running stitch

 

3. Once you come back to the point where you started, do the same thing going vertically. Run your needle over and under the knitting to start covering the hole. The running stitch you made in step 2 is a good guideline for where to start and stop your stitches.

close-up view of cardigan hole with vertical dashed lines drawn over it to demonstrate running stitches

 

4. Essentially, you want to bridge the gap caused by the hole and bring the two edges together. Once you’ve done a few vertical rows of running stitches, pull gently to help close the gap. A good 1950’s housewife would probably frown at this because I don’t think you’re actually supposed to pull, but since we’ll be adding embroidery to this, I think it’s fine. πŸ˜‰ Just don’t pull too hard or the fabric will pucker!

close-up view of cardigan hole with needle going through to cover the hole

 

5. Continue to run vertical rows of running stitches until you get to the end and the hole is hidden!

view of mended cardigan hole

 

6. Usually, you’d now weave rows of running stitches horizontally to really make the hole disappear and strengthen the area, but it won’t be necessary here. (My inner β€˜50s housewife is now deeply, deeply frowning). Feel free to do it though, if you don’t want to add embroidery or you want it extra sturdy.

close-up view of covered cardigan hole with dashed horizontal lines drawn across to demonstrate running stitches

 

7. When you’re satisfied with your darning, secure your thread by weaving it among the stitches a few times and looping it into a knot before clipping.

thread looping on itself to form knot to secure it

 

Adding the Embroidery

 

8. We will be embroidering a little lazy-daisy flower right on top of this mended hole, and I like to give myself a few guiding lines for this with a water-soluble pen.

snowflake shape drawn with water-soluble pen over covered hole in preparation for embroidery

 

9. Next, thread an embroidery needle with three strands of white embroidery floss. Anchor the thread by weaving it among the mending stitches and make a lazy-daisy stitch to form a flower petal. Start in the middle of the shape, going outward.

cardigan in embroidery hoop with lazy-daisy stitches being worked over the mended hole

 

10. Continue working lazy-daisy stitches all around to form your flower. Add 3-4 French knots to the center.

lazy-daisy embroidered flower over the mended hole

And now you have a cute little cloud-like flower where there used to be a nasty hole!

 

I repeated these steps anywhere there was a hole on this cardigan (turns out there were a LOT!). The result is that my flowers are quite randomly scattered, but I love it!! You can definitely choose to make it symmetrical if you prefer, and just embroider where there’s no hole. 😊

flat lay showing the embroidered cardigan seen from the front side, laid over an embroidered table runner, with various supplies around the garment; embroidery hoop, small scissors, thread, darning mushroom

 

I hope this was helpful and that it makes darning a little less daunting! It’s always so satisfying to add embroidery everywhere. And even though this is probably not the most β€œcorrect” way to mend a sweater, it definitely works and I’m so happy with my cozy cardigan. It feels like a whole new garment!

person seen from neck to hip wearing the blue cardigan, holding a colourful mug

Let me know what you think in the comments! Do you have other methods for mending holes in clothes? Where else would you like to add embroidery? Give me your ideas and I’d love to write a post on it.

 

Fondly,

mend your favourite sweater with embroidery
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