Now that we've gathered all our stitching tools in our well-chosen on-the-go around town or travel totes (see last week's posts), it's time to pick out a pattern and get stitching.
If you sign up over there on the right, you will receive a free Four Season's Forest embroidery pattern.
This is a great pattern for a beginner or a child or teen you'd like to teach. But it's also engaging enough for an experienced embroiderer who would like a create a favorite seasonal gift or the whole series of wall art for the year.
Whatever you choose, you're likely to come across a lot of patterns that call for the back stitch. I found the usual method of doing back stitch left my work rather weighty and bulky because there was so much crossing over of threads along the back. The normal method of stitching back stitch uses an awful lot of extra thread and I looked for an easier way.
Hurray! Cheater's back stitch is born!
It's so easy. I simple sew a running stitch going in one direction and then stitch backwards along the same line.
Back of the work.
I still make one stitch at a time. I have tried just sewing a line of running stitches but it creates a different look. But when I'm in a big old hurry, it can be done.
That's my dirty little secret. Don't tell anyone.
Want more? Embroidery School is on the way! This week I'll be unveiling a series of lessons you can refer to anytime: how to choose and use embroidery supplies, stitch guides, methods of transferring patterns to fabric, washing and caring for embroidered lovelies, displaying your work. It will be a tab at the top of the page and I'll announce it in my newsletter.
So sign up and get your free pattern and receive up-to-date info about Embroidery School!
And if you really like this Hippo Birdie Two Ewes birthday embroidery pattern, you can get it here. Or you can order the pre-printed fabric panel ready to pop into the hoop!
You can practice lots of cheater's back stitch in this pattern.
The Garden Girls embroidery pattern is here! Cute as a button. These little girls live and breathe the garden. Do they dream of seeing the flower fairies or dancing among them? Do they climb the trees and get mud on their dresses?
Prim or mischievous, they will work their way into your heart as you work up this hand embroidery.
The pattern PDF comes with a color photo, stitch and color guide, instructions for six methods for transferring the pattern to fabric, and the pattern in two views: straight on and reverse.
Will you be taking some YOU time in the garden with hoop and threads?
In honor of lovers worldwide, I've taken a cue from my grandmother's era of youthful frivolity and freedom and embroidered a little boudior mini-pillow.
The embroidery is done here on red linen, upcycled from a women's shirt, and stitched using backstitch, stab stitch, and open lazy daisy in black and white embroidery floss.
The design lends itself to being cut as a heart shape and made into a Valentine's Day present or wedding or anniversary keepsake.
Rather than use a pom pom edging, I lightly rolled bits of wool into soft balls and tucked them inside a strip of chiffon handkerchief which is whipstitched along the edge between the balls.
The embroidery pattern is for sale here in my Etsy shop.
The file for sale is just the embroidery pattern. The full-size pattern fits into a 6" hoop, but it can be enlarged or reduced.
Here's how I made the mini-pillow:
Stack the pillow-to-be fabric in this order: backing right side up then embroidered heart wrong side up.
In this case I used a vintage handkerchief which is very thin fabric so I have an extra layer of white calico muslin behind that.
Stitch around the heart shape, leaving a small opening along one side. Turn right side out and push the edges out with a chopstick. Press gently on the back side with a warm iron.
Using cotton balls or wool fleece, make enough little balls to edge the heart.
Using a strip of fabric 1 1/2 times the circumference of the heart, stitch around the heart, capturing a little fluffy ball inside. Use a whip stitch around the ball edges and the edging will start to look like fabric beads.
