Stitching Sunday: Outlines and Fillings

My apologies for the tardiness of today’s Stitching Sundays post. We woke to autumn sunshine, so we popped out for an indulgent breakfast and made an impromptu visit to Petworth Park...

Petworth House

Little Flower gets a piggyback from Bunny, the South Downs in the distance

Clouds soon rolled in, and it’s due to be quite stormy all afternoon, so I’m glad we all had this time together this morning.

Anyway, back to the task at hand! How is your stitching? I am over the moon with the comments and participants for Stitching Sundays. Do check out everyone’s link each week – there is a wealth of talent to be found!

As well as sharing a few tutorials and showing my latest embroidery, these Sunday posts serve as a forum for us to share ideas and tips. Feel free to join in whenever the mood strikes; there is no deadline. And I’m focusing on basic embroidery at the moment, but tell us about your cross stitching, whitework, Hardanger, anything!

Last week we focused on transferring designs, and I want to share two great tips from fellow bloggers. Joy from Joyjinks Creations wrote about an iron-on transfer pen that she uses, so I’ve ordered one and will test it out as soon as it arrives – Joy’s embroidery design is stunning! And Wendy commented: “Use a Frixxon pen, you don't have to worry about covering up the line with stitches as it disappears when you iron the fabric.” I’ll be trying that technique, too, thanks Wendy!

So you’ve chosen a simple design and have transferred it to your fabric. Most often you’ll want to stitch some sort of outline next. Running stitch and back stitch are two of the simplest stitches, but I want to show you stem stitch – it works wonderfully with curvy lines (such as flower stems), and it gives a lovely outline.

Here is my quick tutorial: I’m using two strands of floss. First, bring the thread to the front of your work. Take the needle down one stitch length, but do not pull taut.

Keep the excess thread below the stitch line – you have to do this throughout your stitching so maintain consistency of the stitch. Then push the needle back up through the fabric at the halfway point of the stitch.

Again, keep the thread below the line, and push the needle back through the fabric, the same stitch length as before. Do not pull taut.

Now bring the needle back up at the end of the first stitch (this is where a lot of stem stitches go awry – not every tutorial makes this step clear, so for a while I was bringing my thread up in the middle of the stitch each time, not at the end of the previous stitch, and my resulting stitches were rather large).

Oi! Move that thread below the stitch!

Then repeat the process – push the needle down a stitch length ahead, then bring it up at the end of the previous stitch.

Now I want to fill in the beehive door. Long and short stitch is a great filler, and isn’t nearly as daunting as I thought when I first started embroidery.

First, make a row of, you guessed it, long and short stitches. You can vary the length as much as you’d like, I just kept mine fairly consistent because the area I’m filling is very small, and it’s easier to illustrate it to you this way.

Then simply repeat the process, filling in more long and short stitches – but each time you bring the needle up through the fabric, make sure you split the thread of the previous row. The needle must come through the thread to ensure a good fill. This may be tricky at first, but stick with it!

Charcoal grey isn’t the best colour to illustrate this, but hopefully you get the idea. I’ll show you more intricate long and short stitches later on – I had my rite of passage with this stitch when I filled in Sam...

There is a technique to filling in curved areas to maintain a sense of flow with the thread...and I’m still learning!

I hope these two techniques make sense and offer some inspiration. Please share your experiences in the comments below or link up your blog!

Next week I plan to add the bees, the grass, perhaps a flower? And I have to start thinking about what I’m going to do with this little hive...

Thanks for reading, welcome to my new followers, and happy stitching!

Chrissie x

Stitching Sunday: Transferring designs

Good day to you, fellow stitchers! I hope you’ve decided on a design to embroider (I’ve narrowed mine down to three...no two! Two. For now). Today I’ll give a little overview about preparing your project and starting to stitch. In the coming weeks I’ll offer updates on my progress with various projects, share tips and troubles, and then what to do with these lovely little stitches when they’re done!

So I have a design, but how do I transfer it to my fabric? Some books, like Little Stitches by Aneela Hoey, provide iron-on transfers, the easiest way to put the design on fabric. Little Stitches has all of the illustrations in the back of the book plus separate sheets of iron-on transfers. Fabulous.

I used this girl reading a book to make a cushion for Bunny, my bookworm.

Most designs, however, will need to be traced to get to fabric. If you’re using a white or light material, perhaps you can simply put the fabric on top of the design and trace it – I like to trace with a very fine-tipped marker pen, but you can use fabric pencils or any other writing instrument you’re confident you can cover completely with your stitching.

The design above is from Carina’s Craftblog, a great resource for embroidery, and she offers beautiful, colourful patterns.

Or you can trace the design onto tracing paper, which will free it from a book, then put your fabric over the tracing paper. I did this with Sam-I-Am:

Just an example, my tracing isn't that wonky!

Tracing is easiest with a light source behind the paper, making the design shine clearly through the fabric. Tape the paper to the window, then tape your fabric on top and trace. Advantage: Very cheap option; Disadvantage: Sore arms after a few minutes!

After doing enough embroidery to know that I wanted to continue with this craft, I decided to invest in a light box for more detailed designs.

There are many on the market, so I chose a mid-priced one at about £30. Here is the fabric on the light box as I transferred my “hive sweet hive” design for a hexie project:

I didn't trace the bees - I'll add them freehand at the end

You can draw lines or use tiny dots – either is fine as long as you know you’ll be covering it with stitches.

Now get that pattern into a hoop and start stitching! Make the fabric drum-tight in the hoop – tighten the screw a bit, pull the fabric evenly around, tighten the screw some more, pull the fabric, etc. then use a screwdriver to really get the hoop secure (it really does make a difference as you stitch!).

Unwind enough thread to reach from your fingertip to your elbow – more than this and you risk tangling the threads as you pull them through the fabric. I usually use two strands of floss for embroidery, though I often add one-stranded elements or even all six strands in a design. A valuable tip is to pull out one strand at a time from the bunch, no matter how many strands you are using, then line up the strands together. The thread will lie so much flatter and neater on your work this way.  

Tie a knot in your floss, then it’s between you and your conscience whether you leave the knot on the back of your work or make a waste knot:

Put the knot on the front of your piece, then make two tiny stitches along the design line and cut away the knot. The stitches will anchor the thread, and you then go back and do your embroidery over these stitches.

I have done this a few times, mainly for gifts, but for most projects I confess I just tie a knot, pull the thread up through the back and get on with it! As I get more proficient with embroidery I might become a stickler about not having any knots in my work, but for the moment, I’m just happy to get even a few minutes before bed to do a few stitches, so I’m not fussed!

The easiest stitches to outline a design is the back stitch and the stem stitch. I’ll get stitching and talk more about outlines next Sunday. I plan to give some details of stitches as we encounter them, but I also will share my favourite web sites for embroidery tutorials. Today I recommend:

Mary Corbet’s Needle N’ Thread: This woman knows it all and teaches it better than anyone! A must for embroidery enthusiasts at any level. Her tutorials are second only to having your mother or grandmother by your side.

Now I’m going to go trace the sheep and tree for the bookends I showed last week. And I’ll be hopping round Blogland to see what you’re up to – link up your blog below!

Happy stitching!

Chrissie x

A fine week

I hope you’ve all had a successful week getting back into autumn routines! We had fun, but I’m a bit wiped out, so pull up a chair and have some tea and cookies with me...

You deserve a treat after this busy week – these are Chocolate-Strawberry Thumbprints (though I popped a raspberry on top of one, diced strawberries on the other) and you can find the recipe here. They are delightful – the chocolate cookie has a sandy texture and deep chocolate flavour, topped by a creamy dollop of sweetened cream cheese, finished with a juicy burst of berries. Like a cheesecake petit four (and yes, I would have made these for this past week’s Great British Bake Off, they are that yummy!).

And do you like the cake plate and teacup? My grandma sent a set of these to me a while back, she was clearing out her cupboards and knew I’d love this vintage set.

You can see the shape, but I think you’re missing the pink squiggle design on the glass with the white fabric, so check it out with a darker background

I love this set! Tea and cookies taste better when served in pretty cups and plates, you know...

I made a batch of the cookies for my village craft group, which met last night. Lots of sewing, crochet, cross stitch...and I finished Grandma’s iPad cover! I came home and blocked the sides overnight

Then crocheted it together and finished it this morning

I based the design on the pattern in the new Granny Squares book, but I shortened it by a row of squares so that it would fit the iPad Mini. All that’s left is to wrap in in some pretty paper and send it on its way!

I sent off another craft project earlier this week – a simple embroidered napkin.

I stitched the little bee and hive for The Napkin Project, which is a joint venture between the artist Deirdre Nelson, Brunelcare and arts consultancy Willis Newson. The project aimed to provide hundreds of embroidered napkins to care homes to stimulate the creativity of those living with dementia. 

Research showed that textiles, such as an embroidered napkin, “can offer an immediate visual field, a source of tactile pleasure and engagement” to someone with dementia. Contributors were each sent a white napkin and had the freedom to stitch whatever they wished. I was inspired by the beautiful summer sunshine and bees buzzing around my garden.

I didn’t draw the design, I just went for it freestyle – French knots in a variegated yellow-white floss for the centre, then lazy daisy petals.

I had fun stitching the bee’s little trail from his hive

I very faintly drew a little dome for the hive, then just backstitched the design. I like the simplicity of it; I wanted it to look a bit hand-drawn and not perfect like you’d get from a machine-embroidered piece. The teeny weeny bees were most fun, one strand of floss and a tiny needle! I hope that whoever holds it finds it sweet and calming.

But I want to make my own beehive now, which is why I included my ‘hive sweet hive’ doodle in my Stitching Sundays post – are you ready for this Sunday? We’ll talk about how to transfer designs and start stitching...I hope those of you who are joining me will post about your progress, too!

Have a happy, restful weekend!

Chrissie x

Introducing...Stitching Sundays

We’re all set here for a busy week back to school, back to routines, back to *real life*. But it’s not all gloom – I’m going to kick-start a new season of crafting with a little Stitch-A-Long!

Stitching Sundays, which I’ve initially planned to last about four weeks, will give everyone an opportunity to have a few quiet moments to make a small embroidered project. For new or novice embroiderers, you can try your hand at a small and manageable project, and for those of you with more experience, you can try some new techniques or just get ahead with some holiday makes!

So what’s in store?

Today we’ll talk about choosing a project and the basic tools for embroidery. Next week we’ll look at transferring a design onto fabric and discuss some basic stitches. Future Sundays we can try more stitches, troubleshoot tricky bits, and figure out how to finish your work. The idea is to keep it relaxing and fun, while we all juggle the rest of our lives and our WIPs! I do hope you’ll join in and share your work.

What to Stitch?

Here is where the fun begins! Do you have a craft book or a magazine that has an embroidery pattern you’ve been dying to try out but can never find the time? Here are some of my favourite embroidery books that are ideal for beginners

All of these books have such fun, relaxed attitudes towards embroidery, they have helpful sections on techniques and kit...I know many of you already have one or two of these, so choose a small project from here if you’d like.

But of course you don’t need to buy a book to get started! If you can trace it, you can most likely stitch it...

You could doodle your own design onto fabric:

I did this teeny beehive design freehand for a charity project, which I’ll tell you more about very soon (I’m finishing it tonight!). It is easy to do in backstitch or stem stitch, and can be enlarged to whatever size you fancy. I drew a version of it, which I will upload here, and let’s see if any of you can print it. I'm happy to email a pdf file to anyone as I still need to learn how to embed a pdf file into Blogger (I’m terribly new to all this tech stuff, so please, bear with me!)

I didn’t add grass or flowers, they are stitched freehand.

I plan to embroider this again for my own use – I have an idea to cut out the finished hive into a hexie and start a bee-themed hexie cushion (good grief, am I morphing one WIP into another WIP? I’ve gone over the edge...).

And I am starting the bookends project from The Hand-Stitched Home:

If you’re still stuck for ideas, blog about it or email me and let’s brainstorm!

The Tools

You need just a few items to start your embroidery. I’m not going to endorse any one brand or company here, because honestly, my kit is such a hodge-podge of different items that I haven’t decided on my favourites yet. Buy what you can afford, but don’t feel you have to break the bank!

1. Fabric

I prefer linen in an off-white or taupe shade. I love the texture of linen, and it goes with just about everything. You can mix it with vintage florals or modern brights and it looks fabulous with either. But hey, you can stitch on anything you can get a needle through! I’ve seen beautiful work done on patterned fabric, paper, wood even! – just make sure you choose a material that suits your ability.

2. Hoop

I usually use a wooden hoop, but I have some plastic ones, too. Buy a hoop that you can hold comfortably and that gives you plenty of space for you to stitch your design. Hoops are generally inexpensive – my seated hoop cost a bit more, but I use it a lot and it leaves both hands free. If you’re new to the craft, just buy one simple hoop and see if you enjoy embroidery before you go investing in all the kit!

3. Needles

Look for embroidery needles, which have slightly larger, longer eyes than plain sewing needles. This is so you can thread multiple strands of floss through the eye without screaming in frustration. Keep them safe – I have my magnetic frog and my crochet cookie needle case, for example.

4. Embroidery Floss

I have DMC, Anchor and Sublime Stitching flosses in my kit, and I use them interchangeably with no complaints. Again, buy what you can afford, or what is in your local shop. I know professional embroiderers have their opinions on this, and I’m sure that for the very skilled stitchers one type lays flatter than the other or casts a better sheen, etc...but I’m in it for the fun, and I’ve never been disappointed with any of these flosses for the simple designs I stitch. I envisaged this Stitch-A-Long to have projects that only require two to four colours of floss, so that no one feels they have to invest loads to try out something new.

5. Scissors

I have embroidery scissors, but any scissors that can cut cleanly through floss will do for a beginner – I once used baby nail scissors when I was too lazy to get off the sofa to find my embroidery scissors...

And that’s pretty much all you need to get stitching! You have til next Sunday to get your kit together and choose a design. Check out the local haberdashery, or online sewing and hobby/craft shops...and feel free to email me with any questions or if you get stuck.

Last but not least, please join in the group with the Stitching Sundays button and post your project on your own blog – we’re all in this together, and as we get going I’d love to do a blog hop so we can share experiences, tips and photos! Each week I can list who is involved, along with links to your blogs. As this is my first craft-a-long, I’m sure the project will change and grow as needed.

I’m excited to see what we all get up to! Happy stitching!

Chrissie x

Stitchy Giveaway!

Hard to believe it’s nearly the end of summer, and what a glorious summer we’ve had! Although I really, really love autumn and all the nesting, baking, preserving and crafting that accompanies the season, a wistful part of me is sad to know that my days crafting in the garden with a glass of Pimms are numbered...

I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, so to add some cheer to these final days of summer, I’m hosting my very first giveaway!

Following my review of The Hand-Stitched Home, the kind folks at Caroline Zoob’s site offered me a copy of the book to give away!

The Hand-Stitched Home is a gorgeous book; you will love it even if you have never attempted embroidery but are interested. I wanted to sweeten the deal even more, so I have put together a little craft kit so the winner can make the heart key fob like the one I made, which I added in the photo below (the finished heart fob and key are not included in the giveaway – I need them to get in my door!):

This giveaway bundle includes the book, two John James embroidery needles, 60cm each of the three shades of embroidery floss I used to stitch the tree, 60cm of twine to attach to the heart, and finally, a bit of the vintage tea towel I have used to make my key fob, the teacher gift, and the thank-you gift.

To enter the giveaway:

Please leave me a comment on this post, making sure I have contact details for you (This is important! I’ll contact you for your postal address.).

For a second entry:

Please mention this giveaway on your blog with a link – grab the Stitchy Giveaway button on the sidebar! – and then leave me a separate comment on this post letting me know you’ve done so.

The deadline for entry is 10 a.m. Friday, 30 August, THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED! and I will choose the winner via a random number selector at midday. I will post the prize anywhere in the world – I’m grateful for all my followers everywhere!

But I’m not stopping there...coming up in September is my first Stitch-A-Long, so that even if you aren’t the lucky winner of this giveaway, we can all link up and do some embroidery together.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and thank you to all my followers!

Chrissie x

A little thank-you gift, step by step

Take one vintage tea towel, one embroidery hoop, one needle, one pair of scissors, two shades of embroidery floss

Trace hearts onto the towel using a cookie cutter and a fabric pencil

Stitch a simple design – in this case, double-bloom poppies in a soft shade of pink (French knots), with their sinuous blue-green stems (stem stitch). I did freestyle embroidery with this one rather than drawing a design on the fabric.

Fold the fabric in half, right sides facing, and machine or hand stitch around the heart, leaving a gap to turn right sides out. Cut around the heart shape ¼” outside the seam line, turn right sides out, and stuff with toy filling. Stitch a length of twine on top and knot.

Package it up with a little thank-you note and pop in the post!

(This particular token of appreciation is for Debbie at Serendipity Patch, who generously offered to share double-bloom poppy seeds with anyone who was interested. I received my batch of teeny seeds in the post last week, hence the poppies on the little heart. I don't know how many batches she posted, but that kind of generosity deserves a treat – thank you, Debbie!)

Happy crafting!

Chrissie x