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Home , Embroidery stitch

SIA-Hand -28-29:SIA PROJECT MASTER FIN 11/16/09 12:06 PM Page 28

EXTRAS

There are lots of fun hand embroidery supplies available—some are so cool, you’ll want them just to decorate your room! Here’s what you need to start embroidering by hand.

Hoops are made of metal, plastic or wood, Embroidery transfers are paper patterns but make sure the print (if using) won’t and come in different sizes and colors. They that are “transferred” to fabric by heat from compete with your design. hold the fabric taut while you sew, ensuring an iron. Using a transfer is much easier than SOURCES even stitches. creating the design from scratch! Charles Craft provided the Aida and Evenweave fabrics: (910) 844-3521, charlescraft.com. Embroidery floss is made up of six loosely Embroidery are often between Coats and Clark provided the Susan Bates HOOP-La twisted strands, and come in a coil called a 31 ⁄2"- to 41 ⁄2"-long to ensure proper embroidery hoops: (800) 648-1479, skein. Experiment with cotton, rayon or silk clipping of even the smallest threads. coatsandclark.com. varieties that have different sheens. Colonial Needle provided the hand embroidery Aida fabric, a cotton fabric with woven needles: (800) 963-3353, colonialneedle.com. Embroidery needles, or crewel needles, threads, is commonly used for cross-- DMC Creative World provided the embroidery floss, have a long eye to accommodate several ing. Aida fabric is also available in linen, gold tapestry needles, Marbleized Scissors and My Style, My Stitch Transfer Kit: (973) 589-0606, strands of floss. The smaller the size, the rayon/cotton blends or polyester/cotton www.dmc-usa.com. longer the needle. Use a large size for blends, and in different sizes: 11-, 14-, Sublime Stitching provided the iron-on transfers: heavyweight fabrics and a small size for 16- and 18-count (holes per inch). Use sublimestitching.com. lightweight fabrics. any fabric you like for hand embroidery,

28 sew it all ° PREMIERE ISSUE SIA-Hand Embroidery-28-29:SIA PROJECT MASTER FIN 11/16/09 12:07 PM Page 29

Hand Embroidery Stitches by Sharon Boggon A 2 3 Learn basic hand embroidery stitches to 1 create beautiful hand embroidered items. B

Blanket Stitch: The is Lazy Daisy Stitch: Bring the needle up worked from left to right over two imagi- from the fabric wrong side at 1 and hold nary lines. Bring the up at 1 and the thread with your thumb (J). Insert the 1 down at 2. Bring the thread up at 3, needle back into where it first came out at C 3 2 catching the thread from the first stitch 2, and then guide the needle back through D (A). Repeat (B). the fabric a small distance from the center at 3 (K). With the thread wrapped under : Knot the thread. Bring the 5 4 the needle point, pull the needle through 2 thread up from the wrong side at 1. Make the fabric; fasten the loop with a small 1 a loop to the left, holding the loop with a stitch. To make a flower, stitch in a circle thumb. Insert the needle at 2 and bring it with each stitch radiating outward to up at 3. Pull the needle and thread through form petals. E the loop, but not too tightly. Repeat by 2 4 inserting the needle inside the first loop Leaf (Feather) Stitch: Bring the needle F 6 at 4 and back up at 5. Repeat to create up from the fabric wrong side and hold the 1 3 a chain of stitches (C). thread down with your thumb. Insert the 5 needle a little to the right of the invisible Stitch: Position the surface line and take a small stitch in a downward thread, or floss on the fabric right side. diagonal motion so that the needle point G Bring the couching thread up from the appears on the center line. Keeping the fabric wrong side using a large-eyed 2 thread under the needle point, pull the 1 needle. Take a small over thread through the fabric. Make a second H 3 the surface thread at 1 and back through stitch in the same manner (L). Insert the the fabric at 2 (D). needle a little to the left and make a small Cross-Stitch: The cross-stitch is made by diagonal stitch so that the needle point two bisecting diagonal stitches. Bring the comes out on the center line. Keep the needle up to the fabric right side at 1 and thread under the needle point; pull the I back through at 2, and then up again at 3 thread through the fabric to make the J 1 and down again at 4. Repeat (E). Following stitch (M). Repeat the stitch, alternating the opposite direction, bring the needle up from side to side. through the fabric at 5, and then back Running Stitch: Bring the thread up down at 6. Repeat (F). from the wrong side at 1. Insert the needle 2 Stitch: Also known as the “Y” stitch, or at 2, up at 3, in at 4 and up at 5. Pull the K thread through (N). Keep the stitches open loop stitch, the fly stitch is a V-shaped 3 loop that’s tied down with a vertical straight about twice as long as the spaces between L stitch. Bring the needle up at 1. Hold a bit them. Knot the thread on the wrong side of floss down with a thumb and insert the at the end of the last stitch. needle at 2. Take a small stitch along the Split Stitch: Bring the thread up from center of the V at 3. Pull it through the the fabric wrong side and take a stitch fabric and secure it in position with a through the fabric. Point the needle back- M small loop. (G). ward along the line and stitch through the N thread loop of the previous stitch (O). French Knot: Bring the needle up from 5 413 2 the fabric wrong side and hold the thread Stem Stitch: Working from the left to taut with your thumb. Twist the needle right, bring the floss up from the fabric around the thread twice. Holding the wrong side. Take a straight stitch, leaving thread firmly, insert the needle into the the needle on the fabric wrong side. Bring O fabric a small distance from where the the needle to the fabric right side, slightly P thread emerged (H). Push the knot down to the right of where it first emerged (P). the needle shaft, and hold the knot firm against the fabric (I). Pull the floss through to the fabric wrong side.

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