Happy Saturday afternoon readerinos! The weather is rather questionable here today so I’m taking the opportunity to potter about the flat. I do like a weekend to get organised, do little bits and bobs and feel a bit more collected. It makes me happy when everything is clean and in order. Yes, I know how that sounds, but it’s not hurting anybody 😉
So a few weeks ago my friend Hannah (hi Hannah!) asked for some more details on the embroidered hoop I made for my mum for Mother’s Day. I’ve been thinking how best to explain it, and I thought a little blog post might help. It’s very simple, as you will see!
What you need:
- 2 embroidery hoops, 1 for the finished display, 1 slightly larger for working on
- Embroidery thread in pale blue, red and black
- Plain white cotton fabric or counted aida
- Glue gun or superglue
Then, it comes down to three steps:
- Position the fabric in the smaller of the two hoops and draw on the design. I found that you need to use a ruler to position the lines and draw them straight. I did it freehand first and it looked rubbish and I had to re-do it. Then write your message – it can be anything you like but if you are new to embroidery a short phrase is best.
- Now put it in the bigger hoop to start the embroidery. The design is made with backstitch. This is a really simple embroidery stitch and if I can do it you guys definitely can! If you are worried about your stitches looking uneven, go for the aida rather than cotton fabric – it has holes in it already and you can use them to guarantee even stitches. You can get more character in your writing with cotton though, so it’s up to you. Rather than a photo tutorial (which always confuse me) here is a YouTube video of how to do backstitch. I started with the horizontal blue lines, then the vertical red, and finished with the text.
- Put the design back in the smaller hoop and position it so that the screw is at the top. That way you can use it to hang up your finished hoop. Trim the excess fabric to within about 2cm of the hoop and glue what’s left to the hoop. If you have one, use a glue gun, but superglue will work fine too.
Done! It really is simple but super effective. Enjoy your embroidery!
Thoroughly Modern Lizzie 