This petite pincushion is the perfect size for your travel sewing kit. The base of the pincushion, flowers and leaves are made from grosgrain ribbon. A scissor fob can be made using the same flower and leaf that adorns the pincushion.
This class can be purchased at any time, there is no set schedule. The class can be ordered by contacting Christen: thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com. She will send you an invoice through PayPal.
Once the class is paid for, the supply list and handout/s will be sent out.
A high-speed internet connection is recommended, and you must have basic computer and internet skills. You will need to be able know how to download and save a document to your computer’s hard drive, open it, and print out a copy.
You can contact Christen with any questions pertaining to the class/class information throughout the length of the class.
This pretty little brooch is the perfect size, to be given as a gift or to keep for yourself. Four basic embroidery stitches will be covered: woven rose, chain stitch, lazy daisy, French knot.
Skill Level Beginning: hand-sewing and embroidery skills a must
Class Information
This class can be purchased at any time, there is no set schedule. The class can be ordered by contacting Christen: thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com. She will send you an invoice through PayPal.
Once the class is paid for, the supply list and handout/s will be sent out.
A high-speed internet connection is recommended, and you must have basic computer and internet skills. You will need to be able know how to download and save a document to your computer’s hard drive, open it, and print out a copy.
You can contact Christen with any questions pertaining to the class/class information throughout the length of the class.
Tidbits and Tats is my version of the popular “snip rolls”. This is a fun, fast and easy project to make for yourself or someone you love! Perfect for you to use your tiny bits of precious lace, fabric, ribbon, appliques and trims to create a hand sewn collaged base. The lace base can be embroidered and embellished with buttons, sequins and charms. You can add in your own flare with other items such as fabric yo-yo’s and ribbonwork flowers.
Skill Level Beginning: hand-sewing and embroidery knowledge needed
Class Information
This class can be purchased at any time, there is no set schedule. The class can be ordered by contacting Christen: thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com. She will send you an invoice through PayPal.
Once the class is paid for, the supply list and handout/s will be sent out.
A high-speed internet connection is recommended, and you must have basic computer and internet skills. You will need to be able know how to download and save a document to your computer’s hard drive, open it, and print out a copy.
You can contact Christen with any questions pertaining to the class/class information throughout the length of the class.
Being a native of Southern CA., a shell lover from early child hood, and an avid collector I am drawn to the ocean, the sand, the waves, the tide-pools and all of the treasures that you can find.
I started my project with birch bark collected many years ago from our cabin outside of Toronto, Ontario Canada. This I used for the sand, and the inside of the bowls.
I then crumpled up pieces of cotton paper to create the waves, and rocks. I stitched these together with cotton and rayon threads on my sewing machine. I placed this on an old wooden tray, that had seen better days.
The next step was to create the actual tide pool rock formations that capture the sea life and shells.
I started with Timtex and more cotton paper. I cut round shapes in three different sizes. I layered cotton paper over these, and cut out round pieces of birch bark for the center of the bowls.
I stitched the layers together on the sewing machine. I then cut darts into the circles, and over lapped these to form the bowl shape. The last step was to cut the edges of each bowl and then machine stitch over these edges.
shells, sea life and kelp
I had an abundance of real shells that I had collected over the many years of beach combing. I had a great time selecting which of these would be included into my beach scene.
I also had some old celluloid buttons that were somewhat grungy, but the colors matched and the patterning looked like sea urchins to me, these are interspersed amongst the bowls.
I thought that it would be cool to include shells and sea life that I had made from ribbons, crochet and embroidery. I started to play and this is what I came up with:
A crochet length of kelp with cord and pearl cotton, and grape shells at each leaf (these have a florist wire glued in the center to attach to the kelp)
Crochet and embroidered snail shells
Embroidered sea urchins, sea anemones and limpet shells
Embroidered and gathered ribbon coral
Ric-rac coral and star fish
Plumes of something made from rayon cord (I am not sure what these are but I liked them)
close-up view of three sizes of bowls
Happy beach combing and treasure hunting, enjoy- Christen!
These three purses are from my vintage purse collection. All are embroidered with tambour embroidery, possibly French. Clockwise from the left:
Handbag with plunger clasp and chain handle: black moire silk with cream and pink roses and sage green leaves. Circa early 1900’s.
Handbag with double frame and cloth handle: black silk satin with light pink, deep pink, crimson, and mauve colored roses and olive green leaves. Circa early 1900’s.
Handbag that flips open flat with chain handle: black faille with pink, red, yellow and orange roses and olive green leaves.
Close-up view of vintage tambour embroidery
Tambour embroidery, introduced to the Western world by France, is a continuous worked chain stitch formed with a tambour hook, which forms a loop similar to a crochet chain. The stitch is formed on the fabric with the thread held underneath in one hand while the other hand inserts the hook down through the fabric to catch the thread. The needle is brought back through the same hole, forming a loop. The following stitches are formed a short distance from the previous stitch, catching the loop of the last stitch at the beginning of the next.
If I could pass on one important thought, it would be that practice just makes sense. Perfection is not something that I strive for, but I myself feel more confident when I understand the stitches that I am working on.
My book Embroidered and Embellished, by C&T Publishing is divided into four chapters, each chapter includes 20 stitches and 2 projects. I grouped the stitches according to the type of stitches and the materials that were used in each of these chapters.
Traditional Embroidery Stitch SamplerSilk Ribbon Embroidery SamplerRaised and Textured Stitch Sampler
At the beginning of each chapter I have included a sampler which utilizes all of the stitches included in the chapter. I used the above embroidery template (page 89) as a guide, and embroidered the design around the guide.
The Embroidery Journal Project above, is from my book, The Embroidery Book, by C&T embellishing. There are instructions in the book for making this little journal on page 43. Each page is 10″ x 6″, with the embroidered sections worked on each 5″ x 6″ half. You can refer to the samplers in the Visual Guide for the stitches to use, or use the samplers at the beginning of each chapter.
In my class The Embroidery Corner, I taught a 17 week course on embroidery. Each week, working with one stitch family, the student practiced their stitching on a 6″ piece of fabric. Here are some of my examples:
For a book that includes over 500+ stitches, see my book Hand Embroidery Dictionary, by C&T Publishing. If you would like to make a sampler of your own, you can download the free PDF lesson, Sampler Roll of Stitches.
I am confident that you will agree that by allowing yourself the time to learn and experiment with a new technique will never be a waste of time. You are worth the time that it takes to prepare for your journey into embroidery. May that be a long enjoyable journey, and may your needles fly!
I love to embroider, which I am sure you can tell. I have two books that are specifically focused on embroidery. In the Hand Embroidery Dictionary there are over 500+ stitches, both traditional stitches and unique stitches that I developed for the book. In my book Beaded Embroidery Stitching, I offer you both traditional bead embroidery stitches as well as unique techniques that accommodate the special characteristics of the different bead shapes and sizes.
Below, I show you how various forms of thread embroidery can be adapted to bead embroidery and bead woven stitches. The use of beads in the bead embroidery and bead woven stitches certainly do bring a surprisingly visual and dimensional aspect to the work.
Here is an example of two crazy pieced sections of fabric. The first is worked in traditional thread and silk ribbon embroidery stitches, along with embellishments such as tatting, rosettes, charms and buttons. In the second piece, you see traditional stitches translated into beaded embroidery, with the stitches worked in seed beads in sizes 6°, 8°, 11°, and 15°. Embellishments include lace, larger beads, charms, and buttons.
This is an example of a sashiko pattern, the first is embroidered with perle cotton; the second is embroidered with 11° seed beads.
Here is an example of the cross stitch worked in perle cotton, and size 11° seed beads.
Here is an example of two brooches, worked in similar design. In the first I embroidered the Brazilian rose, and traditional leaves and French knot stitches in perle cotton; with a couched cord frame. In the second, I embroidered the a rose with size 11° seed beads, and added in bead woven leaves, and charms; with a beaded couched cord frame.
Happy Stitching to you! ~Christen
PS: If you are looking for inspiration or ideas, check out my PDF Classes and books.
Embroidery adds so much texture and dimension to your fiber creations. Here are some ideas on how to approach working the stitches over the pieced seams of your fabric base.
Once I create a pieced base, I make a swatch card of the fabrics. I then gather the threads and ribbons that will be used on the project, matching or blending the colors of my pieced base. I then create a color chart for the project, organizing the colors of thread and ribbons that will be used as I embroider the stitches on each seam. For more information on my process, see this free handout: Designing With Color.
Border Rows: I work the border row on each piece of fabric with a different color of thread. Here I have worked the backstitch, outline, and coral stitches in a variety of shapes and designs as the beginning of my border rows. Other stitches that can be used for border rows are chain, blanket, feather, cretan, herringbone, and chevron stitches, and any of their variations. Individual stitches can also be used to create a border row over a seam.
Decorative Stitches: I work the decorative stitches on each piece of fabric with a different color and/or colors of thread. Here I have added in lazy daisy, fly, cross, cattail, pistil, looped tendril, buttonhole circle, French knot, and straight stitches onto my border rows. There are any number of decorative stitches that can be used.
Detail Stitches: I work the detail stitches on each piece of fabric with a different color and/or colors of thread. Here I have added in additional detail stitches to the border rows and decorative stitches.
Happy Stitching to you! ~Christen
PS: If you are looking for inspiration or ideas, check out my PDF Classes and books.
JEANS, when did you get your first pair? I grew up wanting to be the “ballerina” in Elton John’s song “Blue Jean Baby”. I can hear you singing, “can’t you see her, tiny dancer in the sand”.
In high school I embroidered jeans and work-shirts for friends and family. In fact the reason that I now wear a thimble while stitching is from being poked so much by working on the heavy jean fabric. I have recycled a pair or two (that did not fit anymore), and used them in various projects. I also like to work with denim fabric (sold by the yard), because it provides a nice firm base to work on.
Blue Jean Baby
“Blue Jean Baby” is stitched onto a pant leg, from a pair of old jeans. I removed the pocket first, and used it and the pocket from the other leg in the examples below. I appliqued a lace heart, and many hand made flowers into the heart vase. I added vintage and new beads into the centers of the flowers. I embroidered ribbon down the side edges using traditional embroidery stitches. The little cat (made from a quilt from 1880’s) was a gift that came along with an eBay purchase, and Marcia Marcantonio is the creator. Thank you Marcia, I think that your gift is quite at home here.
Butterflies and SnapdragonsFlower Child
“Butterflies and Snapdragons” (a pocket from the pants), was featured in my book Ribbonwork Gardens, by C&T Publishing. The middle embroidery was worked on another portion of the jeans. “Flower Child” (a pocket from the pants), was featured in my book Ribbonwork Flowers, by C&T Publishing.
Country Hearts 1Country Hearts 2
These two pieces begin with the same pair of jeans (cut from the other pant leg), and one of my favorite fabrics, the vintage floral print that the hearts are cut from. The heart shapes are bordered by a dyed leaf trim, and are surrounded by silk ribbonwork flowers and leaves, and silk ribbon embroidery.
Country Hearts Wall HangingDenim and Dresden
“Country Hearts” Wall Hanging was featured in my book, The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing. Each square was cut from the same pair of jeans, and I used the vintage rickrack trim to cover the raw seams. The embroidery stitches are worked in perle cotton threads. The embellishments include vintage tatted lace, ribbonwork flowers, vintage buttons, and glass beads.
“Denim and Dresden” is featured in my book, Creative Stitching, Mixing the Old with the New, by C&T Publishing. I used jean fabric for the base of the piece, and I think that it compliments the vintage feed sack fabric so nicely. The embroidery is worked in perle cotton, cotton floss, and vintage tatting threads. The embellishments include yo-yo’s and vintage buttons.
Happy Stitching to you! ~Christen
PS: If you are looking for inspiration or ideas, check out my PDF Classes and books.
The term gold-work embroidery was originally used to describe a form of decorative embroidery that employed real gold threads in a mixture of surface applications and techniques that use both laid and stitched yarns. The term now is extended to gold-work and metallic thread embroidery and includes all metals: gold (though this proved costly for most industries and was not used much after the 10th century), silver gilt, silver, pewter and copper, and metallic (alloy or synthetic) colored threads and yarns.
Vintage French Handbags with Metal Thread Embroidery
These two examples of incredible metal-thread embroidery are part of my vintage purse collection. The handbag I purchased at an estate sale, has copper, green and bronzed colored embroidery threads. The coin purse is mainly copper and silver colors, and I found this on eBay.
This petite pincushion is the perfect size for your travel sewing kit. The base of the pincushion, flowers and leaves are made from grosgrain ribbon. A scissor fob can be made using the same flower and leaf that adorns the pincushion.
Christen's Creations 