Tag Archive | embroidery book

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Mornings and A Heart a Day: 26

In these posts I want to share some of my favorite pieces, which will include wall hangings, small works, pillows, purses, and just because pieces. February is National Embroidery Month, and I would like to share the pieces from some of my books, enjoy!

Week 4 of National Embroidery Month

For the Love of Embroidery! I love to embroider, which is no secret to all of you that follow this blog, or have taken a class from me, or even purchased one of my books. Thank you for that by the way, and thank you for your trust in letting me teach you, and thank you for letting me share this passion with you.

Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, C&T Publishing

The Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, can be purchased from C&T Publishing, here is an index of the chapters and stitches.

This book was surely a labor of love to create, develop, and to write; and I had some amazing editors that helped me along the way to bring this vision to you.

To start with, there are over 500+ stitches listed in the book with images of the embroidered stitch and detailed how-to illustrations. I believe that there are almost 800 examples, if you count the illustrated variations of the stitches.

Certainly, this book should light the creative spark for any embroiderer, and did I mention there are both right- and left-hand directions!

There have been many embroiderer’s who have influenced my journey, one of them was Erica Wilson, her work was so diverse. I also researched many, many, many other books to find the variety of stitches that I wanted to include in this book. I even created a few new stitches that I thought would fit in with the my vision for the book.

When I teach a class on embroidery, I try to explain how the stitch is formed, and explain how stitches can be altered, to create a different stitch. In this book I grouped stitches by stitch families, starting with the individual stitch, that can then be used to create a continuous stitch. These are:

Straight Stitches
Outline Stitches
Knotted, Woven, and Whipped Stitches
Lazy Daisy Stitches
Chain Stitches
Barb Stitches (new stitch family)
Blanket and Buttonhole Stitches
Fly Stitches
Feather Stitches
Fleet Stitches (new stitch family)
Cretan Stitches
Cross Stitches
Herringbone Stitches
Capped Stitches (new stitch family)
Chevron Stitches
Embellishment Stitches

It is my goal as an author/artist/teacher to give you the reader/stitcher/student the confidence to learn and grow and become more familiar with the stitches. I feel a big part of one’s growth is to practice, I suggest working out the stitches for each stitch family, on a 6″ x 6″ (15.3cm) square of fabric. Once you have completed each square, you can stitch these into a Sampler Roll of Stitches as a reference guide and a keepsake.

You can see all of the books and products that I have created here. I wish you all the happiness and hope that you enjoy creating with this beautiful craft and art form.

Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Morning and A Heart a Day: 19

Feb19

Week 3 of National Embroidery Month

Beaded Embroidery Stitching, by C&T Publishing was the third book that I wrote on embroidery. I have always been inspired by the magic of beads, those shiny, tiny, treasures! I also do love buttons, sequins, and charms!

From seed beads to larger beads, all sizes are welcome in my workroom. I love to work with them in any type of creative project, whether it be stitching the beads into a piece of jewelry, or stitching them onto fabric.

In many instances beads can be worked into stitches that resemble traditional thread embroidery stitches.

The book includes 125 bead embroidered and bead woven stitches, each stitch categorized in the Visual Guide index by style, with a second alphabetical index to keep at your fingertips.

Lazy Daisy and Chain Stitches
Fly and Feather Stitches
Continuous Bead and Blanket Stitches
Cross, Herringbone, Serpentine, and Cretan Stitches
Flowers and Extra Stitches
Decorative and Detail Stitches
Button and Sequin Flowers
Beaded Edges
Even Peyote and Free-Form Peyote Stitches
Circular Peyote and Netted Stitches
Brick Stitch

This book includes 8 beadwork projects from brooches and bracelets to sewing caddies and wallhangings.

I have also included gallery pieces that I hope will inspire crafters of all skill levels, from embroiderers and sewists to crazy quilters, mixed media artists, and jewelry makers.

You can see all of the books and products that I have created here. I wish you all the happiness and hope that you enjoy creating with this beautiful craft and art form.

Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Morning and a Heart a Day: 12

Feb12

Week 2 of National Embroidery Month, 2023

The Embroidery Book was the second book on embroidery that I wrote for C&T Publishing. This book is jam packed with design and gallery examples that showcase how you can use color, design, and construction effectively.

The book includes 149 step-by-step embroidery stitches, motifs, and extras, that are worked in a variety of materials including perle cotton, cotton floss, silk ribbon, buttons, charms, sequins, and beads.

Included in the book, is color board with fabric, thread, and beads, with a section on Color Theory, suggestions on how you can choose your own color palette.

Let’s Get Colorful!

I have provided examples of the eight different color disciplines that I most often use in my work. The number reference in the name of the discipline refers to the number of fabric or component colors and threads that I use.

Embroider, Embellish, and Explore

There are a variety of examples of Embroidery as a Seam Treatment, and Embroidery as a Design Element. These examples show how embroidery stitches can be worked following a seam, following a shape, or an imaginary line, or to fill in entire areas of fabric.

*Embroidery as a Seam Treatment*
Straight Seam Embroidery

Embroidery Journal Project: Each of the embroidery sections shows a sampler that you can copy so that you can practice your stitches. The book also has directions so that you can make your own book of stitch samplers.

You can see all of the books and products that I have created here. I wish you all the happiness and hope that you enjoy creating with this beautiful craft and art form.

Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Morning and A Heart a Day: 5

Feb5

Week 1 of National Embroidery Month, 2023

Embroidered and Embellished Small Projects

The first book that I wrote on the subject was called Embroidered and Embellished, by C&T Publishing. I chose to categorize the stitches into groups, that I named Traditional Embroidery, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Raised and Textured Embroidery, and Bead Embroidery.

Each of these groups includes 20 related stitches. I photographed the steps of the stitches for this book, like I did for my two ribbonwork books. My daughter pitched in and offered here lovely hands in a few of the how-to-directions.

I created a sampler and two projects for each of the four categories included in the book. The projects have detailed directions with diagrams of the assembly steps and stitches that I used.

Traditional Embroidery: the stitches in this chapter include: chain stitch, zigzag chain stitch, chain stitch vine, straight stitch, outline stitch, outline stitch vine, blanket stitch, short-long-short blanket stitch, buttonhole circle, heart, lazy daisy stitch, lazy knot tip, lazy daisy flowers, looped tendril, tulip, sunflower, button flowers, fly stitch, wisteria, wild ginger, French knot, French knot flowers, and couched stitch.

All of the stitches in the sampler and the directions were worked in Finca perle cotton # 8 and Finca Mouline cotton floss by Presencia.

Silk Ribbon Embroidery: the stitches in this chapter include: feather stitch, feather stitch vine, split ribbon stitch, pistil stitch, couched ribbon, padded straight stitch, ribbon stitch, peony, colonial knot, pointed ribbon stitch, wildflower, ribbon loop stitch, ribbon loop posy, vine flower, twisted ribbon rose, woven ribbon rose, woven ribbon rose variation, rosette, gathered bud, and pin rose.

All of the stitches in the sampler and the directions were worked with silk ribbon or buttonhole twist from YLI; Wildflowers thread from the Caron Collection; or Silk Mori floss from Kreinik.

Raised and Textured Embroidery: the stitches in this chapter include: open chain stitch, couched Japan thread, fly stitch leaf, feather fan, whip-stitch rose, whip-stitch rose variation 1, whip-stitch rose variation 2, spiderweb rose, petite twisted rose, bullion stitch, bullion posy, cast-on buttonhole stitch, buttonhole rose, cherry blossoms, tatted stitch, tatted posy, spiral tatted stitch, tatted rose, Chinese knot, and Christen’s shisha mirror.

All of the stitches in the sampler and the directions were worked in Finca perle cotton # 8 or Finca Mouline cotton floss by Presencia; buttonhole twist from YLI; Silk Mori floss or fine braid from Kreinik; or rayon floss from DMC.

Bead Embroidery: the stitches in this chapter include: continuous bead stitch, beaded vine, lazy daisy stitch, lazy daisy variation, lazy daisy loop, lazy daisy flowers, beaded stamen, sunflower, button rose, French rose, sequin rose, sequin rose variation, flat leaf, lazy daisy leaf, stacked bead center. picot tip, bead cascade, single bead, bead combinations, and charms.

All of the stitches in the sampler and the directions were worked in size 6°, 8°, 11°, or 15° size seed beads; or larger beads in a variety of sizes; or sequins.

If you would like to stitch each of these samplers, you can find the template here.

You can see all of the books and products that I have created here. I wish you all the happiness and hope that you enjoy creating with this beautiful craft and art form.

Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen

Friday’s Favorites: Spiders and Webs

Oct7

This time of year brings to mind spooky things, and to me the spookiest is running into a spiderweb and wondering if you are wearing the weaver of that web! We have quite a colony of orb weavers in our garden, and I am amazed by the intricacy of these woven wonders.

Ugly Bug Ball, by Christen Brown

The base of this piece is a cotton twill fabric. I pieced and stitched the web using a vintage embroidery ribbon, and rickrack trim. The web holds a host of ‘’ugly bugs’’ stitched mainly from old sewing notions and vintage glass and hand-blown glass beads. This can be seen in my book, Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New.

Spiders Hide in the Dusk, by Christen Brown

The base of this piece is a cotton batik, that I machine quilted, and then framed with a rayon cord. The embellishments include vintage glass and shell buttons, glass seed and larger beads. The webs, spiders, and button flowers are worked in bead embroidery stitches. This is a project in my book, Beaded Embroidery Stitching.

If you know my work, you know that I sneak a spider and a web into many of my crazy-pieced creations. I am in awe of the beauty of those delicate structures, and I try to capture that beauty either with beads or threads.

Charlotes Webs, by Christen Brown

This project started with the reproduction cigarette silk print in the center, whom I named Charlotte. The center section was crazy-pieced with tiny and tinier pieces of precious silk scraps left over from a few other projects. Satin ribbon was machine stitched randomly to create sections for the vignette embroidery which was worked in silk embroidery ribbon, woven ribbon, perle cotton and beads. Additional embellishments include vintage buttons and glass charms.

As much as I love to look at the webs, I am deathly afraid of real-life spiders! When I embroider the spider, I try to create a more whimsical version to somehow confront my fear! It works, until I run into a web, and then wonder…

All Friday’s Favorites posts.

Thank you for looking, and Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen

National Lace Day

Oct1

October 1, 2022

I LOVE to work with lace, and have acquired a wonderful stash, many of the pieces were given to me by thoughtful family members and friends. A variety of techniques are used to create lace, by hand or machine, from natural or synthetic threads or yarns. The hand-made techniques use simple tools, such as a needle, wooden bobbins, crochet hook, tatting shuttle, or knitting needles, and I tend to collect these, but all lace is welcome in my home!

Creme de la Creme by Christen Brown

This is a collection of some of my favorite little scraps of lace, trims, doily bits, and pieces of a collar and cuff. I collage-pieced these bits onto a background of dupioni silk, then hand-stitched the pieces in place. The vignettes are comprised of silk ribbon embroidery floral components, groups of buttons with silk ribbon embroidery stitches, charms and other beaded components. This piece can be found in my book, The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing.

Girly Girls by Christen Brown

This entire collection of doilies, napkins, small serving place mats, and lace bits was given to me by friends and family members. The kid glove belonged to my grandmother, and my mother stitched the oval floral pieces. The earrings came from both of my husband’s grandmothers, and the jacquard ribbon from his mother. I collage-pieced and hand-stitched the base first, then added in the larger components, and ribbonwork flowers. The embroidery is worked with perle cotton, and beads. I also added in vintage buttons, jewelry bits, perfume vials, and and a safety pin with tea themed porcelain charms. This piece can be found in my new book, Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, by C&T Publishing.

Pearl’s Delight by Christen Brown

I stitched this simple jacket from a fun paisley print that I had found in a $1.00 a yard bin many, many, years ago. Every inch of the base is covered with bits of vintage machine made, tatted, and crochet lace that had been given to me by my friend Jeri. The sections of lace are embellished with ribbons, mother-of-pearl buttons and charms, freshwater pearls, glass beads, and glass pearls that came from an old necklace that belonged to my grandmother. This piece can be found in my new book, Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, by C&T Publishing.

Here is a collection of some additional pieces that can be found in my new book, Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep30

Day 30

Question: Are you looking for inspiration, a little kick start, or just some eye candy? I have a few books that may help you on your creative journey, may that be a long and happy one!

Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New

Here is a re-cap of National Sewing Month 2022:

September 1, 2022– Question: When did you first learn to sew, and who was your teacher?
September 2, 2022– Question: How do you design a project, do you start with a plan or do you let the materials tell you what and where they want to be?
September 3, 2022– Question: What type of piecing do you like to do?
September 4, 2022– Question: When you choose a fabric, what are you drawn to, do you like to work with solids or prints, or hand-dyed or batiks?
September 5, 2022– Question: Do you like to recycle old clothing, or use something in an unexpected way?
September 6, 2022– Question: What type of embellishments to you like to work with on your projects?
September 7, 2022– Question: Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity?
September 8, 2022– Question: Do you like to make and sew your own jewelry and adornments?
September 9, 2022– Question: Did you know that the wooden spools that you have in your stash may be 50-100 years or older?
September 10, 2022– Question: Do you have a favorite pincushion, or two?
September 11, 2022– Rustic Americana, In Memory of 9/11
September 12, 2022– Question: When you design a project, do you sometimes think, hmm I like that, but I want to try it in another colorway or design?
September 13, 2022– Question: Do you plan out a project, with bits and pieces of paper lying around the workroom with your notes, or do you use a dedicated book to keep track of all of those ideas?
September 14, 2022– Question: Do you name or title your projects, and how do you choose those names?
September 15, 2022– Question: Do like to work with felt?
September 16, 2022– Question: What sewer does not have a favorite pin or needle keep?
September 17, 2022– Question: Do you sew functional forms for the home, or do you like to create whimsical additions?
September 18, 2022– Question: Do you like to crazy-piece, but sometimes find the sections so small, that it is hard to embroider every seam?
September 19, 2022– Question: Do you like to embroider over a pattern or print?
September 20, 2022– Question: When you embroider a piece, do you like to use free-form images or do you use stencils?
September 21, 2022– Question: When you create a strip-pieced base, do you embroider the seams, in the seams or over the seams?
September 22, 2022– Question: What sewer hasn’t heard of the Sunbonnet Sue?
September 23, 2022– Question: Do you sew functional forms or do you like to create fabulous frivolities?
September 24, 2022– Question: Do you like to add lace to your creations?
September 25, 2022– Question: When you are working with a group of fabrics, how do you decide what colors to use for the embroidery stitches?
September 26, 2022– Question: What kind of sewing machine did you learn to sew on, and, what kind of machine do you sew on now?
September 27, 2022– Question: When you see a hanky used in a project, do you ever think of Rhett Buttler’s comment to Scarlet: “Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief.”
September 28, 2022– Question: Do you ever hold on to a piece of fabric, and think, someday, I will use that?
September 29, 2022– Question: When you buy a charm pack, do you often find that there are prints that you think, hmm, how did those get included in here?

I hope that you have enjoyed this month, and have found some inspiration within these pages.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep29

Day 29

Question: When you buy a charm pack, do you often find that there are prints that you think, hmm, how did those get included in here?

Paris Flea Market- by Christen Brown

The four 9-patch blocks are comprised of the lighter colors of the charm pack, with a border of bleached muslin. The embroidery was worked in three colors of perle cotton, the border row stitches in one color, the decorative stitches in a second color and the detail stitches in a third color. I stitched groups of mother-of-pearl buttons to the border.

Charmed Square by Christen Brown

This small square was pieced with a few leftover squares from the pack, with two complementary fabrics to complete the nine-patch design and borders. The border row stitches were worked in one color of perle cotton #8 to straddle each seam. The decorative and detail stitches were worked in five colors of cotton floss, and two colors of seed beads. The color and stitch changed depending on which side of the border row they were stitched on. I used three colors of glass buttons and charms and added brass buttons as an accent color.

These two pieces can be found in my book, The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep28

Day 28

Question: Do you ever hold on to a piece of fabric, and think, someday, I will use that? Well I think if you are a sewist, quilter, artist or designer, the answer is YES!

Eastern Influences by Christen Brown

This piece started with the small scrap of fabric that I used for the center. It had been sitting in my stash waiting for the right project to come along. The printed fabric that I used in the border, was one of those fat quarters I purchased, and then held onto for years. Sound familiar? Additional fabrics were a machine embroidered cotton, and plain black cotton, that were left over from other projects. Glass seed beads were used for the embroidery, along with vintage bugle and hand-blown glass beads, and nail heads. Vintage buttons are sprinkled throughout, along with large glass beads and charms. This piece can be found in my book Beaded Embroidery Stitching by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep27

Day 27

Question: When you see a hanky used in a project, do you ever think of Rhett Buttler’s comment to Scarlet: “Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief.” Well, I would rather put the hankies in my cache in a project, and go look for the Kleenex box! Here are a few examples of how I use hankies, that can be seen in my new book, Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, by C&T Publishing.

Hankies and Rosettes by Christen Brown

This quaint little hanging started with 2 different hankies. I cut them into quarters and layered them on top of each other. The embroidery is worked in perle cotton, cotton floss, silk embroidery ribbon, and ribbon trims.

This is a close up of the Tea Cozy, which is one of the Stash Projects in the book. The hankies are collaged over a base, with the raw edge covered with ribbon or fabric. The embroidery stitches are worked in perle cotton, cotton floss, silk embroidery ribbon, and ribbon trims. A few precious buttons are thrown in here and there.

American Kitsch by Christen Brown

The hankies that I used for this wall hanging came from my mother’s collection, which she gathered on her tour in Europe where she met my dad. Several other hankies and table linens found there way into the project, along with some vintage rickrack trim. I used quite a few vintage and new buttons, two celluloid acorn charms, and glass and acrylic flower charms.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

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Christen's Creations

Creative Expressions from a fiber artist, beader, ribbon artist and embroiderer.

Tag Archive | embroidery book

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Mornings and A Heart a Day: 26

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Morning and A Heart a Day: 19

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Morning and a Heart a Day: 12

Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Morning and A Heart a Day: 5

Friday’s Favorites: Spiders and Webs

National Lace Day

National Sewing Month

National Sewing Month

National Sewing Month

National Sewing Month