Tag Archive | hand embroidery stitches

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
Hand Embroidery Dictionary
Beaded Embroidery Stitching
The Embroidery Book
Embroidery Stitching Handy Pocket Guide
Embroidered and Embellished

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

  1. September 1, 2022– Question: When did you first learn to sew, and who was your teacher?
  2. 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?
  3. September 3, 2022– Question: What type of piecing do you like to do?
  4. 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?
  5. September 5, 2022– Question: Do you like to recycle old clothing, or use something in an unexpected way?
  6. September 6, 2022– Question: What type of embellishments to you like to work with on your projects?
  7. September 7, 2022– Question: Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity?
  8. September 8, 2022– Question: Do you like to make and sew your own jewelry and adornments?
  9. September 9, 2022– Question: Did you know that the wooden spools that you have in your stash may be 50-100 years or older?
  10. September 10, 2022– Question: Do you have a favorite pincushion, or two?
  11. September 11, 2022– Rustic Americana, In Memory of 9/11
  12. 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?
  13. 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?
  14. September 14, 2022– Question: Do you name or title your projects, and how do you choose those names?
  15. September 15, 2022– Question: Do like to work with felt?
  16. September 16, 2022– Question: What sewer does not have a favorite pin or needle keep?
  17. September 17, 2022– Question: Do you sew functional forms for the home, or do you like to create whimsical additions?
  18. 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?
  19. September 19, 2022– Question: Do you like to embroider over a pattern or print?
  20. September 20, 2022– Question: When you embroider a piece, do you like to use free-form images or do you use stencils?
  21. September 21, 2022– Question: When you create a strip-pieced base, do you embroider the seams, in the seams or over the seams?
  22. September 22, 2022– Question: What sewer hasn’t heard of the Sunbonnet Sue?
  23. September 23, 2022– Question: Do you sew functional forms or do you like to create fabulous frivolities?
  24. September 24, 2022– Question: Do you like to add lace to your creations?
  25. 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?
  26. 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?
  27. 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.”
  28. September 28, 2022– Question: Do you ever hold on to a piece of fabric, and think, someday, I will use that?
  29. 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 14 1/2″ x 14 1/2″
Charmed Squares 8″ x 8″
Both of these pieces were worked with the fabrics that came out of the same Moda charm pack.

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

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.

7″ x 5 3/4″

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

National Sewing Month

Sep26

Day 26

Question: What kind of sewing machine did you learn to sew on, and, what kind of machine do you sew on now? Mine was a Singer, and still is! I just use the basic stitches, straight and zigzag, and rely heavily on my hand-stitching and hand-embroidery skills for the rest.

14 3/8″ x 14 3/8″

Chrysanthemum Tea by Christen Brown

This piece started with a scrap of commercially embroidered fabric, which I used for the teapot applique, and a few pieces of the border. I found a hand-dyed perle cotton in pink, yellow, and green, and used this for my color palette. I chose silk fabrics in those same colors. I added trims, appliques, buttons and lots of embroidery stitches. This piece can be seen in The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep25

Day 25

Question: When you are working with a group of fabrics, how do you decide what colors to use for the embroidery stitches? Here are a few ideas.

10″ x 10″

Victoriana by Christen Brown

This crazy-pieced square started with a rayon print, and 6 different silk fabrics that matched the colors of the print. I chose silk embroidery ribbon, perle cotton, buttonhole silk, cotton floss, and seed beads in those same colors. I used 7mm silk embroidery ribbon and silk bias ribbons for the ribbonwork flowers. Each section of fabric is worked with a combination of the colors and components.

15 3/8″ x 15 3/8″

Melted Crayons by Christen Brown

Tiny bits of precious silk fabrics were crazy-pieced onto four foundation squares and strip-pieced onto four border strips. These blocks and strips were bordered with black silk fabric, satin ribbon, and rayon cord. I chose to work each of the border rows with black buttonhole twist, then the decorative and detail stitches with a variegated Valdani perle cotton. Vintage and new button details were stitched down with perle cotton and rayon floss. This piece can be seen in The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep21

Day 21

Question: When you create a strip-pieced base, do you embroider the seams, in the seams or over the seams? For me it depends on the design of the piece, and the materials that I have to work with.

13″ x 13″

Beautiful Beaded Blooms, by Christen Brown

This project started with two colors of moire fabric, and a cotton print with a wide array of greenery options. I paired the foundation strip-pieced and triangle blocks, with lavish amounts of embroidered beading. The stitches are paired with vintage buttons, sequins, and charms, and are worked over the seams, with a border of stitches on the outer edge of the pattern. This is a project in my book Embroidered and Embellished by C&T Publishing.

11 1/4″ x 11 1/4″

California Dreamin’ by Christen Brown

This wall hanging started with a simple strip-pieced design using two marbled fabrics and bleached muslin. The center square and third section of strips were cut from the muslin, and were then entirely embroidered with decorative and details stitches. The second and fourth section of strips were cut from the two marbled fabrics, with each strip, embroidered with chain and French knot stitches. Vintage green sew-through beads were stitched along the border. You can find this piece in my book the Hand Embroidery Dictionary by C&T Publishing.

9″ x 13 1/4″

Mystic Twilight by Christen Brown

I chose the pattern and colors of the strip-pieced batik background to simulate a worn wooden fence. I machine quilted each strip with a wood grain pattern. I chose the large clear glass buttons in a variety of sizes for the flower centers. The outline of the large-and medium-sized buttons were shadowed with thread and bead embroidery; the border row stitches that represent grass and vine were worked in perle cotton and then shadowed with the same stitch in cotton floss. You can find this piece in The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep20

Day 20

Question: When you embroider a piece, do you like to use free-form images or do you use stencils? If you like to have guidelines and shapes, then I have just the thing for you! I have a series of stencils that I designed for C&T Publishing.

fast2mark Embroidery Stencils, the Essential Collection and fast2mark The Darling Motif Collection.

Essential Collection Sampler
Darling Motif Sampler

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep15

Day 15

Question: Do like to work with felt? I find that this is a great way to teach a simple project, that can be embroidered and embellished.

Sea Urchins
Mushroom Garden
Blue Bird Nest

In the above pieces, I used the synthetic felt squares that you can find at your local craft store. I used a variety of perle cotton threads, to work the embroidery stitches, which can all be found in my book Hand Embroidery Dictionary, by C&T Publishing.

Embroidered From the Heart by Christen Brown

This group of hearts are the examples from my Embroidered From the Heart PDF class lesson. There are a variety of heart shapes to work with, which you can mix and match; embroidery and embellishment stitches are also included in the 2 lessons. These make great gifts!

Happy Stitching~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep14

Day 14

Question: Do you name or title your projects, and how do you choose those names? Sometimes I choose a name by an item in the project, or from a song that I listen to, or just a fond memory.

14″ x 13 1/4″
14″ x 13 1/4″

Lady Bird’s Bzzy Garden, and Lady Bird 2 by Christen Brown

The theme for each of these crazy-pieced wall hangings came from the creme colored print that has flowers and ladybugs on it. I used a variety of garden themed buttons including flowers, bees, fruits and vegetables, and gardening tools. I also used ladybugs (representing our daughter), frogs (representing my husband), and bunnies (representing me.)

I used the same printed fabrics for each wall hanging. On the first I used black as an accent color, and worked the border row stitches in black, with the decorative and detail stitches worked in the same colors as the fabrics. In the second piece I used creme as an accent color, including in a variety of cotton laces. The border row, decorative and detail stitches are all worked in the colors found in the fabrics.

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

Happy Stitching~Christen

National Sewing Month

Sep13

Day 13

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? I keep my notes, thoughts, and swatches in this planner.

Embellished Art Embroidery Project Planner by Christen Brown

This delightful planner is designed especially for embroiderers so that you can track multiple projects throughout the year—because let’s face it, who doesn’t have lots of projects going at once?! Set your project goals, track your progress, and manage your time and works-in-progress (WIPs). Each project has four pages to track and record all the critical details: the name of your project, the layout, the stitches and embellishments, due dates, supply lists and more. Plus, flip to the back of the planner for a reference section and even more handy tools.

Happy Stitching~Christen