Joyful Stitching: Transform Fabric with Improvisational Embroidery

stitchingJ O Y F U L

Laura Wasilowski

TRANSFORM FABRIC with Improvisational Embroidery

Laura Wasilow

ski

J O Y F U L

stitching

Laura Wasilowski

TRANSFORM FABRIC with Improvisational Embroidery

Text copyright © 2018 by Laura Wasilowski

Photography and artwork copyright © 2018 by C&T Publishing, Inc.

Publisher: Amy Marson

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Editor: Lynn Koolish

Technical Editor: Debbie Rodgers

Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek

Production Coordinator: Tim Manibusan

Production Editor: Alice Mace Nakanishi

Illustrator: Linda Johnson

Photo Assistant: Mai Yong Vang

Hand Model: Kristi VIsser

Photography by Diane Pedersen of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted

Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be used in any form or reproduced by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—without written permission from the publisher. The copyrights on individual artworks are retained by the artists as noted in Joyful Stitching. These designs may be used to make items for personal use only and may not be used for the purpose of personal profit. Items created to benefit nonprofit groups, or that will be publicly displayed, must be conspicuously labeled with the following credit: “Designs copyright © 2018 by Laura Wasilowski from the book Joyful Stitching from C&T Publishing, Inc.” Permission for all other purposes must be requested in writing from C&T Publishing, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataNames: Wasilowski, Laura, 1952- author.Title: Joyful stitching : transform fabric with improvisational embroidery / Laura Wasilowski.Description: Lafayette, CA : C&T Publishing, Inc., 2018.Identifiers: LCCN 2017023202 | ISBN 9781617455674 (soft cover)Subjects: LCSH: Embroidery--Patterns.Classification: LCC TT771 .W33 2018 | DDC 746.44--dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017023202

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

DedicationTo my grandchildren,

who are always happily in my thoughts while I happily stitch

AcknowledgmentsThank you to my mother, Penelope, my first embroidery teacher.

And to the crew at C&T Publishing, who always make me look good.

CONTENTS

Introduction: Free-Form Embroidery 4

Materials and Tools for Stitching 5

Fabrics: Wool • Felt • Silk

Threads • Embroidery tools • Needles • Other tools

Transferring Designs for Embroidery 9

Transfer Methods: Wool • Felt • Silk

Embroidery Stitch Directions 13

PROJECTS

A Tasty Bite of Apple

More Ideas for Free-Form Embroidery 53

Display Options 57

Patterns 59

About the Author 63

Backstitch 13

Blanket Stitch 14

Bullion Knot 15

Chain Stitch 16

Couching 17

Cross-Stitch 17

Ermine Stitch 18

Fern Stitch 18

Fly Stitch 19

French Knots 20

Herringbone Stitch 20

Lazy Daisy or Detached Chain Stitch 21

Long-and-Short Stitch 22

Needle Weaving 23

Pistil Stitch 24

Running Stitch 25

Satin Stitch 25

Scattered Seed Stitch 26

Sheaf Stitch 26

Stem Stitch 27

Straight Stitch 27

A Rare Songbird

Love at First Stitch Folk Art Garden

Hand of Fortune Yellow House Landscape

28 32

37 41

45 48

A Rare Songbird by Laura Wasilowski, 7˝ × 9˝ (project instructions, page 32)

INTRODUCTION: FREE-FORM EMBROIDERY

Hand embroidery may seem like a quiet pastime for quiet people in a quiet room. But we all know there is a secret, creative power lurking in each stitch. Hand stitchery transforms fabric from a flat, plain surface into a world packed with color and texture and joyful pattern. In short, hand embroidery brings fabric to life.

notion of the hand-made along with the heady thrill of improvisation.

In this book, I share with you the joys of free-form embroidery. There are six projects that begin with simple shapes destined for embellishment with a riot of thread. You’ll learn about the materials and tools (page 5) needed to make these designs and about trans-ferring designs for embroidery (page 9). You can review step-by-step embroidery stitch directions (page 13) as needed. And there are more ideas for free-form embroidery (page 53) to inspire you as well.

Free-form embroidery is not about being precise or meticulous. You have permission to be loose, relaxed, and cozy when stitching. Change the designs, use different colors, try new stitch combina-tions. Free-form embroideries are made just for the pleasure of stitching and the enjoyment of placing colorful thread on fabric.

I hope this book challenges you to invent new ways to mark fabric with stitches. I hope you discover the thrill of liberated stitching. And I hope you find this intimate art form a creative way to express yourself. So you see, I have high hopes for you in this joyful adventure.

And here is the best news: You can always remove stitches if they aren’t placed where you want them.

Your friend, Laura

It is this transformation of fabric by stitch that makes free-form embroi-dery my passion. Yes, it is an art form that is compact, portable, uses few tools, and is meditative, but it is also a delightful challenge for an artist. Like any art form, you are constantly making decisions about color, line, pattern, and texture. Free-form embroidery pairs the warm, friendly,

4 Joyful Stitching

MATERIALS AND TOOLS FOR STITCHING

FabricsCotton and linen fabrics have long been the go-to fibers for hand embroidery on tea towels, hankies, and that cross-stitch sampler for a friend. The projects in this book can be made on those fabrics. But why not explore some new fibers? Fabrics such as boiled wool, silk, and felt make an attractive base for free-form hand embroidery. Selecting an unexpected background fabric elevates the work from that practical tea towel look to an art form.

WOOL

The best wool fabric for hand embroidery is made of 100% sheep’s wool with a woven or knit structure that has been felted. The process of felt-ing condenses the fibers to make a thicker fabric that is easy to grip and feels substantial in your hands. The needle and thread glide effortlessly through this bulkier fabric and the knots are hidden. My favorite ver-sion is boiled wool commonly found in heavy jackets and coats. Nearly 1/4˝ thick, the needle travels through the fabric layer rather than to the back of the fabric at every stitch.

Do a few test stitches on your wool fabric before committing to a project. If wool is not felted enough, it feels thin and floppy and will be hard to handle. Beware of wool that is too tightly felted and compressed, making hand stitching difficult. Occasionally wool fabrics are fuzzy, and their short, wispy wool fibers tangle in the thread and interrupt stitching. Try pressing this fuzzy wool with a steam iron to flatten the fabric and make it easier to stitch.

Find wool at your local fabric store, online sources, and resale shops for used clothing. Or how about that old winter coat hiding in your closet—time to dismantle it and turn it into a work of art!

FELT

Felt is a nonwoven fabric. The most suitable for stitching is made with a high percentage of wool combined with some synthetic fibers. This flat, nonreflective fabric comes in a wide variety of solid colors and is available at your local craft shop or online.

Felt has a cozy, folk-art look. It does not fray when cut and shapes may be stacked to make compositions. It is easy to stitch through several layers of felt using larger threads.

An Easy Way to Make Wool Felt

When starting with a woven or knit fabric, the process of shrinking it to compact the fibers and “felt” them is called fulling. Make sure you use a woven or knit fabric made of 100% sheep’s wool.

1. Place the fabric in your washing machine, fill with very hot water, and add mild laundry detergent.

2. Wash the fabric with the agitator on the fastest setting.

3. Use a cold-water rinse in the machine.

4. Air-dry the fabric or place it in a dryer to compact it even more.

5Materials and Tools for Stitching

SILK

Silk provides a lightweight canvas for stitchery and comes in a wide variety of colors, weaves, and weights. The recommended weight or momme (unit of measurement for silk, abbreviated “mm”) of silk for these projects is at least a 12 mm or 14 mm with satin or jacquard weaves.

My preferred silk is a 14 mm charmeuse that is finely woven and has a luster or glowing texture, unlike wool or felt which looks matte. Fusing the silk to wool batting (see Silk Transfer Method, page 11) adds body to the fabric, making it easier to handle and providing a convenient hiding spot for knots.

Find silk in the fashion section of your fabric store, online shops, and through hand-dyers such as me (artfabrik.com). Also, check out resale shops for silk garments that you can recycle into art.

Some felt fabrics may pill or frizz with too much handling, so treat them gently. Felt that is very densely compressed may be difficult to stitch. Test the felt for your project before stitching.

ThreadsWhile a variety of embroidery threads are available, for this book we are keeping it simple and using my favorite thread for stitching—perle cotton. It is easy to manage and has a high twist making it a sturdy thread with a slight sheen that catches the eye. Perle cotton also elevates off the surface of fabric giving your embroidery dimension and texture.

The perle cotton threads used in this book come in several useful sizes: 3, 5, 8, and 12, with the thickest thread being a #3 and the finest thread being a #12. They are available in balls or skeins and in solid or variegated color schemes. Your local needlework shop, fabric shop, and online shops such as my own (artfabrik.com) carry perle cotton threads. Note that thread sizes may vary slightly according to brand.

3

5

8

12

I have a fondness for variegated perle cotton threads—the color winks in and out adding interest to hand embroidery. Many of the variegated threads used in these projects are my own hand-dyed threads that contain close color changes. These shifts in color or value along the length of the thread create lively stitchery.

6 Joyful Stitching

Tips: Using Perle Cotton

the threaded needle to let it unwind if the thread gets twisted.

• To end a thread, run the needle through a few adjacent stitches on the back of the work and snip the thread. Or end the thread by making a few shallow backstitches into the back of the embroidery. (Don’t let the thread appear on the top of the piece.) Slide the needle and thread through the batting or back layer of the fabric for 3/4˝ and snip the thread.

Embroidery ToolsIt takes very few tools to create beautiful hand embroidery. You’ll need scissors that are short and sharp, a pincushion for needles and straight pins, and a thimble. A thimble will protect your finger for more stitching time. A thread conditioner, such as Thread Heaven or Thread Magic (taylorseville.com), is helpful (see Conditioning Threads, page 8). And don’t forget good lighting and a sturdy needle threader to alleviate frustration.

• A length of 18˝ or less is good for stitching. If the thread is too long, it tangles and may fray from the fric−tion of being pulled through fabric.

• Use the thread as a single with one end of the thread knotted.

• Match your needle size with your thread size. Use the Needle and Thread Sizes chart (page 8).

• Twist your needle slightly after every stitch to keep the thread from twisting back on itself. Or dangle

How to Store Thread Skeins

1. Use a metal binder ring about 2˝ in diameter or a smooth bracelet.

2. Open the skein and place one end loop into the center of the metal ring.

3. Put the other thread loop on the other side of the ring and pull that loop through the first thread loop to secure it around the ring.

4. Cut the thread skein in half at the far loop.

5. To remove a single thread for stitching, gently pull a strand from the center of the skein where it wraps around the ring. Pull the thread slowly and it won’t tangle.

7Materials and Tools for Stitching

Assemble your tools at your work-station or make a portable sewing kit for travel. With my trusty travel-ing etui (little traveling sewing kit), I can stitch on airplanes, while wait-ing for an appointment, or in a car (provided someone else is driving).

Tip: Conditioning Threads

Thread conditioner is applied to threads before stitching. It is not a wax but a coating that helps thread glide more easily through the fabric. It adds to the longevity of the thread and keeps it from tangling and knotting.

To use thread conditioner, draw the thread through the conditioner once or twice before threading the needle.

NeedlesEmbroidery or crewel needles have a long eye, a long tapered sharp point, and work on all types of fabric. The projects in the book require embroidery needles in sizes 1, 3, 4, 5, and a size 7, which is optional. The higher the number, the finer the needle.

Please note that embroidery needles are not all created equal. You may notice that a #3 in one brand may feel slightly thicker than a #3 in another brand. Also, check for needle quality. If a needle feels rough and has burrs on the needle shaft or

Needle and Thread Sizes

Perle cotton embroidery thread

Embroidery needle

For #12 thread …… use a #5 or #7 needle.



For #3 thread …… use a #1 needle.

tip, opt for a better brand from your supplier. I like needles from Colonial Needle Company (colonialneedle.com). Needles are your primary tool. It is worth investing in the best.

Matching the size of your embroi-dery thread with the correct size of embroidery needle makes for happier stitching. Thread should glide easily through the hole made by the needle in fabric. If there is a large gaping hole around the thread, then the needle is too large. If it is difficult to draw the thread through the fabric, then the needle is too small.

Use the Needle and Thread Sizes chart (above) and test the needle with the thread before beginning your project. Note that some perle cotton threads may be used in two different-size needles.

For more informa-tion on needle uses, types, and sizes, see my Sew-ing Needle Pocket Guide for Hand Stitching (from C&T Publishing).

Other ToolsEmbroidery hoops are not necessary for free-form embroidery. But other items needed to create your projects include:

•Tracing paper

•Black marker (such as a Sharpie Extra Fine Point Permanent Marker)

•Straight pins

•Pinking shears or rotary cutter pinking blade for trimming edges on felt projects

Also for the silk designs:

•Parchment paper (baking paper) or Silicone Release Paper (by C&T Publishing)

•Lightweight fusible web (such as Mistyfuse)

•Iron

•Pencil with eraser

•Fine-tip .03 or .05 micro pens in various colors

•Lightbox or window

8 Joyful Stitching

TRANSFERRING DESIGNS FOR EMBROIDERY

You don’t need a pattern to create stitched imagery, but it sure comes in handy! Even in free-form embroidery a drawing or pattern helps determine the size of the design. It tells you where to place the elements in the design and how the shapes relate to each other.

The pattern drawings for the projects (Patterns, page 59) are very simple, cartoonlike shapes that lend them-selves to free-form stitchery. The method of transferring these pattern shapes to fabric (wool, felt, or silk) depends on the fabric you are using.

Think of these simple patterns as a giant playground with fences. You can play with your stitches anyway you like once you’ve set up a few boundaries. Here’s how to set up your stitch playground.

Design Your Own

Would you like to design your own patterns for free-form embroidery? Here are a few tips:

•Make a sketch of your design adding all the details you like.

•Make another sketch and simplify the drawing so that it has distinct shapes. These shapes are the boundaries or structure of your design. They tell you the placement and size of the basic design elements.

•Remove any finicky details on your second sketch. Designs with large open shapes lend themselves to fun stitch combi-nations and improvisational stitching.

•Use this second sketch and follow the direc-tions for transferring the pattern shapes to your specific fabric.

•Refer to your initial sketch when adding fine lines and stitch details to your embroidery.

Wool Transfer Method

2. Position the tracing paper on the wool and pin it in place with straight pins. Choose a thread, such as perle cotton #8 or #5, in a color contrasting to the background fabric that won’t be used later to stitch the outline of the shapes. Follow the black marker lines and stitch an outline of the design on the wool using running stitches (page 25).

1. Select one of the wool patterns, such as A Tasty Bit of Apple (page 59) or A Rare Songbird (page 59), or use your own design. Trace the pattern as is (do not separate the shapes) onto tracing paper using a black marker.

9Transferring Designs for Embroidery

Felt Transfer Method

3. Arrange all the felt shapes on the background fabric. This prearranging of shapes assures that you have enough space for each element before stitching. An example of a design with multiple shapes is Folk Art Garden.

4. Remove any smaller felt shapes or those stacked on larger back-ground pieces of felt. (Smaller pieces and top layers of felt are added later after the larger back-ground shapes are stitched down.) Pin the larger felt shapes onto the background fabric.

5. Tack fabric shapes onto the back-ground fabric using a large cross-stitch (page 17) or running stitches (page 25). These stitches anchor the shapes into place for decorative stitching and will be removed later after the fabric shape is sewn into place. Remove the pins.

3. To remove the paper after the outline of the design is stitched, use the tip of a pin to score the paper next to the stitches. Gently rip away the paper. Try not to pull the stitches and distort the design. These running stitches that define the edges of the design will be removed after outlining the shapes and filling them in with exuberant embroidery stitches.

1. Select from one of the felt patterns, such as Love at First Stitch (pages 59 and 60) or Folk Art Garden (page 61), or use your own design. Trace the individual pattern shapes onto tracing paper using a black marker.

2. Pin each pattern shape to the felt color for that piece. Cut out the felt shape following the black line. For multiples of the same shape, use a previously cut felt shape as a template for the next shape.

10 Joyful Stitching

3. Cut lightweight fusible web, such as Mistyfuse, the size of the silk fabric. Place the fusible web onto the wrong side of the silk. Cover the web with a large piece of parchment paper or Silicone Release Paper. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and glide the iron across the paper to fuse the web to the silk. Leave the parchment paper on the silk.

Silk Transfer Method

1. Select one of the silk patterns, such as Hand of Fortune (page 61) or Yellow House Landscape (page 62), or use your own design. Lightly trace the dashed outline of the pattern onto tracing paper with a pencil. (This dashed line does not get transferred to the silk—it is used to align or position the tracing onto the silk.) Trace the interior lines of the design onto the tracing paper using a black marker.

2. Cut the silk fabric to measure 1˝ larger than each edge of your embroidery design. (This measure-ment is 1˝ outside of each dashed line on the pattern.) The silk fabric must measure 1˝ larger on each edge of the design so the fabric edges can be folded to the back when finishing (page 47).

4. Test different colors of .03 or .05 micro pens in the 1˝ margin of silk around the outside edges of the design. Find a color that is not too intense yet visible. If you are using a gradated fabric as in the example, the pen color must show up on all the colors.

11Transferring Designs for Embroidery

6. Cut wool batting to measure 1˝ smaller than the silk on each edge—the size of the original design. Remove the parchment paper from the silk and center the batting onto the fused side of the silk.

7. Flip the fabric and batting over and place them on a piece of parchment paper that is larger than the silk. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the silk. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and glide the iron across the paper to fuse the silk to the batting.

5. Place the paper tracing on a lightbox or tape it to a window. Center the silk on the tracing; tape it into place if necessary. About 1˝ of fabric should extend beyond the dashed pencil lines of the tracing on each fabric edge. Trace only the interior pattern shapes with a .03 or .05 micro pen onto the silk. Keep these items in mind:

•Keep the parchment paper on the back of the silk to give it stability when drawing.

•Each line you draw must be covered up by a stitch to conceal the drawn line.

•Do not draw the dashed pencil line around the design.

•Glide the micro pen lightly across the surface of the silk. Do not hold it into place for too long or the ink will wick. Practice drawing on the exterior margins of the silk to get the pen pressure right.

12 Joyful Stitching

EMBROIDERY STITCH DIRECTIONS

Backstitch

The backstitch makes a dashed line on fabric. Vary the length of the stitch to outline shapes or stack rows of the stitch to make a bricklike texture.

In free-form embroidery, the stitch acts like a pen mark on fabric. Stitches make linear marks, open loops, hits of concentrate color, or conceal the fabric completely. Used alone, stitches may outline shapes, fill in shapes, construct repeat patterns, or build texture. When combined, embroidery stitches create lively motifs, dense texture, or recognizable shapes such as trees, leaves, or flowers.

A B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle into the fabric at B about 1/4˝ to the right of A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A B C

2. Come up at C about 1/4˝ to the right of B. Insert the needle vertically at B. Draw the thread through the fabric.

B C

3. What was point C now becomes B. Repeat Step 2.

13Embroidery Stitch Directions

Blanket Stitch

The blanket stitch creates spiky lines or adds a decorative trim to fabric shapes.

A

A

B

B

1. Come up at A. (Point A is on the background fabric if stitching a fabric shape on top.) Insert the needle tip about 1/4˝ to the right of A and up about 1/4˝ at B. (Point B is on the fabric shape if using 2 fabrics.)

A

A

B

B

C

C

2. Skim the needle under the fabric and bring the needle tip up at C about 1/4˝ up from A and 1/4˝ to the left of B. (Point C is on the background fabric if using 2 fabrics.) Trap the thread coming out of A under the needle tip. Draw the needle and thread to the left through the fabric.

B

B

C

C

A

A

3. What was point C now becomes A. Repeat.

Tip: Turning the Corner with the Blanket Stitch

Stitch up the edge of the shape and place the last blanket stitch at a 45° angle to the corner. This stitch goes into the tip of the last blanket stitch inside the shape.

Before continuing down the next side, insert the needle tip on the other side of the thread at the corner of the shape. Draw the thread through the fabric.

Bring the needle up just next to where you exited the fabric at the corner.

For the first stitch down the next edge, insert the needle tip into the same hole where the last 2 corner stitches went into the shape. Continue the blanket stitch around the shape.

14 Joyful Stitching

Bullion Knot

The bullion knot makes a bold and bulky hit of color on fabric. This coil of thread rises off the surface and is useful for flowers, bird crests, and decorative texture.

A

B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip about 1/4˝ down from A at point B. Skim the needle under the fabric and bring the needle tip up at A. Extend the needle about 3/4 –̋1˝ out of the fabric.

2. Wrap the thread around the needle about 10–12 times. Hold the wrappings in place with your right index finger placed under the needle. Do not pull the thread too tightly on the needle.

3. Grip the fabric with your left hand and hold the wraps under your left thumb. Use your right hand to pull the needle and thread all the way through the wraps.

A

B

4. Hold the thread tautly with your right hand. Remove your left thumb and tilt the bullion wraps to be near the fabric at point A.

B

5. Pull the needle and thread toward B. Place your left thumbnail on the bottom end of the wraps near B and tighten them up to B by pulling the remaining thread through the wraps.

B

6. Insert the needle at B and draw the thread to the back of the fabric. Tie off the thread to keep the bullion knot secure.


Chain Stitch

The chain stitch makes a bold line on fabric. Use it to outline shapes, draw bulky lines, or make solid shapes by packing rows of the stitch closely together.

A B

C

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip right next to A at B. Bring the needle tip up at C, 1/4˝ up from B.

AB

C

2. Trap the thread com-ing out of A under the needle tip.

3. Draw the needle and thread through the fabric creating an evenly shaped loop.

C D

C (new)

4. Insert the needle tip at D right next to C inside the thread loop. Bring the needle tip up at a new point C, 1/4˝ up from D. Trap the thread coming out of old point C under the needle. Draw the thread through the fabric.

C E

5. Repeat Step 4. To end the chain, insert the needle on the other side of the thread loop from C at point E. Draw the thread through the fabric.

16 Joyful Stitching

Couching

In couching, thick threads are secured to fabric with a smaller, easier to handle thread. Couching makes distinct bold lines, shapes, and heavy-duty texture on fabric.

B A

1. With a thick thread (such as a #3), come up at A. With a lighter-weight thread (such as an #8 or #12), come up at B about 1/4˝ from A.

BC

3. Bring the small needle up at C about 1/4˝ from B and over the thick thread. Insert the needle back into C. Draw the thread through the fabric.

4. Continue to couch down the thicker thread. To end the stitching, bring both threads to the back of the fabric and tie them off.

B

2. Place the big needle into the fabric to hold it out of the way. Bring the small needle over the thick thread and insert the needle back into B. Draw the thread through the fabric.

AB

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle at B about 1/4˝ down and 1/4˝ to the right of A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

Cross-Stitch

Spaced evenly, the cross-stitch creates a pattern of X’s across the fabric. Randomly scatter cross-stitches to build texture. Or join the stitches to make bold bands of color.

A

B

C

2. Bring the thread up at C about 1/4˝ up from B and 1/4˝ to the right of A.

A

B

C

D

3. Cross over the AB stitch and insert the needle at D about 1/4˝ down from A and 1/4˝ to the left of B. Draw the thread through the fabric to make an X.


Ermine Stitch

The ermine stitch is a concentration of straight stitches that crisscross. The volume of thread makes a star shape adding sparkly texture to fabric.

A

BC

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip at B about 1/4˝ down from A. Bring the needle up at C about 1/8˝ down and 1/8˝ to the right of A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A

B

CD

2. Insert the needle tip at D about 1/8˝ to the left and 1/8˝ up from B.

A

B

CD

E

3. Bring the needle up at E about 1/8˝ above D and 1/8˝ to the left of A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A

B

CD

E

F

4. Insert the needle at F directly below C and even with D. Draw the thread through the fabric.

Fern Stitch

This adaptation of the fern stitch makes spiny lines and textures. Stitches are worked from the top down to create plant shapes like tree branches, vines, or leaves.

A

B

1. Come up at A where you want the top of the stitch line to begin. Insert the needle at B about 1/4˝ down from A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A

B

C

2. Come up at C about 1/4˝ to the right of B and midway up between the AB line. Draw the thread through the fabric.

18 Joyful Stitching

Fly Stitch

The fly stitch is an open V-shaped stitch that builds pattern on fabric. Use them to construct tree branches or scatter them to make birds in flight.

A

B

C

D

3. Insert the needle tip at D about 1/4˝ to the left of A and midway up between the AB line. Bring the needle tip up at point B.

A

B

C

D

4. Trap the CD thread loop under the needle at B. Draw the thread through the fabric.

New A

5. What was point B now becomes A. Repeat.

A B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip at B about 1/4˝ to the right of A.

A B

C

2. Bring the needle tip up about 1/4˝ down and mid-way between A and B at point C. Trap the thread coming out of A under the needle tip at C. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A B

CD

3. Insert the needle at point D, just on the other side of the thread loop from C. Draw the thread through the fabric to make a V-shaped stitch.

4. Vary this stitch by inserting the needle at a point D 1/8 –̋1/4˝ beyond point C to make a Y-shaped stitch.

D


French Knots

The French knot sits on the surface of fabric like a bead. It adds a concentrated dot of color, builds texture, and enhances other stitches.

1. With the thread on top of the fabric, grasp the thread with your left thumb and forefinger. Hold the needle parallel to the fabric. Wind the thread clockwise around the needle 3 times.

2. Hold the wound thread in place on the needle with your right index finger. Pull the thread slightly with your left hand to tighten it up. (Don’t pull the thread too tightly.)

3. Scoot the needle tip just next to where the thread initially emerged from the fabric. Insert the needle halfway into the fabric. Continue to hold the thread in your left hand. Move your right hand to the back of the fabric and pop the needle through the fabric.

4. Slowly draw the thread through to the back of the fabric. Place your left thumb on the threads near the knot to keep them from tangling.

Herringbone Stitch

The herringbone stitch looks like stretched out X’s joined together to make a wide textural line. Vary the width or length of the stitch to make shapes or combine it with other stitches to build pattern.

A

B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip at B about 1/2˝ down and 1/2˝ to the right of A.

20 Joyful Stitching

A

B

C

2. Take a short 1/8˝ stitch up from B to point C. Keep the thread coming out of A below B. Draw the thread through the fabric. Cross the thread over the AB line.

AB

C

4. Point E now becomes a new point A. Repeat Steps 1–3.

A

B

C

D

E

3. Insert the needle tip about 1/2˝ to the left and 1/2˝ down from B at D (point D is directly below A). Take a short, 1/8˝ stitch up from D to E. Before pulling the needle through the fabric, pass the thread coming out of C over the needle. Draw the thread through the fabric.

Lazy Daisy or Detached Chain Stitch

The lazy daisy or detached chain stitch leaves a small peak of fabric showing inside its loop. A versatile stitch, it creates shapes like flowers and trees or builds texture with soft edges.

AB

C

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip right next to A at B. Bring the needle tip up 1/4˝ up from B at point C.

A B

C

2. Trap the thread coming out of A under the needle at C.

3. Draw the needle and thread through the fabric creating an evenly shaped loop.

DC

4. Insert the needle at point D just on the other side of the thread loop from C. Draw the thread through the fabric.


A BC D

2. Come up at C just above and even with A. Insert the needle at D about 1/8˝ to the right of C or half the distance to B. Draw the thread through the fabric to make a short stitch.

Long-and-Short Stitch

The long-and-short stitch is an alternative to the satin stitch and useful for filling in large areas with its interlocking structure.

A B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle into B about 1/4˝ from A. Draw the thread through the fabric to make a long stitch.

D

3. Continue making a row of stitches alternat-ing between long (1/4˝) and short (1/8˝) stitches. End on a point D or short stitch.

ED

4. Begin the next row by bringing the needle and thread up at E about 1/4˝ to the right of D (a short stitch). Insert the needle at D and draw the thread through the fabric.

5. Continue along this row making stitches that measure 1/4˝ long. Stitch only into the short stitches of the previous row. (Skip the long stitches of the previous row.) Stitches will interlock, fill in the notches between stitches, and create a new row of long-and-short stitches.

6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5. Stitch the last row of a shape with short stitches to fill in open notches along the row.

22 Joyful Stitching

Needle Weaving

Needle weaving makes a bold, woven tex-ture on fabric. Space stitches apart to create a mesh texture across the background fabric. Or place stitches closely together to conceal the fabric completely.

1. Stitch a row of vertical straight stitches about 3/4˝ long and 1/8˝ apart from left to right on the fabric. These are the warp threads.

A

2. Bring the needle and thread up at A to the right and about 1/8˝ down from the top of the last warp thread.

3. Use the blunt end of the needle and weave over and under and over and under across the warp threads. Draw the needle and thread through the warp threads. This is the weft thread.

AB

4. Insert the needle at B to the left and about 1/8˝ down from the top of the last warp thread. Draw the thread through the fabric.

AC

B

5. Bring the needle and thread up at C about 1/8˝ below point B and to the left of the last warp thread.

6. Insert the blunt end of the needle and weave across. Weave over and under the opposite warp threads from the previously woven weft thread. Use the needle to tamp down the previous weft thread. Draw the needle and thread through the warp threads.

AD

7. Insert the needle at D about 1/8˝ down from A or the previous weft thread. Draw the thread through the fabric.

8. Repeat Steps 2–7 to weave opposite the weft thread above and continue weaving to the bottom of the warp threads.


Pistil Stitch

The pistil stitch is a small ball of color with a tail that adds movement and spark to artwork. Use it for flowers, the crest on a bird, or grouped together to make texture.

1. With the thread on top of the fabric, grasp the thread with your left thumb and forefinger. Hold the needle parallel to the fabric. Wind the thread clockwise around the needle 3 times.

2. Hold the wound thread in place on the needle with your right index finger. Pull the thread slightly with your left hand to tighten it up. (Don’t pull the thread too tightly.)

3. Insert the needle tip 1/4˝ away from where the thread initially emerged from the fabric. Insert the needle halfway into the fabric. Continue to hold the thread in your left hand. Move your right hand to the back of the fabric and pop the needle through the fabric.

4. Slowly draw the thread through to the back of the fabric. Place your left thumb on the threads near the knot to keep them from tangling.

24 Joyful Stitching

Satin Stitch

The satin stitch is a set of densely packed straight stitches that conceal the background fabric. Use it to fill in spaces or create solid shapes on fabric.

Running Stitch

The running stitch makes dashed lines on fabric. Use it to outline shapes, draw lines, and build texture. Stitch rows of the running stitch in curves to create movement.

AB

1. Come up at A. Go down at B about 1/4˝ from A.

2. Skim the needle tip under the fab-ric about 1/4˝ and rock the needle up.

3. Draw the needle and thread through the fabric. Repeat.

A B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle at B about 1/2˝ from A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A

CB

2. Come up at C just above A. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A

C

B

D

3. Insert the needle at D just above B. Draw the thread through the fabric.

EC

4. Come up at E just above C. Draw the thread through the fabric.

5. Continue to stack the stitches closely together. By varying the length of the stitches in small increments, you can make compact thread shapes.


Sheaf Stitch

The sheaf stitch is a bundle of straight stitches cinched in the center with another stitch to make an hourglass shape. Use it to create sheaves of grain, flowers, or decorative motifs.

1. Make 3 parallel vertical stitches measuring about 1/4 –̋1/2˝ long and spaced about 1/16˝ apart.

A

2. Bring the needle tip up at A under the center of the middle stitch. (Do not pierce the middle stitch.) Draw the thread through the fabric.

3. Slip the blunt end of the needle under the left vertical stitch. Draw the thread under the stitch.

A

4. Insert the needle tip under the right vertical and center stitches and into the fabric at A. Draw the thread through the fabric to gather the stitches together. Tie the thread off to secure the stitch.

5. Another option for this stitch is to place the gathering stitch at the base of 3 horizontal stitches rather than in the middle. This makes a V-shaped bundle.

Scattered Seed Stitch

The scattered seed stitch is a quick texture building stitch useful for filling in large areas of a design. The goal is to not have the stitches form a repeating pattern.

1. Make straight stitches measur-ing about 1/4˝ long in any direction. Keep them in a random pattern.

2. Think of the stitch angles as an hour hand on a clock giving you 12 different stitch directions.

26 Joyful Stitching

Stem Stitch

The stem stitch neatly outlines a shape or draws lines on fabric. Stitch rows of the stem stitch closely together to fill in areas or to create solid thread shapes.

AC B

1. Come up at A. Insert the needle tip at B about 1/4˝ from A. Skim the needle under the fabric and exit about halfway back to A at C. Keep the thread coming out of A below C. Draw the thread through the fabric.

A

CB

2. What was point C now becomes A. Repeat.

Straight Stitch

The straight stitch is a stroke mark of thread made in any direction. Make the stitch long or short, cross other stitches, or space stitches evenly or at random.

1. With the thread on top of the fabric, insert the needle in any direction.

2. Draw the needle and thread through the fabric.


A TASTY BITE OF APPLEFinished size: 7˝ × 8˝

This delicious free-form embroidery begins by sketching or stitching

the outline of the pattern shapes on wool using the Wool Transfer

Method (page 9). A patchwork of stitches and stitch combinations

randomly fill in the shapes of an apple, stem, and leaf. The repetition

of stitch patterns within an outlined shape makes a stylized design

full of color and texture.

28 Joyful Stitching

Pea green

Variegated red/orange

Variegated green / gold / yellow

Variegated rainbow colors

Variegated yellow/gold

Variegated turquoise/blue

Stitching the Apple

1. Position the tracing of the apple pattern (page 59) on the wool. Place the base of the apple shape about 11/2˝ up from the bottom edge of the fabric and the left side of the apple shape about 11/4˝ in from the left-hand side of the fabric. Transfer the apple, stem, and leaf pattern shapes to the wool using the Wool Transfer Method (page 9).

2. Scatter stacked rows of the blanket stitch (page 14) inside the apple shape. By placing rows of blanket stitches right next to each other, the stitches make a set of boxes or square shapes.

3. Fill in the boxes made with blanket stitches with French knots (page 20).

MATERIALS

Boiled or felted purple wool: 7˝ × 8˝

Perle cotton #8 threads

Light blue: To outline pattern shapes

And in the following colorways (for apple, stem, leaf, background, and edging):

The threads selected for this embroidery on wool are all perle cotton #8. Personalize your design with other color combinations.

29 A Tasty Bite of Apple

4. Stitch rows and parallel swirls of the stem stitch (page 27) inside the apple shape.

5. Stitch patches of needle weaving (page 23) inside the apple shape. A rainbow variegated thread adds color surprises when weaving.

6. Fill in the rest of the apple shape with scattered seed stitches (page 26).

Apple Stem and Leaf

1. To make the apple stem, stitch vertical rows of the stem stitch right next to each other to conceal the background fabric.

2. Stitch one line of stem stitches down the center of the leaf from the leaf tip to the apple stem. Add 2 more rows of stem stitches on each side of this centerline. Begin the rows at various points along the centerline to make a tapered shape ending wider at the apple stem. Stem stitch 5 lines on each side of this centerline at an angle to make the leaf veins.

30 Joyful Stitching

4. Carefully snip and remove the running stitch used to outline the shapes. Stitch a backstitch (page 13) around the exterior of the apple, stem, and leaf shapes.

Background and Finishing the Apple1. Stitch a row of running stitches (page 25) horizontally and about 1/2˝ up from the bottom edge of the fabric. Leave about 1/2˝ on each outside edge free of stitches for finishing the edges. Add 5 more horizontal rows of running stitches spaced about 1/2˝ apart up to and around the apple shape.

3. Fill in the leaf shape with tightly packed rows of lazy daisy stitches (page 21) that fit between the leaf veins. Stitch each lazy daisy stitch next to the previous stitch and angle them out toward the edge of the leaf.

2. Fill in the space between the rows of running stitches with cross-stitches (page 17) alternat-ing with French knots to make the tablecloth. Leave about 1/2˝ on each outside edge free of stitches for finishing the edges.

3. Place rows of running stitches vertically across the fabric to make the wallpaper. Space the rows about 1/4˝ apart leaving about 1/2˝ on each outside edge free of stitches for finishing the edges.

4. Stitch each edge of the piece with a blanket stitch to make a trim finish. For display methods, refer to Display Options (page 57).

31 A Tasty Bite of Apple

A RARE SONGBIRDFinished size: 7˝ × 9˝

Begin the songbird design by sketching or stitching the bird

shapes on wool using the Wool Transfer Method (page 9). The

shapes are filled in with stitches that suggest the colorful feathers

and attractive legs of a fanciful bird. More stitchery depicts a

blazing sun, swirling air currents, tufts of grass, and a curious bug.

32 Joyful Stitching

MATERIALS

Boiled or felted blue wool: 7˝ × 9˝

Perle cotton #5 thread

Brown: To outline pattern shapes


Variegated orange/yellow: For tail, wing, legs, beak, bug, crest, sun, and edging

Variegated yellow/gold: For body and back

Variegated green / gold / yellow: For grass and back

Light blue-green: For neck, eye, tail, wing, legs, crest, and sun

Variegated purple / dark blue: For neck, back, toes, and crest


Black: For eye

Pea green: For grass

Light blue-green: For sky

The orange threads for the fanciful bird and his friend provide high contrast with the blue background fabric.

Stitching the Bird’s Body

1. Center the tracing of the bird pattern (page 59) on the wool. Place the base of the leg shapes about 2˝ up from the bottom edge of the wool and the head of the bird about 2˝ in from the left-hand side of the wool. Transfer the pattern shapes to the wool using the Wool Transfer Method (page 9).

2. Stitch around the shapes of the bird’s body, beak, wing, and tail using a stem stitch (page 27). Stitch the leg shapes with a back-stitch (page 13). Remove the running stitches around the bird shape.

3. Stitch a row of blanket stitches (page 14) in an arc across the neck to the wing to make the neckband. Make a line of backstitches next to the top of the blanket stitches and another line of backstitches across the bottom of the blanket stitches to make boxes. Fill in the boxes with French knots (page 20).

33 A Rare Songbird

4. Use the stem stitch and the black #12 thread to make a 3/8˝ circle for the outer eye. (The inside of the eye is filled in later.)

5. Stitch parallel rows of running stitches (page 25) on the bird’s head and belly. Follow the arc shape of the lower belly as a guide and make the stitches short, about 1/8˝ in length.

6. Stitch long-and-short stitches (page 22) from the belly up to the center peak of the back. Then angle the stitches down the left side of the back. Use 2 thread colors and alternate colors between the interlocking rows.

7. Fill in the divide between the left and right side of the back with French knots.

Stitching the Bird’s Tail and Wing

1. Stitch 3 rows of fern stitches (page 18) next to each other and down the length of the tail. Stitch stem stitches on both sides of the center row of fern stitches to divide the rows. Add French knots between the spikes of fern stitches.

2. Stitch 3 rows of lazy daisy stitches (page 21) across the front edge of the wing. The first row (or bottom row) follows the arc shape of the wing made by the stem-stitched outline. The next 2 rows follow that same arc shape.

3. Stitch a row of bullion knots (page 15) perpendicular to the right edge of the wing from the wing tip down to the lazy daisy stitches.

4. Stitch a row of French knots along the arc of the lazy daisy stitches on the wing. Stitch rows of the fly stitch (page 19) across the wing pointing them toward the wing tip to make feathers. Fill in the fly stitches with French knots.

34 Joyful Stitching

Stitching the Bird’s Eye, Beak, and Crest

1. Use the black #12 thread and fill in the eye circle with short straight stitches that radiate from the center of the eye. Leave a small triangle free of stitches in the top quarter of the eye.

2. Stitch a French knot inside the open quarter of the eye using a light colored thread to add a highlight.

3. Fill in the beak shape with rows of stem stitches tightly packed together.

4. Stitch 3 bullion knots across the top of the bird’s head to make the crest. Add 4 French knots next to the bases of the bullion knots. Add French knots to the tips of the 3 bullion knots.

Stitching the Bird’s Legs, the Bug, and Grass

1. Begin stitching the leg at the top. Stitch satin stitches (page 25) across the outline of the leg shape making a block (about 6 stitches) of thread. Leave an opening of 1/4˝ of fabric and repeat blocks of satin stitches all the way down the leg. Fill in the spaces between the blocks with cross-stitches (page 17). Repeat this on the other leg.

3. Stitch 5 circles measur-ing about 1/2˝ across using the stem stitch to make the bug. Stack one circle on top of the other.

2. Stitch 3 toes on the bottom of each leg with long satin stitches. Stitch straight stitches (page 27) across the toes.

35 A Rare Songbird

4. Fill in the circles with a spiral of stem stitches. Work from the outside edge of each circle into the center.

5. Stitch 2 bullion knots on the top circle to make the bug’s antennae. Add a French knot to the top of each bullion knot.

6. Stitch straight stitches in groups, pointing up or at an angle to make tufts of grass. Use both the #8 and #12 threads to fill in the bottom area of the fabric keeping 1/2˝ free of stitches on each edge for finishing the edges.

Stitching the Sun, Sky, and Edging

1. Stitch a spiral of blanket stitches (page 14) with the “teeth” facing out following the running stitches to make the sun. Keep 1/2˝ free of stitches on each edge for finishing the edges. Remove the running stitches.

2. Add a French knot inside each “tooth” of the blanket stitch. Stitch a spiral of running stitches between the blanket stitches.

3. Stitch parallel lines of the run-ning stitch across the sky to make waves and spirals. Keep 1/2˝ free of stitches on each edge for finishing the edges.

4. Stitch each edge of the piece with a blanket stitch to make a trim finish. For display methods, refer to Display Options (page 57).

36 Joyful Stitching

LOVE AT FIRST STITCHFinished size: 81/4˝ diameter

Create colorful flowerbeds on a heart shaped piece of felt and enjoy

gardening in the comfort of your own home. Lines of couching

delineate garden beds filled with unusual flowers made with a

variety of stitch combinations. This is a great gift for the friend who

loves gardening or as a colorful pillow decoration. Also see Other

Methods of Display (page 58).

37 Love at First Stitch

Only 3 pieces of felt are needed to make this heart shaped garden full of beautiful flowers.

MATERIALS

Felt

Blue: 9˝ × 9˝ for backing

Yellow: 8˝ × 8˝ for background

Turquoise: 6˝ × 6˝ for heart


Variegated gold/yellow: For couching and inside blanket stitch


Variegated light green / pink: For blanket stitches around heart

Variegated green/gold: For couching the perle cotton #3 thread

Yellow: For flowers

Orange: For flowers

Variegated yellow / blue / pink: For flowers

Pink: For herringbone stitches around edge

Aquamarine: For French knots around edge


Variegated green/gold: For leaves and stems

Stitching the Heart to the Background

1. Transfer and cut out full circles and the heart pattern shapes (pages 59 and 60) for the felt fabrics by tracing full circles from the half-circle patterns.

2. Trim 1/4˝ from the edge of the back−ing fabric using a pinking shears or a pinking blade in a rotary cutter. Set the backing fabric aside for later.

3. Center and pin the heart onto the background circle. Stitch around the heart with long running stitches (page 25) to tack it into place.

4. Stitch the heart to the circle with blanket stitches (page 14). Remove the tacking stitches.

38 Joyful Stitching

Stitching the Flowerbeds

1. Place 5 wavy rows of the #3 thread across the heart with couching (page 17) to make the ground of the flowerbeds. Use a #8 thread to couch the heavier thread.

2. In the top left flowerbed, make 5 sets of lazy daisy stitches (page 21) stitched in a circle to create flowers. Fill in the center of the flowers with French knots (page 20). Stitch stem stitches (page 27) from each flower to the ground to make the stems. Stitch lazy daisy stitches on either side of the stems to make leaves.

3. To make the flowers across the second flowerbed, stitch bundles of sheaf stitches (page 26) using 4 horizontal stitches. Stitch a bullion knot (page 15) to the top of each sheaf stitch bundle. Top each bullion knot with a French knot. Stitch a straight stitch (page 27) out from each side of the base of the bullion knot.

4. Stitch chain stitches (page 16) from each flower in Step 3 to the ground to make the stems. Stitch lazy daisy stitches on either side of the stems to make leaves.

5. Stitch stem stitches in a hook shape to make the ferns in the third flowerbed. Add short satin stitches (page 25) on either side of the stem stitches to make fern leaves. Stitch French knots between the leaves.

39 Love at First Stitch

6. Make the flowers in the fourth flowerbed using the same stitch combinations as those in Step 2. Or make up your own stitch com-binations to create new flowers.

7. Make the flowers in the fifth flowerbed using the same stitch combinations as those in Steps 3 and 4. Or make up your own stitch combinations to create new flowers.

8. Make the flowers in the bottom flowerbed using the same stitch combinations as those in Step 2. Fill the lower tip with additional lazy daisy stitches.

Finishing the Heart on Felt

1. Bring a needle with the #3 thread up at the center dip of the heart. Use the blunt end of the needle and run the needle and thread under the blanket stitches around the edge of the heart. Return the needle and thread to the back of the fabric at the same place where the thread first emerged from the fabric.

2. Center the background fabric with the heart onto the backing fabric and pin into place. Stitch a herring-bone stitch (page 20) around the edge of the inner circle to attach it to the backing fabric. Add French knots between the herringbone stitches. For display methods, refer to Display Options (page 57).

40 Joyful Stitching

FOLK ART GARDENFinished size: 81/2˝ × 101/2˝

This garden of flowers is quick and easy to make. Made with a few

swatches of felt and stitched with a perle cotton #5 thread, the flowers

have the cozy, folk art feeling of a penny rug. Adapt the design to the

size of a table runner by rearranging the pattern shapes on a larger

background fabric. Also see Other Methods of Display (page 58).

41 Folk Art Garden

The perle cotton #5 threads stitch easily through the felt and give the design dimension.

MATERIALS

Felt

Watermelon pink: 1 piece 81/2˝ × 101/2˝ for background

Olive green:

•9˝ × 11˝ for backing

•7˝ × 11/2˝ for large ground crescents

Gold felt: 3˝ × 5˝ for flower bases

Light yellow: 2˝ × 6˝ for flower tops

Turquoise: 1˝ × 3˝ for flower dots

Dark green: 1˝ × 6˝ for small ground crescents


Variegated yellow / pink / green

Turquoise

Pink

Olive green

Stitching the Ground, Flowers, and Background

1. Trim 1/4˝ off each edge of the background and backing fabrics with a pinking shears or a pinking blade in the rotary cutter. Set aside the backing fabric for later.

2. Transfer and cut out the ground and flower pattern shapes (page 61) from the felt fabrics. Refer to Felt Transfer Method (page 10). Arrange the shapes on the background fabric for spacing.

3. Remove all the elements except for the 3 flower bases and the 3 large ground crescents. Pin the flower bases and crescents to the background fabric. Stitch-tack (page 10) them into place.

42 Joyful Stitching

4. Stitch blanket stitches (page 14) around each of the ground crescents and each of the flower bases. Remove the tacking stitches.

5. Place a flower top above a flower base. Stitch the divots in the flower top to the background fabric with straight stitches (page 27). Add blanket stitches down each side of the flower top. Repeat this for each flower top.

6. Place a flower dot on a flower top. Stitch 8 straight stitches from the outside of the dot into the center of the dot. Repeat this for each flower.

7. Stitch French knots (page 20) to the top edge of a flower top and around the interior of the flower base. Repeat this for each flower.

8. Stitch pistil stitches (page 24) from the divots of a flower top onto the background fabric. Repeat this for each flower.

43 Folk Art Garden

9. Place a small ground crescent on a large ground crescent. Stitch 5 straight stitches across the small crescent. Start at the bottom center and stitch out to the edge of the crescent in a fan shape. Repeat this for each ground crescent.

10. Stitch French knots between the straight stitches on the small ground crescent and below the center straight stitch on the cres-cent. Repeat this for each ground crescent.

12. Stitch 2 lines of chain stitches (page 16) from the base of each flower to the top of the center crescent to form the stems. Use 2 different colors of thread on each stem.

11. Stitch a sheaf stitch (page 26) at the base of each flower.

13. Stitch lazy daisy stitches (page 21) and pistil stitches at the base of the stems to make grass.

14. Center the background fabric on the backing fabric and pin into place. Stitch fly stitches (page 19) around the pinked edge of the background fabric to attach it to the backing fabric. Use an elongated version of the fly stitch (page 19) to make a Y-shaped stitch. For display methods, refer to Display Options (page 57).

44 Joyful Stitching

HAND OF FORTUNEFinished size: 61/2˝ × 71/2˝

Personalize this hand shape with stitches that symbolize your past,

your present, and your destiny as a world-renowned embroiderer. In

this version made on silk fabric, we are celebrating a future full of

sunshine, flowers, and joyful journeys in stitching.

45 Hand of Fortune

Outlining and Filling in the Hand

MATERIALS

Light peach colored silk: 81/2˝ × 91/2˝

Wool batting: 61/2˝ × 71/2˝

Lightweight fusible web (such as Mistyfuse): 81/2˝ × 91/2˝

Parchment paper: 9˝ × 11˝

Tracing paper: 9˝ × 11˝

Felt: 6˝ × 7˝ for backing


In the following colorways (for stem stitches, fern stitches, chain stitches, and straight stitches):

Aquamarine

Yellow/gold

Variegated green / gold / yellow

Red


In the following colorways (for cross-stitch, ermine stitch, pistil stitch, running stitch, and French knots):

Aquamarine

Yellow/gold

Pea green

Variegated medium to dark blue

The #8 threads make bold lines and shapes in this design; the #12 threads make the finer textures and patterns.

1. Trace the pattern for the hand (page 61) and transfer the pattern shape to the silk using the Silk Transfer Method (page 11). Fuse the batting to the silk (page 12).

2. Stitch the outline of the hand with stem stitches (page 27) concealing the traced lines.

3. Stitch the fern stitch (page 18) down each finger of the hand and into the palm. Vary the length of the fern stitches and curve them to add movement.

4. Stitch curved bands of the chain stitch (page 16) on the fingers and palm to create arcs and a heart shape. Stitch straight stitches (page 27) perpendicular to the outside edges of the chain-stitched shapes.

46 Joyful Stitching

5. Fill in the chain-stitched shapes with cross-stitches (page 17). Add a second set of cross-stitches on top of the first with a different colored thread. Stitch this thread in the opposite direction of the first cross-stitches.

6. Stitch French knots (page 20) between each of the straight stitches around the chain-stitched shapes.

7. Stitch patches of ermine stitches (page 18) inside the hand shape. Add French knots between the ermine stitches.

8. Stitch pistil stitches (page 24) inside the spikes and on both sides of the centerline of the fern stitches.

9. Stitch the remaining open areas of the hand shape with swirls of run-ning stitches (page 25).

10. Fill the fabric sur-rounding the hand shape with scattered seed stitches (page 26).

Finishing the Hand

1. Fold a corner of the fabric to the back of the embroidery at a 90° angle. Iron just that corner area into place. Repeat at each corner.

2. Fold each edge of the silk fabric to the back and iron into place. Make a crisp point at each corner.

3. Place the felt for the backing on the back of the embroidery. (Trim it to size if necessary.) Stitch the felt to the back of the embroidery with a run-ning stitch. For display methods, refer to Display Options (page 57).

Detail of Step 9

47 Hand of Fortune

YELLOW HOUSE LANDSCAPEFinished size: 9˝ × 61/2˝

This free-stitched landscape on silk starts with a very simple outline

of the main elements in the design. But soon intense stitchery fills

the design shapes with texture, pattern, and fine details in thread.

48 Joyful Stitching

MATERIALS

Light yellow to pink colored silk: 11˝ × 81/2˝

Wool batting: 9˝ × 61/2˝

Lightweight fusible web (such as Mistyfuse): 11˝ × 81/2˝

Felt: 8˝ × 51/2˝ for backing

Parchment paper: 12˝ × 10˝

Tracing paper: 12˝ × 10˝


Variegated dark red / brown: For tree trunk, shoreline, path, and boat

Variegated green / gold / red / turquoise: For treetop and shrub flowers

Dark green: For small tree branches and shrubs

In the following colorways:

Variegated yellow/gold: For house, left field, boat, and rope

Aquamarine: For door, windows, roof, chimney, boat, fences, and birds

Variegated red/gold: For roof, doorknob, and path

Pea green: For shoreline flowers

Light blue: For shoreline flowers, boat, and foreground plants

Variegated green / yellow / gold / blue: For left field, grass, and foreground plants

The background fabric is a 14 mm hand-dyed silk. The variation in coloring in the treetop and grassy areas depend upon variegated perle cotton #12 threads.

Mark the Silk and Stitch the House

1. Trace the pattern for the land-scape (page 62) and transfer the pattern shapes to the silk using the Silk Transfer Method (page 11). Fuse the batting to the silk (page 12).

2. Stitch the outline of the house sides and base with the stem stitch (page 27). (Skip the area beneath the door.) Stitch the door shape with 7 vertical rows of the chain stitch (page 16). Taper the height of the rows to give the door a shaped top.

3. Add 8 windows to the house. Use straight stitches (page 27) to make the windowpanes in a plus (+) shape. Surround the plus shape with 4 straight stitches to make the windowsills.

49 Yellow House Landscape

4. Stitch inside the house shape with horizontal rows of the stem stitch up to the roofline.

5. Stitch a French knot (page 20) to the door to make a doorknob.

6. Stitch the roof shape with horizontal rows of the stem stitch. Stitch straight stitches vertically across the roof to make tiles.

Stitching the Shoreline and the Fields

7. Stitch around the outside edge of the roof shape with a chain stitch. Stitch 4 rows of the chain stitch vertically on the right side of the roof to make the chimney.

Stitching the Tree

1. Stitch the tree trunk shape with vertical rows of the stem stitch. Add a few straight stitches to make branches off the big branches.

2. Stitch lazy daisy stitches (page 21) around the branches and into the sky with a variegated thread. Place the stitches at random angles to make a treetop shape.

3. Stitch a straight stitch inside each lazy daisy stitch opening in Step 2 using the same variegated thread. Add straight stitches between the lazy daisy stitches with a dark thread to make branches.

1. Stitch along the shoreline with the backstitch (page 13). Stack rows of backstitches to make wide and narrow areas of the shore.

3. Stitch 2 rows of lazy daisy stitches vertically on each side of the path above the shoreline. Top the lazy daisy stitches with French knots to make flowers.

2. Stitch across the path shape with backstitches or stem stitches, using 2 different thread colors to make bands of color.

50 Joyful Stitching

4. Stitch the left field with rows of chain stitches. Make waving lines of the stitch and alternate the rows with different colored threads.

5. Stitch across the grassy areas with a combination of long-and-short stitches (page 22) and satin stitches (page 25), using a variegated thread. Use long-and-short stitches in open areas. Fill in small, tight areas with satin stitches.

Stitching the Boat and Plants

1. Stitch the top edges of the boat with a chain stitch. Stitch the boat bench with stem stitches. Add 2 rows of stem stitches across the bow and stern of the boat as braces.

2. Stitch rows of stem stitches across the lower interior of the boat to make the floor of the boat.

3. Stitch the top interior of the boat with stem stitches. Stitch the exte-rior of the boat with chain stitches. Connect the boat to the shore with stem stitches to make a rope.

4. Stitch a row of fern stitches (page 18) across the lower edge of the piece to make plants. Add lazy daisy stitches between the spikes of the fern stitch.

5. Stitch a straight stitch inside each lazy daisy stitch opening.

51 Yellow House Landscape

Adding Details and Finishing the Landscape

1. Stitch French knots along the horizon line on either side of the house to make shrubs. Add color-ful French knots to the top of the shrubs to make flowers.

2. Add a fence to each side of the horizon. Stitch the fence posts with the chain stitch. Connect the fence posts with stem stitches.

3. Stitch fly stitches (page 19) across the sky to make a flock of birds.

4. Add stem stitches horizontally across the water. Wave and curve the stitch lines to make ripples.

5. Fold a corner of the fabric to the back of the embroidery at a 90° angle. Iron just that corner area into place. Repeat this at each corner.

6. Fold each edge of the silk fabric to the back of the embroidery and iron into place. Make a crisp point at each corner.

7. Place the felt for the backing onto the back of the embroidery. (Trim it to size if necessary.) Stitch the felt to the back of the embroidery with a running stitch. For display methods, refer to Display Options (page 57).

52 Joyful Stitching

MORE IDEAS FOR FREE-FORM EMBROIDERY

Background FabricsBackground fabrics play an important role in your choice of stitches and thread colors for free-form embroidery. The recycled silk kimono fabric used in this embroidery has a subtle jacquard pattern woven into it that adds texture. Overdyed in blue, it provides a richly colored background for stitching.

In the lower field of this landscape piece, running stitches and French knots are widely spaced to reveal the blue fabric. In the left field, a variegated thread with colors analogous to the background color seems to recede into the blue background. While the chain stitch, in a cheery yellow thread, comes forward. A fuchsia thread is whipstitched through a set of run-ning stitches to liven up the field. That same red color provides high contrast with the background fabric when making the flowers.

Constructed on wool batting cut in a round shape, the piece is supported with a piece of Timtex (from C&T Publishing) cut to the same size as the batting. After stitching, the Timtex is placed behind the batting. Edges of the silk fabric are wrapped around the Timtex to finish the edges.

Creating LineLinear stitches lead the eye around an embroidered piece and add action and movement. Stitches such as the running stitch, stem stitch, backstitch, chain stitch, couching, and blanket stitch direct your vision and point you to different areas of the artwork to explore.

In this small landscape, parallel lines of running stitches curve and sweep across the sky. The angled lines of the tree trunk, made with stem stitches, lead you right into the swirls of color. Thick rows of crops across the right field are made with couching. Blanket stitches roll across the left field in waves. The blanket stitch has a thread whipped through the top of the stitch to give a more defined line. Even the irregular edges of this piece showcase the importance of line. The irregular edge gives this embroidery on wool an organic, unplanned look.

Embroidered Landscape #2 by Laura Wasilowski

Finished size: 51/2˝ × 51/2˝


Finished size: 9˝ diameter

53More Ideas for Free-Form Embroidery

Creating ShapesThink of the needle and thread as your drawing tools for sketching on the surface of fabric. Like a pencil on paper, embroidery stitches draw the enclosed shapes needed to create your designs. Shapes are outlined on the fabric with linear stitches such as the running stitch, stem stitch, backstitch, chain stitch, couching, or blanket stitches. After the shapes are defined, other stitches fill in the interior with texture and detail.

To make the trees in this embroidery on silk, a line is stitched around the treetop shape with the blanket stitch facing out. Fern stitches and French knots fill in the treetop suggesting branches and flowers. Each field is made up of its own set of stitch combinations to create boundaries between crops. Distinct leafy shapes in the foreground are made with fern stitches and lazy daisy stitches. The fluffy cloud shapes are made with blanket stitches looping in arcs across the sky.

Creating TextureThe embroidery stitch inherently makes texture. The thread sits above the fabric and invites you to touch or feel the surface. This same stitch you want to touch also creates texture on your embroidery piece. Stitches can indicate the roughness or smoothness of the shapes you are making.

Scattered seed stitches evoke the spiky texture of a cactus in this desert landscape. Horizontal waves of stem stitches make the flowing texture of a dazzling sky. By repeating the satin stitch at different angles, the distant mountains appear as fractured facets of stone. Straight stitches randomly fill in the mid-ground suggesting rough territory. And patches of loosely made needle weaving in the foreground replicate the coarse texture of desert dirt.


Finished size: 9˝ × 8˝

Cactus #1 by Laura Wasilowski

Finished size: 81/2˝ × 61/2˝

54 Joyful Stitching

Variations on a StitchLike the brushstroke of a painter, the embroidery stitch delights the eye and helps define shapes. In this embroidery on wool, one stitch—the lazy daisy—is used in three different ways to make the design and help define what you are seeing. It is used to create sketchy lines, open loops, and compressed intense color.

The bird sits on a nest of lazy daisy stitches that are loosely made and look like quick sketch marks. The open loops of lazy daisy stitches, lined up in a fan shape across the bird’s tail, reveal the fabric beneath to create the illusion of tail feathers. Packed together, this same stitch produces an intense show of color for feathers on the bird’s wing cap.

Creating Stitch Motifs and PatternSimple shapes, such as this pear, create a space for experimenting with stitch motifs and pattern building. All you need to get started is a basic outline to fill with a glorious riot of free-form stitches. Invent new stitch combinations and play.

Inside the confines of this pear shape, you’ll find a patchwork of stitches: needle weaving, stem stitches, lazy daisy stitches, satin stitches, and blanket stitches filled in with French knots. In contrast, the tablecloth is made with an orderly repeat of a stitch motif. By combining the cross-stitch with the French knot, a pattern emerges to calm down the crazy energy of stitches that make up the pear.

Red Belly Bird by Laura Wasilowski

Finished size: 61/2˝ diameterEmbroidered Pear by Laura Wasilowski

Finished size: 5˝ × 61/2˝

55More Ideas for Free-Form Embroidery

Inventing Stitch CombinationsInventing new stitch combinations is part of free-form embroidery. By combining the basic stitches found in the Embroidery Stitch Directions (page 13) you can create your own little world full of pattern, texture, and shape.

As with the flowers and plants in this garden on silk, it takes a variety of stitch combinations to create the shapes. Lazy daisy stitches, left open or filled with a straight stitch, form flower heads enhanced with French knots. Tiny blooms of French knots and bullion knots attach themselves to stem-stitched stalks. Combine stem stitches with satin stitches and ferns curl up next to leafy plants made with lazy daisy stitches. Fly stitches, placed tip to tip in a circle and filled with French knots, make starlike flowers.

Sources of InspirationsAs with any other art form, free-form embroidery designs can range from abstract to representational. Look for everyday objects, exciting geometric patterns, or portraiture to trigger your next design idea. This simple landscape was inspired by the piney islands near Sitka, Alaska, and a hand-dyed silk that suggested the dramatic evening sky and water of that region.

The pine trees are made with closely stitched rows of the stem stitch for the trunks and small lazy daisy stitches for the leaves. The lush grasses for the island foliage are straight stitches using a fine, variegated, perle cotton #12 thread. A light blue perle cotton #8 thread and the stem stitch make the rocky banks of the islands.

Garden of Flowers by Laura Wasilowski

Finished size: 9˝ × 6˝

Pine Trees by Laura Wasilowski

Finished size: 81/2˝ × 6˝

56 Joyful Stitching

DISPLAY OPTIONS

Now that you’ve enjoyed the pleasure of making free-form em-broideries, it’s time to share them. Display your artwork on the wall, as a pillow topper, a decoration for a favorite purse or scarf, a table runner, or as a small sewing kit for your next stitching adventure.

Wall ArtDisplaying your artwork on the wall requires a hanging device. Here are a few methods for hang-ing your work:

•Stitch a simple hanging loop of thread across the back of the embroidery. Measure down about 1˝ from the top of the piece and center the loop across the back.

•Use an acid-free mat and pierce 2 holes in the mat that match each corner of the embroidery. Stitch through the holes into the back of the embroidery at each corner. Display the embroidery in a shadow-box frame that is deep enough so the glass does not touch the artwork.

•Drill 2 holes in 1/4˝ Plexiglas at each corner that match the embroidery. Drill 4 holes (2 on each side) one-third of the way down from the top of the Plexiglas for a hanging wire. Attach the hanging wire. Center the piece on the Plexiglas and stitch through the holes into the back of the embroidery at each corner.

57Display Options

Other Methods of DisplayYou can also display your free-form embroideries in ways other than wall art. Sew embroidered pieces onto a pillow topper and display it proudly in your home. Rearrange the pattern shapes used in A Folk Art Garden (page 41) and make a long table runner for a special occasion. Stitch free-form embroidery to a cloth purse to add pizzazz. Add a few decorative stitches to a matching wool scarf for embellishment. Or make your own etui (little traveling sewing kit) from felt and embroider it with our favorite designs.

58 Joyful Stitching

PATTERNS

A Tasty Bite of Apple

A Rare Songbird

Love at First Stitch

Heart

Enlarge 200%.

Patterns 59

Use a ruler to measure these inch marks to verify that

printout is correctly sized.

1˝

Love at First Stitch

Background

Backing

Joyful Stitching60

Use a ruler to measure these inch marks to verify that

printout is correctly sized.

1˝

Flower BaseCut 3.

Flower TopCut 3.

FlowerDot

Cut 3.

Folk Art Garden

Small Ground Crescent

Cut 3.

Large Ground Crescent

Cut 3.

Hand of Fortune

61

1”

Yello

w H

ouse

Lan

dsca

pe

Joyful Stitching62

1”

Yello

w H

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Lan

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Follow Laura on:

Website: artfabrik.com

Instagram: @laurawasilowski

Facebook: /artfabrik

Pinterest: /laurawasilowskiPh

oto

by B

onni

e M

cCaf

frey

Laura Wasilowski is a textile artist and creator of hand-dyed fabrics and threads. Her pictorial art quilts and free-form embroideries are collected and exhibited internationally.

Laura’s narrative quilts are inspired by stories of family, friends, and home. Her whimsical wall pieces, created from fused fabrics, are hand-embroidered or machine quilted. Her free-form embroideries are inspired by everyday objects, landscapes, and the urge to do handwork at every opportunity.

She has an undergraduate degree in Costuming from the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota; and a master of arts in Fiber from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois.

Owner of the dye shop Artfabrik, Laura is also a lecturer, instructor, and pattern designer. She lives in Elgin, Illinois, with her adoring husband and a large garden full of mosquitoes.

Also by Laura Wasilowski:

63About the Author

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CRAFTS/Needlework

STITCH PLAYFUL PROJECTS Begin with simple shapes and fill them with improvisational stitchery

Change up the provided designs, swapping out colors and trying new stitch combinations, to create your own unique work

From popular, best-selling author and teacher Laura

Wasilowski

Laura Wasilow

ski

Joyful Stitching: Transform Fabric with Improvisational Embroidery

Documents

Transcript of Joyful Stitching: Transform Fabric with Improvisational Embroidery