Pam of Pamela Kellogg’s Kitty & Me Designs shares her secrets for hand-dyeing silk ribbon. The materials she uses (except for the silk ribbon itself) are inexpensive and widely available. You can have every color you’ve imagined for your silk-ribbon … Read More ...
Tutorial: Cross-stitch basics
Anna of Mochimochi Land blog is documenting the basics of cross-stitch. If you’ve been wanting to try your hand at this style of embroidery, you’ll enjoy her clear instructions and plentiful photos. Go to Anna’s blog post.… Read More ...
SharonB is such a tease
SharonB is sharing this “teaser” for the next set of worksheets she’s putting together. She says,
… Read More ...This is one of the examples I am using for whipped spoke stitch…Worksheets are designed by me to build into a hand embroiderer’s resource
Tutorial: Brazilian hydrangea
Kathy Shaw (Shawkl) demos a tricky but gorgeous Brazilian embroidery stitch. This hydrangea flower uses boucle thread, which gives it extra texture. See the tute.… Read More ...
Martha cross-stitches
For the March issue of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine, her crafty minions (known as The Crafts Dept.) forayed into cross-stitch. The upshot: a rockin tutorial for beginners, free patterns for some charming silhouette images and simple alphabets, and ideas … Read More ...
The importance of stitch direction
Does it matter whether you stitch right-to-left or left-to-right? Mary Corbet says it does. Find out why from her Needle ‘n’ Thread blog post.… Read More ...
Stitchy tutes
The web is full of tutorials for basic and fancy embroidery stitches. If you’re new to embroidery or could use a refresher, check these out:
(1) Woven picots from Sarah Whittle
(2) Coral stitch from Carina’s Craftblog
(3) Crown stitch … Read More ...
Needles for newbies
If you’re new to needlework, you may not yet realize that needles are not created equal. Betsy of She Twinkles gives a quick rundown of the most-used types of needles. See her post.… Read More ...
How to turn a couched corner
Jeanne of Just String has a great trick up her sleeve. She says,
… Read More ...When stitching a couched border such as this, you may face a dilemma because the couched thread ends in a hole at the corner and then has
Tutorial: Lacing needlework
Susan Elliott–with her typical patience, clarity, and excellent photos–shows us how to lace finished needlework onto a backing. She says, “The goal of lacing is to have a stretched piece of needlework with even tension, without bumps and bulges.” … Read More ...
Make a hanging tuck
Debra of All About ME follows up her pillow-tuck tutorials with lessons for creating hanging tucks — fabric frames for displaying needlework. Go to her blog post for the links.… Read More ...
Tutorial: Open cretan stitch
Kim of bigB teaches us how to do open cretan stitch. See the tute.… Read More ...
Tutorial: Nat’s wonky cross-stitch
Nicole talked Nat of the smallest forest into sharing her technique for creating this beautiful fill stitch! See the tute on feeling stitchy.… Read More ...
Tutorial: Padded satin stitch
Mary Corbet of Needle ‘n’ Thread demos padded satin stitch in crewel wool. See the tute.… Read More ...
Why embroider on felt?
Gerry Krueger of Older Rose explains how she adds dimension to her embroidered works by creating applique motifs on felt. Brilliant. See her post.… Read More ...