Crafterateur

Day two of my craft vacation was spent at the Creative Live studios learning about embroidery. (See day one here). Look at all these lovely samples our instructor Lisa brought to share.

Similar to the cross stitch course, we first learned about materials to use and some great resources to reference. We learned nine embroidery stitches: backstitch, straight stitch, bundle stitch, spoke stitch, satin stitch, French knot, chain stitch, lazy daisy, and feather stitch. My favorites were the bundle stitch (they look like little sticks being held together with ribbon) and the French knot (who doesn’t love these?!), but really, you can do so much with all of these stitches. Here are my hoop samplers that I created in class: 

And here is my neighbor/classmate/new friend’s hoop sampler in progress. I love all the colors she chose and her matching illustrations. (See more of her work here.)

During the second half of the day, we learned how to work with saral paper (carbon paper for fabric transfers) and how to stretch fabric onto a wood frame (my first time!).

We worked on monogrammed pieces. I made this one for my fiance, who’s birthday happens to be today, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRONMANALAC. This is part of your birthday gift! *;’:.”` (<– confetti)

I love the freeness of embroidery; it’s like you’re painting or drawing but with a needle and yarn. Something about embroidery was a bit more relaxing for me (versus cross stitch). You can learn all about embroidery online here and learn to make and customize your monogram embroidery art here.

Now, what to make next…. Do you dabble in the embroidery arts? What kinds of designs do you like creating? Share below!