A Rainbow Heart  For all those that need a little love right now and need something to do. This is an easy project and you can make it as large or as small as you would like.  Make something for your hero in these difficult times.  Bring a smile to someone. Hi Everyone, I have been inspired this month by all the key workers across the world who have been helping all the sick and vulnerable with Covid 19. The NHS rainbows that I have seen on peoples windows are a wonderful way to say thank you. So using this as my influence I embroidered a rainbow heart. The idea  is for y ..read more

How to Make an Embroidered Beetle   I have tried to design a beetle that you can easily make. The key to this is to buy the real beetle wings and match them well. All measurements are driven from the length of the wings you have. You can purchase all the goldwork products from golden hinde https://golden-hinde.co.uk/shop Create the body by using some carpet padding.I actually used some padding that was wrapped around some food that was delivered to my house. You never know where you might find something to use for your embroidery. the padding needs to be the length of the wing. The sh ..read more

Love embroidery and find your inner peace If you are interested in knowing how and why you should embroider please read. For me embroidery is about connecting and finding inner peace. It is like a form of meditation. If I can help just one person achieve what I feel i would be so happy. When I embroider I loose myself into a peace of mind that is wonderfully calming. Embroidery is not about perfection but about expressing yourself however you feel. I love designing all my own work, but sometimes if you don't feel up to the challenge then pick up a printed piece of cloth and just stitch. T ..read more

A simple flower to embroider that can be used for a card or to decorate your favorite top Using french knots,beads and straight stitches   This is a simple project that every level of embroiderer should be able to make. Start with a simple drawing. This does not have to be complicated, using lines and circles to create a diagram to work from.Think about stitches like straight, french knots and seeding. Look at threads, colours and items that can create texture like beads. Cut out a piece of tracing paper the size that you would like to make your flower head. I used a stra ..read more

Flowers always bring a smile so make some that will always there for you. The petals of this flower have wire embroidered into the edges making them mailable and give the piece more interest and depth to the work.The next few pictures will show you how to achieve a 3D flower for your embroidery projects. I hope this blog will help you understand the basic principal if you have any queries please contact me for help. Materials and tools required for the project Bead wire 3mm bead wire or a 30 gauge floral wire. DMC memory wire for the central stamens. Some plain fabric to embroider the 3 ..read more

A guide on how to understand filling stitches for embroidery Trellis and honeycombe There are numerous patterns and designs you can make in embroidery for filling stitches but its really important to create a good framework. This blog is for those who want to understand technically how to create the base of the design Its a really good idea to practise in 4cm squares. Use Appleton wool 2 ply or three stranded cotton floss. Equipment Any good quality embroidery fabric would be good. I used a linen twill in the samples shown here and 2ply Appleton wool. Apart from the obvious like a good ..read more

A visual guide on how to decide how you should fill an embroidery shape with a filling stitch. Filling stitches in embroidery can vary greatly. In this blog I would like to help you design your own. The key to a professional finish is to get the 'structure' set up correctly. Some people are happy to lay the trellis stitches by eye but if you need some help this article is for you. I will be showing to create trellis couched stitch and honeycomb filling stitch. Most filling stiches will need to fit into a shape.Its advisable to plan the direction you would like to follow by carrying out a ..read more

A quick picture of trees that you can make as a present Using free motion machine embroidery This piece is created by layering up fabrics and paints and finally machine stitching to create depth and texture. Materials and Equipment Needed Birch tree stencil from Thecraftersworkshop.com A silicone mat Lutradur 30 fabric White puff paint and paintbrush Heatgun Paintbrush Polyester felt Tyvek fabric 43g Bondaweb An flat iron Greaseproof paper A sewing machine black bobbin fill in the bobbin and Metallic Madeira thread no 40 colour 442 on the top. A piece of light grey polyester organza ..read more

How to Mount your work  It is so important to mount embroidery work correctly. It can make a vast difference to how the embroidery can look and after putting so much effort into creating a work of art its a shame not to put that last bit of energy in. Trust me it can make all the difference. If you mount it correctly it will last a lifetime. You can use a commercially bought frame but make sure its a box frame as you don’t want your embroidery to touch the glass. When you use a box frame you need to make sure that you have enough depth for your foam board, wadding and your piece of ..read more

Bringing life to a flat print with embroidery A fell in love with an antique piece of cloth in a craft fair and had it printed onto linen. I knew immediately it would make a great piece to embroider. Its wonderful to see a flat print come alive with embroidery stitches. You can feel free to embroider as little or as much as you like. Its great to use stitches like stem, chain and running to outline and then satin to fill in. Feather stitch to create flow with fly stitch to add texture and not forgetting everyone's favourite french knots ..read more