Propping these naive embroideries on a table like decorative objects makes them work in a sophisticated interior setting better than if they were hung on the wall.
Is there an embroiderer who is not inspired by the countryside? Trees, flowers, animals, the patchwork patterns of fields and hedges—all lend themselves to embroidery. Roadside banks fringed with a mix of grass, Queen Anne’s lace, poppies, cornflowers, and ox-eye daisies, the dip of a field outlined by post-and-rail fencing and little rows of trees breaking the line of a hillside—all of these cry out to be captured with the needle.
I once asked an artist where she found her inspiration and she told me it was simply a matter of keeping your eyes open. Nature is the richest source of inspiration, from the deceptive simplicity of the daisy to the intricacies of Queen Anne’s lace or an allium gone to seed. Even if you do not plan to embroider a particular item, always bring home any interesting stems or seed heads you spot and keep them in a vase. It is also a good idea to keep a little notebook with you to jot down ideas or sketches. Gradually you will build up layers of inspiration so that when you pick up your needle everything will flow more easily.
Inspiration from wild flowers
Gather drying flower heads in the fall so that you can study the underlying structure. I bought the vintage panel worked in wool (below) because of its beautifully embroidered Queen Anne’s lace.
The frame suggests the embroidery. For this black-and-gilt frame, which was given to me to fill as a commission, I felt the formality of a standard daisy bush was appropriate. I lightly penciled the size of the circle but filled it without using tracings. The daisies are worked in three strands, but occasionally I have doubled back to make the petals thicker. If you would like to embroider your own daisy basket, see instructions.
The gerbera lends itself to representation in stitches with its long petals in a collar around a lovely inflorescence.
Daisies are such cheerful flowers, reminiscent of summery days spent in fields making daisy chains. I have always loved them and almost the first thing I tried to embroider was a daisy. It is thought of as such a simple little flower and yet when you look closely at the layers of tiny petals joined to the central disk you appreciate that the structure is quite complicated. To begin with I embroidered them like sunflowers, or as a yellow face surrounded by straight white “lazy daisy” petals in a circle. Then one rainy day in Nice I came across an early study of marguerites by Matisse and noticed how he had captured all the different angles of the petals and the way that sometimes, when you look straight at a daisy, you only see the flat of the central disc and one or two petals sticking up at different angles. I began looking at daisies differently after I saw this painting, and I have tried ever since to make each daisy unique looking. Now I stitch the petals using long and short stitches built up in layers, which gives a more precise effect than simply using multistranded thread. For the centers, I sometimes use tiny stitches very close together, which more closely imitates the real structure of the flowers, or satin stitches pierced with a few tiny stab stitches.
Years ago at an antiques market I found an old basket with a slanted base that tilted slightly to one side. I took it home and filled it with a bunch of Michaelmas daisies and since then whenever I embroider a basket I have an image of it in my head. Have a look at the picture of the little pot of daisies and you will see how they tilt at different angles. The larger the variety of flowers you include, the more movement your embroidery will contain. The embroidered daisy standard bush is similar to this pot of flowers, but it has even more daisies.
Materials
A frame—For me, the frame suggests the piece and certainly the base fabric.
Base fabric—Something fine in weave but still firm and not too textured. Also not too white so the daisies stand out.
Lining fabric
Threads
Bonding web
Muslin cloth
For the template for the embroidery
Stitches used:
Method
1 First lay your frame wrong side up on the fabric with the glass out and mark where the corners are. Never work too close to the edge of the frame or your picture will look squashed in. Even in a small frame you want to have some space around your work. Decide where your ground level is and start to work the basket. First sew two lines of short running stitches as a guide for the top and bottom of your basket.
2 Using a single thread create the long vertical stitches to form the base of the basket. Keep the stitches close together and flat. Because they are long they may feel a little loose—don’t worry about this. Create the flared base of the basket in the same away only using shorter stitches and have them on a slant.
3 Starting at the top, weave your needle and single thread in and out of each vertical stitch to the other side and then back. Repeat all the way to the base. It does not matter if you catch more than one thread occasionally as long as you create the woven effect. You will find that there is a slight pulling in at the sides of the basket—this is good as it makes the basket resemble a vase.
4 To create the lips that form the base of the basket and also its top edge, simply make three raised lines using a rollover stitch with double thread.
5 When you are happy with your basket, mark a single dot with a pencil wherever you want to have a daisy, and then begin to embroider the daisies. Start with the petals in straight stitch and fill in the centers later. Make sure you have at least one that falls over the front edge of the basket as in the picture. I worked these daisies in two strands and went over each petal twice. I prefer this technique to using four strands at once.
6 The centers of the daisies can be worked either in satin stitch or, as I have done here, knot stitch. When you are working the centers you can take the thread from one to the next, but always do a little back stitch on the wrong side of the one you are finishing and as you start the next. If you do this you will be able to snip the thread in between each flower. It might otherwise show through when you put everything together for framing.
7 When you have finished the daisies, add the little dots of green to balance everything out. I like to add flecks to suggest birds or insects above my embroideries because I think it adds movement or life to them, but this is optional.
8 Iron your embroidery through a muslin cloth. Trim any ends on the back so they do not show through. Cut a piece of bonding web the same size as the finished work. Fuse it to the back of the embroidery by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Peel off the backing paper and lay the embroidery onto a lining fabric. Fuse the two pieces together with an iron. Press the front and trim to the exact size for your frame. The glass is the best template for this.
Sheep are great fun to embroider. Try sketching a few sheep to help you get started—the important thing to capture is the round wooliness of them and the way their ears stand apart from their faces at right angles. They are very forgiving subjects because the wool disguises their actual shape (unlike cows which are really hard to draw). When sheep are out in the fields at their most wooly, take some pictures so you can record how they gather together in little groups, some sitting, some standing, with the faces turned at different angles.
Materials
A wooden block—This one was made of oak and was a 6-inch cube sawn in half diagonally. Oak is nice and heavy. You could have two cubes of wood if you prefer, and adapt the design for a square shape by putting the tree in the center.
Fabric to cover the bookends—I used antique French ticking in neutral colors as a contrast to the front.
Very light wadding
A staple gun
Threads
For the template for the embroidery
Stitches used:
Method
1 Prepare the block by stapling the wadding to it as neatly as possible.
2 Cut pieces of fabric for the face you plan to embroider and its opposite face, allowing ½ inch extra all round. Staple the plain piece to the block though the wadding on the overlapping fabric, but not too close to the edge.
3 Fold the panel you are going to embroider over the block so you can mark the area of the embroidery. Do not embroider within ¼ inch of this fold to allow yourself a bit of leeway when fixing the panel to the block. Using the template lightly trace the fence onto the panel and stitch, followed by the tree. The fence is worked in single thread and you can use either stem, split, or straight stitches. Use a different brown for the fence than the one you use on the tree.
4 Now work the tree. I always start with the trunk, working a single thread in long and short stitches to give the effect of the bark. Flare the trunk out at the bottom, imagining as you do so the way that tree roots spread out and make the ground beneath them bumpy. Build the tree trunk and branches upward with satin stitch and knot stitch using single thread, and then use rollover stitch to create a few ridges in the bark. Add the leaves using stem stitch.
5 For the sheep I use four strands and make tiny stitches next to each other, but do not pull the thread tight to the fabric. You could use knot stitch, but I like using these loopy stitches as they feel a bit woolier. When you are happy with the body of the sheep, add their black faces, ears, feet, and tails.
6 Add blades of grass going across the legs of the sheep and the fence posts and some behind. Lastly, if you choose, add the little bird on the fence post.
7 Iron your embroidery. Staple it to the padded block. Cut a piece of fabric that will stretch around the long diagonal side and bottom of the block, allowing enough for a ½ inch turn under on all edges. Slip stitch the fabric to the block, starting with the embroidered panel diagonal edge and continuing around, joining the two ends underneath the block as in the picture on the left. Alternatively, take the block, fabric, and embroidery to an upholsterer and ask him or her to do it for you!
These tiny embroidered hearts filled with lavender make charming decorative additions to keys, whether for a special box or the linen closet. You could personalize the heart with initials or a date, perhaps for keeping as sentimental family mementos.
This book is full of ideas for little motifs you could use. For instance, if you store your wine or china in a particular cabinet with a key, you could use the images from the pantry shelf edge project, or tie hearts with names onto baskets for shoes in the entryway.
Materials
Linen or other base cloth. Avoid anything too bulky or inflexible as the hearts are very small and therefore fiddly to turn out. You can use a contrasting cloth for the reverse if you prefer.
Fine string
Dried lavender
Threads for your chosen design
For the templates for the heart and embroidery
Stitches used:
The combination of stitches depends on your chosen design
Method
1 Choose your base cloth then make a template. A template made from stiff, clear plastic would be useful for this project, to help you make sure the embroidery fits into the heart. Embroider your design. Use the clear template to keep checking that the design will fit and avoid working too close to the edge.
2 Now use the clear template to ensure the design is centered correctly (place it over the reverse of your work) and draw around the template. Cut a second heart shape for the back. Pin the pieces, right sides together.
3 Stitch from position A to B on the template diagram. Try to follow the curved lines at the top of the heart slowly and precisely.
4 Clip the seams to the V of the heart and around the curves. Do not trim the heart—the seam allowance, as long as it is not too bulky, will actually help create the shape of the heart. Turn out, and fill with lavender. Slip stitch the opening closed.
5 Take a piece of fine string and sew the midpoint of the string in to the V of the heart. Pull the two halves of the string together and tie a loose knot which you pull tight to the V of the heart, leaving the two ends free to tie onto your key.
When you finish the appliqué for a boat it might look a little static. Add life and movement with a running stitch for the sea and the little birds flocking around the mast or swooping down near the deck. Add quilting through the sails and gradually the picture will come to life.
I grew up by the sea, although not the seaside brought to mind by these pictures but the African Atlantic, with beaches of volcanic red sand and rocks coated in smooth black lava. The waves were huge and dangerous and there was no safety in messing about in boats. And yet it has left me with a love of the sea and of boats, whose brightly painted hulls, varnished decks, rigging, and sails offer an endless source of inspiration.
As with all embroidery, you have a better chance of bringing life into your work if you either have, or acquire, a little familiarity with the subject of your embroidery. I have seen boats embroidered with the mast flag flying into the wind! In the little diagram you can see the basic parts of a sailing boat. I confess that it is only in writing this book that I have done a little research, rather than relying on vague childhood memories, and so please do not, as I have done in the boat on the lampshade following, attach your mainsail to your tiller!
This lampshade and picture were made for a customer with a holiday home by the sea. The boat lampshade suits the lamp base made from an antique spinning bobbin. The trim for the shade is an antique French ticking piped with a vintage ready-made piping in bright red.
I used vintage fabrics for this picture, but you could use old shirts or dish towels. My husband has a favorite stripey linen shirt which has now moved to the gardening clothes basket and I am longing for it to fall apart so I can get my hands on the fabric. If you have a nice blue-striped fabric you could use that on one end of the picture: it would make the whole composition a little more interesting. I have included a little seaside patchwork, which you can ignore if you choose. Conversely you could make the whole picture a patchwork and include the larger boat. These boat pictures look charming when displayed in a group. One customer commissioned one for each of her children, with their names on the hulls and their dates of birth on the sails.
Materials
A frame of your choice
A selection of striped and plain fabrics
Threads—If you use strong plain colors for the boat parts—such as the red for the hull of this boat—change the thread in your machine to match.
Bonding web
For the templates for the embroidery
Stitches used:
1 Hull 2 Mainsail 3 Jib 4 Mast 5 Boom 6 Bowsprit
Method
1 Cut your base fabric and lay the frame upside down on top of it. Mark the corners of the frame lightly on the base fabric. Your finished work must not stray outside this line.
2 Arrange the fabrics for the little patchwork and pin, baste, and machine stitch them together. You can copy the layout for this project by referring to the detail opposite, but remember to leave enough around the top, left, and bottom edges of the patchwork to fit into the groove at the back of the frame (the rabbet). When you have stitched the patchwork, press the seams open and quilt along the seams with running stitch. Embroider the little gull, starfish, and anchor and any other seaside detail you wish to add (you could use some of the ideas from the nautical laundry bag).
3 Apply bonding web to the back of the patchwork. Position the patchwork on the base fabric so that the top left corner of the part of the patchwork that will be visible is over the spot you marked in the top left corner in step 1. Iron the reverse of the base fabric to fuse the patchwork to it. Use a machine appliqué stitch to cover the seam of the patchwork and the base fabric.
4 Decide on the fabrics for your boat parts and fuse these to the bonding web with an iron. Trace the templates for the hull and two sails and transfer these to the paper side of the bonded fabric. Remember to draw the hull and sail going in the opposite direction to that which you want on the picture.
5 Peel off the bonding backing and use tweezers to arrange the boat. When you are satisfied with the arrangement press with an iron. Using a fine machine appliqué stitch, stitch the boat shapes to the base cloth.
6 Embroider the detail. It might be helpful here to refer to the diagram of the boat (previous). In general I think embroidery is more successful if you conjure the thing you are embroidering in your head as you work—both how it looks and how it feels. So if you think about the mast being a pole, it will make sense to work it by doing two rows of very close double thread split stitch and then going over both rows with rollover stitch.
If you imagine how the rigging might attach the mainsail to the boom you can slip the stitch from the sail under the boom embroidery without going through the base cloth, almost as though it really is tied on rather than sewn on. Sometimes I run a curvy wave of very short machine stitches over the sail to give a feeling of movement from the wind. You could also use running stitch on the sails. If you decide where the rigging is going to be fixed to the mast and again to the hull or boom, you can run a single long stitch between which will give a feeling of tension, which is what you get with real rigging.
7 When you are satisfied with the embroidery, neaten the ends. If you’d like, you can then add little birds to give the piece some movement. However, you must finish each one and neaten them off individually and not carry the thread across because this will show through the fabric.
8 Apply bonding web to the whole of the back of the piece. Peel off and fuse the piece to a piece of lining material. This will make the piece nice and firm for framing and also hide the back of your work.
9 If you are framing the piece yourself work out exactly where to cut the piece down so that it fits neatly into the rabbet at the back of the frame. Clean the glass and place the work face down onto the glass. Then fit the back of the frame, and tape all around the edges. You could use paper tape for this.
Machine stitching around corners
The trick is to go around curves and corners very slowly and always to lift the foot while the needle is still in the cloth, maneuvering the fabric very slightly with each turn. Personally I prefer always to stitch around a shape clockwise and to think of the stitching coming off the base cloth and catching the edge of the fabric, rather than the other way around. I think this results in a finer stitch.
The embroidery in this project is extremely simple. The construction of the bag less so; you will need a sewing machine for it. I have a weakness for anything with a nautical look, and the antique French linens and mattress tickings in soft blue and sandy colors suggest the idea of running stitch waves and sand-castles, seagulls, and little boats. If you’d like, you could also add a favorite line of text about the sea to this. The bag would make a great present for teenagers about to go off to college—they can bring their washing home in it at the end of term.
Materials
A selection of fabrics with which to make a piece of patchwork with a finished size of 32 inches (length of the bag) x 39 inches (circumference of the bag) plus a seam allowance all around of 1/2 inch. You can of course scale this project down to a much smaller bag.
Plain outer fabric for the bottom of the bag and the band around the top edge of the bag, into which eyelets will be inserted and the cord threaded through. This should be strong fabric but not too thick and cumbersome.
Lining fabric
Threads
Cord for the drawstring
Eyelets and eyelet maker for the drawstring holes
For the templates for the embroidery
Stitches used:
Method
1 First, assemble your pieces of fabric for the patchwork outer layer of the bag. Remember that the pieces at the top of the bag will be drawn together so save the best pieces for what will be the middle and bottom of the bag. Pin, baste, and machine stitch the pieces together until you have a piece of the right size, with a seam allowance all around of 3/8 inch.
2 Decide which sections you are going to embellish with embroidery and how. Sometimes it is a good idea to do one square and then see what that suggests for the next. I use running stitch waves as a connecting thread between the various squares. When you have finished embroidering the panel put the long sides together with right sides together and stitch a seam.
3 Cut a piece of lining fabric the same size as the patchwork and stitch the long sides together with right sides together.
4 Cut outer and lining circles for the bottom of the bag. With right sides together, pin the bottom circle of the bag to the bottom of the patchwork tube so that the pins are spaced at regular intervals and at right angles to the edge. Baste, then machine stitch, feeding the fabric carefully and slowly through the machine as you guide it around the curved edge.
5 Repeat step 4 with the lining tube and circular base, then cut a strip of the plain outer fabric twice the width of the band to go around the top of the bag and stitch the long seam at the side to make a tube.
6 Turn the lining and place it in the bag so that the raw edges are hidden. Baste the lining and the outer part of the patchwork to hold them in place.
7 With right sides together baste and machine stitch the bottom edge of the top band to the top of the bag between the outer fabric and the lining. Turn under the top of the lining and pin in place to cover the seam, thereby joining the top band to the bag.
8 Top stitch around the bag just above the seam between the top of the bag and the band, catching all layers in the line of stitching. Top stitch around the top of the band, about 1/4 inch from the top edge.
9 Following the manufacturer’s instructions punch eyelet holes at regular intervals around the center of the band for the eyelets. Thread the cord through the eyelets and either tie knots at each end of the cord or tie the ends together.
