Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 52 i Love Embroidery

love Embroidery FRESH IDEAS WITH THREAD From stripy tees to dungarees, it really couldn’t be easier to update your wardrobe with sweet spring motifs. Just take afew simple stitches and some leftover threads from your stash, and you can stitch gorgeous designs like this pretty little posy by Louise Newton... this weekend! Floral designs are agreat way to add some personality to your garments without breaking the bank, and they’re alot of fun to sew, too. You’ll find our step-by-step tutorial on p30 with two nature-inspired motifs to choose from –a little ladybird (shown here) and abuzzing bee!…

Template for digital readers on p72 01 02 03 04 05 06 MATERIALS Cotton fabric: 16x16cm, white Stranded cotton: 1 skein of black Embroidery hoop: 13cm diameter Aperture card: 10x10cm card (once folded) with a 7x7cm aperture Plain white card: 9.5x9.5cm Strong double-sided tape Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Backstitch, Chain Stitch, French Knot NOTE The template for this project can be found on p72. 01 The design is printed on the fabric in your kit so you can get stitching straight away. Alternatively, you can transfer the design from the template on p72. Use a medium heat iron to press the fabric to remove any creases. Then, mount the fabric in the hoop with the design positioned centrally, making sure the fabric is taut. Stitch the stem of the…

“Growing up, my mom used to repurpose old sofa upholstery to make unique jackets for us... Cushion covers often became dresses for our dolls, too! In her world, everything was repairable and had an afterlife. This belief has been the crux of my work.” For embroidery designer Anuradha Bhamick, family has always been a major source of creative inspiration. It was Anuradha’s mother who first taught her to stitch, in an effort to keep the then-five-year-old entertained during a nasty spell of the chicken pox. Little did she or her mother know, Anuradha’s sick day pastime would kick off a love of textiles that would later prompt a grown-up Anu to pursue a career in the fashion industry. Until 2020, when Anu said goodbye to her denim designer day job…

ANNA ALICIA Visit our website www.gathered.how for more patterns by this designer MATERIALS Heavy weight canvas fabric: 80x26cm, natural Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of black, light blue, green, mustard 8mm dowel: 28cm Macramé cord: 40cm Tracing paper: A4 x2 2B pencil Machine thread: natural Sewing machine with standard foot Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Holbein Stitch, Satin Stitch, Straight Stitch NOTE Find the template on p76. 01 Lay out the fabric in a portrait position. Mark a point at the centre of the bottom edge. Next, mark a point on each of the long sides, 13cm up from the bottom edge. Draw lines joining each of the side points to the centre point and cut along them, creating a point at the bottom edge of the canvas. 02 With…

EXTRA INSPIRATION Stitch Guide Visit our website www.gathered.how Turn to for more PAGE needle 67 felting projects MATERIALS Cotton fabric: 35x35cm, mustard; 40x14cm, patterned; 11x11cm, brown Scrap of cotton fabric: turquoise Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of dark brown, green, light pink, salmon pink Embroidery hoop: 23cm diameter Meduim-weight fusible interfacing: 33x33cm Fusible adhesive: 11x11cm Carbon paper and tissue paper Wool roving: black, chocolate brown, light brown, rust Felting needle and felting surface protector (see Tips & Tricks) Matching sewing thread Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED French Knot, Lazy Daisy Stitch, Satin Stitch, Split Stitch, Straight Stitch, Woven Wheel 01 Iron medium-weight fusible interfacing to the reverse of the mustard fabric and then place it face-up on a hard flat surface. Place the carbon paper dark-side down onto the mustard…

GETTING STARTED Prepare your sewing machine by attaching a freemotion embroidery (AKA darning) foot. Next, drop the feed dogs – the mechanism that grips and pulls fabric through your sewing machine. Your sewing machine manual should tell you how to do this, but there is usually a lever to pull at the back of the machine. Dropping the feed dogs of your machine allows you to move the fabric around under the needle in any direction, rather than just back and forth. Make sure to use the lock stitch function of your machine at the start and end of each line of embroidery. Then, once you’re finished, use a hand sewing needle to thread any remaining tails through to the wrong side of the fabric and tie them off by…

In the need for some vitamin sea? Then, you’ve come to the right place! Megan Capon, aka @nutmeg_embroidery, is making her LE debut this issue with a glorious coastal-themed cover star hoop (p14). It’s packed with tons of immersive details for you to lean into, from cute cottages and swaying sea-grasses, to sweet little boats bobbing on the water and a couple looking out across the bay. It’s the perfect pattern to help you unwind with after along day, marrying the ebb and flow of needle passing through fabric and waves breaking on the shore. And speaking of relaxing makes, our dandelion card design (p11) is aspeedy and satisfying sew, that’s small enough to stitch on the go, whip up during toddler naps, or take outside and stitch in the…

Stitching for change If you think all activism needs to be big and loud, think again. Author and activist Sarah Corbett is championing a gentler approach to protest – aka Craftivism – that all of us can get behind. It encourages people to create thoughtful, beautiful crafted works to help themselves and encourage others to be the positive change they wish to see in the world. Want to know more? Sarah’s brilliant new guide, The Craftivist Collective Handbook, goes on sale May ‘24 and is the ultimate introduction, featuring 20 thought-provoking projects (including this Joyful Bees decoration), plus case studies, and wise words from Neuroscientist Dr Daniel Glaser, to help you on your journey to become a positive and effective changemaker. The Craftivist Collective Handbook by Sarah P. Corbett, (RRP…

01 02 03 04 05 06 MATERIALS 1mm wool felt sheets: A4, bright pink x1, bright orange x3, cream x2, dusky pink x2, green x1, marl green x1 Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of green, orange, pink 1cm felt balls: mustard x3 Bugle beads: 6mm, green, dark green; 9mm, gold Small beads: pearl Sequins: 5mm, clear iridescent, gold; 8mm, clear iridescent Padded headband Hot glue gun Waxed freezer paper Sewing pins Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Fly Stitch, Straight Stitch NOTE Find the templates for this project on p74-75. 01 CUTTING OUT Trace around the templates and onto the freezer paper using a ballpoint pen. Make sure there is a small gap between each template. Once this is complete, roughly cut them out. 02 Use the labels on the templates…

MATERIALS Cotton fabric: 25x25cm, pink Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of blue, light blue, green, emerald green, pistachio green, gold, orange, pink, dusky pink, bright pink, light pink, purple, bright red, yellow Embroidery hoop: 18cm diameter Sheet felt: 17cm diameter, white (optional) Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Backstitch, Brick Stitch, Fishbone Stitch, French Knot, Long and Short Stitch, Satin Stitch, Straight Stitch NOTES Find the template on p73. Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids in Ballerina Slipper (pink). 01 Transfer the design from the template onto the fabric using your preferred method. We used a heat erasable pen and a light source. Then, mount the fabric into the hoop with the design central and the fabric taut like a drum. With pale or thinner fabrics, you may wish to mount two…

MATERIALS Children’s romper Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of coral, purple, magenta, orange, violet Embroidery hoop: 15cm diameter Tender Touch interfacing (optional) Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Fishbone Stitch, French Knot, Lazy Daisy Stitch, Split Stitch, Stem Stitch, Straight Stitch NOTES Find the template on p77. To protect sensitive skin, add a Tender Touch interfacing to the back of the embroidery once it is complete. 01 Transfer the design from the template onto the chest section of the romper using your preferred method. Then mount the fabric into the hoop. Start by filling the heart shape, using three strands of coral to work Split Stitch – starting from the outside edge of the shape and spiralling inwards. Once this is complete, take two strands of orange and stitch a regular…

GETTING STARTED Prepare your sewing machine by attaching a freemotion embroidery (AKA darning) foot. Next, drop the feed dogs – the mechanism that grips and pulls fabric through your sewing machine. Your sewing machine manual should tell you how to do this, but there is usually a lever to pull at the back of the machine. Start with test fabric to make sure the tension is correct and the bottom thread doesn’t show though. Remember the stitch length is determined by the speed at which you stitch – the faster you move the fabric, the longer the stitches will be. When machine embroidering, try to work in one continuous line. If you do need to stop, make sure you lower the foot so you don’t have jumps in your stitching.…

B ased in the Netherlands, self-taught stitcher Floor prints photographs onto fabric before using needle and thread to bring them to life. Here, she chats about her online embroidery courses – and her love of American singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift… When and why did you begin your stitching journey? I started embroidery in 2016, after I suffered a bad knee injury and was stuck on the couch. I stumbled across an embroidery artist on Instagram and tried to mimic the stitcher’s technique, but using my own style. It wasn’t long before I started experimenting with paint and printed fabrics. What’s you design process? Sometimes, I like the photography itself to take precedence. In that case, I add just a little bit of embroidery as an accent. But sometimes, it’s the other…

IDEAS SUPPLIES PATTERNS FASHION BOOKS Pollen queen There are so many details that we’re itching to stitch in this stunning Belle Bee design by MakeBox & Co – from its darling pink metallic bow to the ring of black and white Whipped Backstitch (doesn’t it look like baker’s twine?) and, of course, the belle of the ball herself – the bumblebee! Thankfully, it’s available to buy as a kit – so we can all get stitching straight away... Don’t mind us as we just switch on our out of office notifications! www.makebox.co Mamma Mia! Adorned with intricate, embroidered detail, this bold blue waistcoat has us dreaming of summer days spent island hopping in the Med. Pair it with a plain white tee and your fave jeans for cooler spring days,…

MATERIALS Striped T-shirts: white and green; white and orange Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of black, blue, green, dark green, olive green, purple, white, yellow Embroidery hoop: 15cm diameter Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Backstitch, French Knot, Satin Stitch, Straight Stitch NOTES Find the templates on p72. Check the labels of the threads you are using before you get stitching to make sure they are colourfast – this will prevent the dye leaching out and staining the fabric when it goes in the wash. 01 Always prewash any garments to reduce the risk of shrinkage after stitching, as this will make the embroidery baggy. Allow the garments to dry completely. Transfer the designs from the templates onto the T-shirts using your preferred method. We used a heat erasable pen and…

MATERIALS Cotton fabric: 30x30cm, white Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of beige, black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, yellow Embroidery hoop: 18cm diameter Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Backstitch, Satin Stitch, Whipped Backstitch NOTES Find the template on p78. Use three strands of thread throughout this project. 01 Transfer the design from the template onto the fabric using your preferred method. We used a heat erasable pen and a light source. Then, mount the fabric into the hoop with the design positioned so that the bottom of the pencils are visible within it. You will reposition the fabric a bit later, once the pencils have been stitched. 02 Using black, work small Backstitches around the straight side sections of each pencil, and then along the top to separate the…

T his month’s machine projects are bursting with juicy colour! Sophie Tarrant’s table runner combines bright fabric paints and delicate, machine stitched outlining to create a leafy kitchen accessory that’ll look just as great laid up alfresco with a delicious picnic spread as it will inside, on your kitchen table. Once you’ve whipped up Sophie’s cheerful runner, grab some sunny-coloured cottons and get ready to sew Louisa Burtonshaw’s tropical-inspired scrunchies. She’ll show you how to use freemotion layering techniques to make her mix-and-match motifs really pop! Try this thrifty project now and see just how quick and easy these scrunchies come together... you’ll soon be stitching them for everyone you know.…

YOUR BASIC EMBROIDERY KIT For the majority of the projects in this issue you will need the following items. There are different types available, so read on to choose the correct materials for each project. Fabric Thread Needles Scissors Embroidery hoop Transfer pens/pencils FABRIC Embroidery can be worked on a wide variety of fabrics or ready-made items. It’s best to choose fabrics with a fairly smooth surface as heavily-textured surfaces will prevent the stitches from lying f lat. For beginners, it’s best to start with 100% plain-weave cotton. When choosing fabric, consider its intended use, how much wear it will get, and how often it will need to be washed. Fabric can be categorised by its weave and fibre content. Plain weave is the most common type of weave and…