Thursday, January 16, 2014

Tips for embroidering details on a quilt

I like to embellish with embroidery whether it is a little bit like a lone grasshopper (I've posted a tutorial here),


or oodles of embroidery like that in the border of my quilt There's a Snail in Grandma's Flower Garden.


I've posted a tutorial for embroidering all of these little leafs here.


To start you need supplies:

  • embroidery floss (I like DMC floss, especially the variegated colours),
  • sharp embroidery needles,
  • scissors with a nice sharp point and blades and
  • an embroidery hoop (my preferred size is 4").

When I add embroidery details there are some things I do that guarantee that my work will be successful.

  • I always works with a hoop,
  • I never carry my thread across any distance because it can distort the fabric and the thread will often show through on the front,
  • I never leave the hoop in my work if when I'm not sewing,
  • I don't rush and
  • I make every effort to have the back of my work look as neat as the front.
This is my favourite hoop - it is 4". It keeps my work nice and taught and the size is just right for my hand. Any larger and I have difficulty reaching areas and any smaller and I'm constantly having to repositioning the hoop.

Here is an example of the back and the front. I can now see areas where the floss could use a little trimming close to the knots (this is a piece I started back in 1996 so it is old) but nonetheless it is reasonably neat.

The Back

The Front

Most often I work with two strands of floss. I cut a length of floss and select two strands.  I gently blow at the point where the two strands are separating from the others. I tie a tight double knot at the end and I trim the excess floss as close to the knot as possible without actually cutting the knot.

When I've finished my embroidery I knot off the thread and again trim the floss close to the knot. If however I embroidered a running stitch or a back-stitch I will weave my floss through five or six stitches on the back. Then I tie it off with a single knot and trim the floss.

If I need to travel I can sometimes weave the floss back so I can move from one spot to the next. This leaf is an example; my stitches are shown from the back side.  I started the spine at 1 and stitched to 2. I wove my floss through the stitches as indicated by 3. I embroidered the vein at 4 and then wove my floss back through those stitches as indicated at 5. I repeated the same steps for 6 and 7 and continued on until all of the veins were embroidered.

If I am making French knots and there is space between them, as in the example below, I do not carry my floss from one to the next. Instead I tie off the floss at each French knot. It takes a little more time but the finished product is much nicer. Here are French knots from the back 


and  from the front.

I hope these tips are helpful. I'm not a professional embroiderer but I've learned from mistakes and wanted to share with you what I've figured out on my own. Just a little bit of embroidery can make a quilt special so don't rush it! Just take your time and enjoy watching the design develop under your fingers! I think you might find this post helpful when I release Part 2 of my Soupcon QAL tomorrow! And if you haven't started but are thinking about it, check out Nellie's latest hexagons. If they don't tempt you, nothing will!

Until I post again, happy embroidering!
Karen H

6 comments:

  1. I am in love with Nellie's blocks they are really stunning. I can't wait for tomorrow and step 2 !!!! ?
    My little tip for using variegated floss, sometimes when the color change is too fast or too dramatic I take my 2 strands. separate them, flip one strand on end put them back together so now the color change is out of sink, you still get a beautiful effect with the two tones but a more subtle look over all. Happy Stitching!

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    1. Clare - what a fabulous tip! I'll add it to my post for tomorrow. Nellie's blocks are amazing and I love the muddy backgrounds because they really showcase the intricate designs in the feature fabric!

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  2. Your snail in the garden quilt is wonderful! Beautiful embroidery. Wish I'd found you this past summer when I was looking for ideas and hints on how to embroider my quilt!

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  3. When I make one lone French knot--I have learned to come up from the back and take a small stitch across the top of the fabric where the French knot goes. Then I go back down with that stitch---come back up and make the French knot. Then you have an anchor stitch that makes the French knot more secure. If I make a knot here--I go through the anchor stitch on the backside and knot on that. I hope you can understand. It really makes a nicer knot!!

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  4. that embroidery on the border of your quilt is awesome. great idea too.

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