The needlebook I'm currently working on has just got a face!
The front of the book is adorned with wildflowers hand embroidery. I didn't have any particular flowers or plants in my mind when I doodled it on a paper - it was just a burst of fantasy. However, as I stitched and picked the colors, the flowers started queerly reminding red poppies. Don't you agree?
Except for the leaves, though... They don't match.
The stems of the flowers are worked in stem stitch. And the leaves were stitched either in satin stitch, or lazy daisy stitches with filling. I used two shades of DMC floss for the greenery so that it matches with other fabrics that I chose for the needlecase.
The petals of the flowers are embroidered in long and short stitch and satin stitch (for the hidden petals). The main color is a nice cross between red and orange, I really liked this color. And what is important, it doesn't leave traces on fabric if you need to undo some stitching. That's a sad discovery I made about some red shades of DMC floss. It didn't color the fabric, but it left the tiny fibers which I couldn't get rid of even after washing it few times. So, now, I'm extra careful when I stitch with them (and I still do).
The quirky twigs with orange berries are very fun and quick to stitch! I used feather stitch for the branches and large back stitch for the stem, berries are completed with french knots. As a result, stitching these guys took a very short time. Here's a small tutorial on how to use feather stitch to embroider quick twigs.
The same twigs, but of a smaller size are going to be featured in the back of the needlebook, together with some patchwork. I realized why I quit patchwork long time ago. My sloppiness at the sewing machine is something incredible! But oh well, that's my needlebook, after all, and I don't mind it revealing some of my “true colors”.
I used one strand of floss in the needle across the whole design, the only exception were french knots, which were worked with 2-3 strands of floss. The key of DMC colors if anyone is interested:
Petals: 351 (darker) + 352 (lighter)
Greenery: 368 +503 (a little bluish one)
Twigs: 780
Berries: 722
I was going to include some hand embroidery inside the needlebook too, but I changed my mind. It feels like if I stitch the similar flowers or twigs on the inside as well, the design will get too repetitive. So, embellishing my needlecase on the outside will be enough :)
So, what's left is to assemble it! So excited!
This is gorgeous! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
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