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OK, the sun has finally decided to show itself and it's time to take your hoops outside! I'm so pleased to be able to bring you this sweet Summer garden inspired project designed by Jenny Blair at Bloom and Sew, which would be perfect for some alfresco stitching. To get you started we will be giving away a pack of 100% wool felt and DMC threads for this project (see them here).  Just pop over to the Bloom and Sew or Cloud Craft Instagram feeds for the details.

Thanks so much Jenny for this gorgeous project, now over to you!

 

Materials required: Summer garden pattern template page, 100% wool felt (we used Barbie, Apricot and Buttery for the birds and Ascot, Cherry Blossom, Chartreuse and Popeye's Gal for the flowers), DMC stranded cotton embroidery threads in shades 317, 3865, 307, 734, 604 (we have put together a pack of the embroidery threads and felt pieces for you here), cotton thread (optional), stuffing, embroidery needle, scissors, and wipe-off fabric pen.

1)Print out the Summer garden pattern template page and cut out each flower and bird. Next cut out the tail from each bird to create 2  templates for your bird decoration.

 

 

 Using the fabric pen, draw around the body shape TWICE onto the felt and cut out.

 Draw around the tail shape ONCE onto the felt and cut out.  Note *When drawing around the tail template continue the line further than the cut out tail piece. This part will be sandwiched between the body parts and when sewn will keep the tail in place.* 

Using the wing template, draw around this once and then cut out.

 

 

For the flowers, draw around each flower outline TWICE and cut out from felt. Then cut out the smaller shapes from the templates (the scalloped edge and circular middle) and use these templates to draw around. The leaves have been drawn individually for you to cut out and use as templates.

 See below for the numbers of pieces required for each decoration.

 

 

2) Draw on the embroidery details with the fabric pen. If you don’t feel confident doing this freehand, simply  place the template onto the felt and make guideline marks by pricking through the template and felt with your needle or pin. 

3) Cut a 20cm length of your chosen material (for hanging the decoration), fold it in half and knot it  at the bottom. Then pin the pieces all together, ready for sewing.

*Note on the template page the arrows which indicate the suggested place to position the hanging thread. You may need to play around with the position to ensure a balanced dangle!

 

 

4) Stitch the decoration together using whip stitch as shown below. The dots on the template page indicate the gap to leave for stuffing. When approaching the hanging thread, take care to stitch through the knot to prevent it from being pulled out when on display.

 

 

Once  reached  the tail simply continue stitching as before but taking your thread through the tail piece as well. This applies to the leaves of the flowers also.

 

 

The scalloped element of the flower decoration is sewn at the same time as the  flower edge using whip stitch.

5) Stuff the decoration and then whip stitch the gap closed.

 

 

6) Now it’s time to embroider the details and add the finishing touches.The bird wings and the circle detail of the flower are attached by the embroidery detail.

 

 

Below is a stitch guide for the embroidery stitches used to embroider the decoration. The stitches suggested are all simple and commonly used embroidery stitches .The more seasoned stitcher may prefer to use the birds and flowers as a fun blank canvas to decorate using stitches and details of their own choice.

 

 

Use 3 strands of thread  for all the embroidery details, except for the bird tummy details where only 1 strand of thread is required.

Click on the links to be taken to  a step-by-step tutorial on each embroidery stitch:

Chain stitch

Backstitch 

Straight stitch

Running stitch

Satin stitch

7) Time to find somewhere in your home in need of a little summer garden zing!

 

 

 OTHER SUGGESTIONS:

*Make multiples of the bird and flower design and string together to make some sweet summer bunting.

*Create a lovely long dangly decoration by joining all the decorations together. Simpy knot both ends of the string/thread and attach to the top of one decoration and to the underside of another decoration...do this for all 5 pieces.

*Use the bird and flower designs as an embroidery design and stitch the bird and flower motifs onto your chosen fabric item.

Have fun with your Summer Garden stitching! x

It's the first day of Spring and it's time to shake off all the dark and embrace all things bright and beautiful! 

Here's a project to bring some fresh greens to your home. It involves a bit of applique with wool felt and embroidery with straight, chain and whipped back stitches. 

You will need:

• Essex Linen in Ivory
• wipe off transfer pen
• 7" embroidery hoop
• DMC stranded cotton thread in blanc, 310, 317 and 700. All stitching is done with 2 strands  of thread.
• embroidery needle
• 100% wool felt (I used Baize, Popeye's Gal and Forest)
• Bondaweb
• Small, sharp scissors
• Iron
• Be Lucky free downloadable pattern and guide

What to do

1. Start by transfer the design (all except the green clover leaves) onto your Essex Linen fabric by putting the fabric over the pattern and tracing the lines using a wipe off transfer pen.

2. Stitch the 'be happy' with DMC 310 using a chain stitch.

 

 

3. Trace the green clover shapes onto the Bondaweb, cut roughly around the Bondaweb and iron onto the felt pieces.

 

 

4. Cut arround each shape and then remove the paper from the Bondaweb. With the Bondaweb-side down, iron the clover shapes onto your fabric in the correct locations. If you like, you can add a whipped stitch around the clover leaves.

 

 

5. Add the white detailing to the clover leaves using DMC Blanc and a straight stitch.

 

 

6. Add the dots around the clover leaves using French knots and DMC 700.

7. Stitch round the circle using DMC 317 and a back stitching. Then add a whipped stitch to the back stitch using DMC Blanc.

8. With a damp cloth, remove any pen lines you can see.

9. Centre your fabric carefully in your embroidery hoop and when you are happy tighten the screw as much as you can . Trim around the hoop, leaving a 2cm border. To gather the excess fabric behind the hoop, use a running stitch all the way round the circle of fabric and pull tight.

10. Hang your masterpiece and feel the luck flow to you!

Do you fancy stitching along with me this Summer to make this embroidery sampler?

Below you'll find our free pattern to stitch this botanical beauty. The design involves 10 stitches, from easy to more advanced but everyone can join in, from beginners to pros!

If you'd like to join us, over the next few weeks starting on 22nd June, every weekend I'll be sharing a video on Instagram and Facebook, showing you how to stitch each botanical element. I'll also be covering how to transfer the design onto your fabric and how to frame your finished piece.

I'm hoping this will be the perfect project to take with you on your summer adventures and that we can learn together and share our work #summerstitchalong.

You can stitch the sampler in any colour combination with the threads you already have in your stash but, if you'd like to use the colours I have, you can find everything in our shop or we have a special bundle with all the supplies I'm using. If you are using your own supplies, you'll need:

• A4 sized piece of fabric (approx 21x30cm or 8.3x11.7 inches. I like to have 2 so I can double up for extra stability)
• 7 colours of stranded cotton embroidery thread (or you could use more or less, depending on what you fancy). I used DMC 791, 825, 834, 321, 415, 680 and Blanc). We'll be using 2 strands for most of the stitches.
• A hoop to embroider (I like to use a 5" one)
• A way to transfer the pattern (I've been using an iron-on pen but if your fabric is light enough you can trace it)
• An emboidery needle (I like a size 7)
• An oval hoop to mount the finished piece (12.5x23cm)
• A printed copy of the pattern below
• embroidery scissors

I really hope you'll join me in this Summer stitch-along!  Please get in touch if you have questions.

If you are using a light coloured fabric that's quite thin you can trace your design through your fabric. You can use a pencil but if you want to be able to remove the lines easily the best is to use a wipe-off marker pen. These pens make light blue lines, which disappear with a small spray of water once you no longer need them to be on your fabric. You can simply trace the design from paper onto your fabric - to see the lines through the fabric it helps if you tape the paper and fabric onto a window or use a light box. 

Iron-on pens like the Sublime Stitching fine-line pen are great for transferring designs onto darker fabric that cannot be traced through. For this method you need the reversed version of your design, printed onto paper.  Then simply trace over the lines on your paper, taking care because the lines are not erasible. Using a hot dry iron, warm up your fabric first before putting the paper ink side down onto the fabric.  Slowly iron over the top of  the paper, being careful not to move the paper.  I've found, depending on the fabric you use, that you can get 2-3 transfers from the same tracing. The lines created are fine enough to stitch over with 2 strands of embroidery thread. You can also use the heat transfer method with iron-on pencils, although your line won't be as fine or defined.

This method works well for light and dark fabrics - you just need to choose a colour of carbon paper that will show up on your fabric. The trick with this method is to make sure that your fabric is on a hard surface. Then place the carbon paper, powder side down, onto your fabric and the design over the top. Using a sharp pencil, biro or tracing stylus, trace over the design.

Sticky Fabri Solvy is a printable, self adhesive stabiliser.  You print or draw your design onto it then simply stitck it to your fabric and stitch over the top. When you've finished, put your fabric in cold water and the stabiliser disolves away completely. This method is particularly useful for intricate designs or when embroidering onto felt or other fabrics that are difficult to draw onto. Check beforehand that your fabric is OK to be submerged in water and that the threads you are using are run-proof (DMC embroidery threads are).

If your design is simple or if you're confident drawing you can free-hand draw onto your fabric. For light coloured fabric you can use a pencil (but the lines won't come off easily) or a wipe-off marker. For darker fabrics, a wash off white fine line marker works well - the white lines take a few moments to develop so don't be surprised if you can't see them straight away :)