By: Pat Sloan
I am a crafter… there … the truth is out! I have done some sort of ‘making of things’ all my life. Most of it I taught myself, as my family does not have any crafty types in it.
But my mom is so amazing that she bought me whatever I wanted in the way of craft supplies. So I was able to try a lot of things. This is my embroidery book. I used it to teach myself all kinds of amazing stitches and I’m so happy to still have it.
This is my childhood embroidery basket. Being a child of the late 60s and early 70s a bold PLASTIC basket was the in thing to have… it’s sure durable!
In the world of quilting we don’t work just with fabrics cut and pieced together… oh no… we love to ADD to that fabric with amazing embroidery! There are many types of embroidery. Today I’m touching on three areas and have two guests sharing about their particular embroidery passion.
First up is a Q & A with Bari J. of Bari J. Designs. I thought she was perfect to give us some insider tips! She has videos on her “WLFK” blog as well.. so you’ll want to cruise over there.
Embroidery with Bari J.
What are the common thread weights you like to do embroidery with?
It really depends on the project and what effect I might be going for or if I need to fill in a large space. However, I do use a lot of Cosmo multi-work which is a two strand floss. Honestly, I can’t figure out what the weight is according to the packaging. I also like the Aurifil Sashiko which is a 30 weight. (Stay tuned to the end folks.. you could WIN some of this amazing thread!)
What size needles do you use?
I use a size ten for most of my work. However, if you are going to use perl cotton you’ll need a needle with a bigger eye.
What fabrics do you like for the base of your design? Do you back the fabric with a interfacing or a batting?
I use a lot of plain old quilt weight cotton. I do put interfacing on the back of the fabric. I use form flex which is a light weight woven cotton fusible.
What is your favorite way to transfer designs?
I love the product, transfer-eze. You print your design out, it sticks to the top of your work, you stitch right through and then dissolves in water when you are finished. I also like to use a light box and frixion pens.
When is it important to hoop your work?
For many stitches, using a hoop is nearly imperative in my opinion. This is so that your stitches are nice and tight (not too tight) and not loopy and bumpy. However, there are stitches that are best done without the use of a hoop like the bullion stitch.
When you’re done, what are the ways you like to use the embroidery?
I like embroidery on pillows and in quilts and I especially like to use it on a smaller item such as a bag. The work is so small and intricate I think it makes a great impact on small projects.
Visit Bari J. at Bari J. Designs.
Here at the Quilting Gallery we have a great series of posts by Lenna Green. She wrote and video taped an entire series on embroidery … check out her posts.
This year I’m the host for Aurifil’s Designer of the Month mystery blocks. And the featured style is embroidery!! Bari J. is one of our upcoming designers. And we already have four fabulous FREE blocks for you to download and print!
Find all the interviews and download the patterns here. Plus read how you can get in on a chance to win Aurifil thread!
Crazy Quilting
When we first announced our Learning Center topics we received a lovely note from Connie Eyberg about crazy quilting. Since Crazy Quilting is Connie’s passion I asked her to guest post about it today!
Crazy Quilting is one of America’s earliest quilt styles. It gained popularity in the 1800s through the early 1900s (roughly 1876-1910) and is a style of quilting associated with the Victorian quilts. It is easy to identify a crazy quilt by the use of irregular shaped patches in various sizes joined together in a random manner with no pattern in particular; it is then embellished with decorative stitching.
The seams were embroidered with intricate stitches and some areas on the quilts were then adorned with fine stitchery and sometimes painted designs. Originally stitched by wealthy women using fancy fabrics such as silks, velvets or brocades, women of lower income were soon creating their own crazy quilts through the use of castoff clothing of wealthier relatives, scraps sold by factories at reasonable prices, etc. Denim, flannels, cottons and other more common fabrics were also eventually used to create crazy quilts.
Crazy quilting has been experiencing a new appreciation and resurgence in recent years and although still having the same characteristics as the historical quilts have evolved due to newly developed and more readily available materials, products and techniques. Anything goes, from solid fabrics to patterned fabrics, basic stitching to more elaborate creations with lots of embellishing. Options for embellishing are almost unlimited. It is perfectly acceptable to embellish such things as jewelry pieces, ribbon embroidery, buttons, sequins, beads, keys, ciggies or other images on cloth, doilies, laces, fancy fibers and charms for instance.
Two techniques used to construct crazy quilts are (1) paper piecing or (2) flip and sew (at times may be referred to as stitch and turn, stitch and flip, flip and stitch, or fold and sew among others). The pieces are constructed onto a base fabric such as muslin.
Crazy quilting has no hard and fast rules. It is a wonderful means of expression as an art form in itself. Animals, flowers, insects and/or birds seem to be the favorite subjects used to decorate crazy quilts. You will very often see spiders in their webs on crazy quilts which is a symbol of good luck. Crazy quilting is not just used for quilts, but many items are now made using a crazy quilt patterning and embellishing techniques.
Some great links to learn more about crazy quilting and see more examples:
- A wonderful sample of an antique CQ from 1885 was shared by Deb of Mosaic Magpie on a co-authored crazy quilt blog. You will also find many CQ related links to other sites on the sidebar of this blog: http://simplyCQ.blogspot.com
- A variety of entries for a year-long crazy quilt project are shared on this site. Lots of eye candy here: http://www.cqjp2012.blogspot.com/
- Pat Winter is a mentor to many of us and shares so much of her knowledge with others on her blog. She also produces a magazine devoted to CQ and the link to find it is on her blog: http://gatherings100.blogspot.com/
- This is a site for CQ lovers from around the world. They host many round robins, challenges, etc. http://crazyquiltinginternational.blogspot.com/
Visit Connie Eyberg at http://ceoriginals.blogspot.com/ and http://ceostudiosolutions.blogspot.com/.
Interested in more? Mosaic Magpie has a lovely write up with more photos of the full quilt at the beginning of this article!
Sashiko
Do you personally challenge yourself to learn something new in quilting every so often? I do! This year I’ve become interested in not only learning more about embroidery but also taking a dip into the world of Sashiko quilting. I don’t know much about this.. but I have friends that do!
Today I’m going to give you a little overview, some links to videos and articles.. then later this year we’ll dive a little deeper with an expert.
What IS Sashiko?
Wikipedia says “Sashiko (literally “little stabs”) is a form of decorative reinforcement stitching (or functional embroidery) from Japan. Traditionally used to reinforce points of wear, or to repair worn places or tears with patches, this running stitch technique is often used for purely decorative purposes in quilting and embroidery. The white cotton thread on the traditional indigo blue cloth gives Sashiko its distinctive appearance, though decorative items sometimes use red thread.
Many Sashiko patterns were derived from Chinese designs, but just as many were developed by the Japanese themselves. The artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) published the book New Forms for Design in 1824, and these designs have inspired many Sashiko patterns.” Source
Sashiko is an embroidery pattern you put on the top of the fabric, just like the crazy quilting and regular embroidery. I’m drawn to the traditional navy with cream thread, it’s so beautiful! I can’t wait to try this!
If you can’t wait and want to try Sashiko now.. there is a nice tutorial at Purlbee. Here is more info at About.com with some freebies to download.
Did you know there is now a Sashiko machine by Baby Lock? I found this fascinating and will be taking a look at one next time I can!
Thread Give-Away
Our friends at Aurifil are sponsoring a thread giveaway to celebrate MY interest in Sashiko! This beautiful box of colors was selected by quilter Sharon Pederson. You can learn about the threads from Sharon at these videos: Video 1 and Video 2.
To be in the running to win… Answer one of these reader questions in the comment section below:
- What kind of thread to use for embroidery? There are so many choices!
- What type of embroidery is your favorite?
- What is your preferred size and brand of needles to use for embroidery?
One winner will be randomly selected next Wednesday, April 25, 2012. One entry per person please.
Pat Sloan is owner and founder of the quilting design and publishing company Pat Sloan & Co. She has published over 25 books, more than 100 patterns, nearly 10 fabric lines, and has had her work featured in all the major Quilt magazines. In January 2010, Pat started hosting her weekly Internet Radio show called Creative Talk Radio.
Find Pat here:
Web Site | Blog | Radio Show | Facebook | Twitter
Quilt Forum | Pinterest | Newsletter
Congratulations to the winner #100 Winona.. check your email for a message from me.
I’m not positive that counted cross stitch counts as embroidery, but that is my favorite type of hand work.
I use DMC Embroidery Floss
I’m still learning embroidery…I like many types. I’ve just picked up my first few tools for punch needle work and am interested in learning that too.
I use DMC needles I believe.
I like Aurafil and DMC! Both wonderful I particularly like these colors!! They are beautiful!!
hand embroidery i normally use DMC, in machine embroidery i use Isacord, but i would love to try Aurafil
Love Aurifil threads.
I really enjoyed seeing your childhood sewing basket. so glad that you still have it..
cheers
maggie
Aurafil Is Love to the Quilters LIfe
I would love to try out this thread.
I like the Aurafil thread and have used it only once or twice, but I’d like to try it more.
I like the pearle cotton and aurafil. The sashiko collection is beautiful.
My embroidery skills are improving, but are still in the beginning stages. My favorite embroidery stitches so far are: stem stitch, back stitch, and French knot. For piecing and quilting, I use Aurifil thread. So far, I have only used DMC thread given to me by my mother for hand embroidery. As I use it up, I will branch out and try other brands.
I love crewel embroidery, but haven’t done any in over 25 years. I love the look of satin stitch worked with wool.
We went to a Japanese Winter celebration at my daughter’s college last year and there was an exhibit of Japanese handicrafts. Some of the girls were showing how to do Sashiko embroidery. I enjoyed trying it and would like to make something with it.
Oh my — I recently started stitching wool applique with hand stitched blanket stitch — also making lovely cross stitch designs on hand dyed linen.
Thanks for the giveaway !
So far I’ve only used DMC, but can’t wait to try the Aurifil!
I have only used DMC floss for embroidery and cross stitch. It would be fun to try something new. I’ve never used Aurifil, but have heard so many wonderful things about their threads.
Aurifil is my favorite thread! It works so well in my machine. I rarely have the thread fuzz that other threads build up.
My favorite embroidery stitch is probably the lazy daisy stitch…love me some flowers!
I use DMC floss to hand embroider and also do cross stitch. When sewing on my machine I use Aurifil thread and simply love the Sashiko thread… would love to use it to try it out
I hand embroider with DMC floss. I also cross stitch. I have never machine embroidered.
I love to embroider…both by machine and by hand. I have not tried Sashiko but have always wanted to…..so would love to have this collection of thread!!
I have primarily used DMC threads for embroidery, though I have used others on occasion, especially in kits. While I have heard a lot of good things about Aurifil thread, I have not yet had an opportunity to be able to use it. I would love to have the chance. It looks gorgeous!
Machine embroidery is my favourite, but have done some hardanger embroidery and enjoyed that too!
I pretty much only do machine embroidery, I have used several threads, Sulky, Floriani, Madera, and Aurifil are my favorites.. I usually use a size 70 or 80 depending on the thread. Thanks for the giveaway!
Aurifil thread-nice. I have use some for machine quilting. I have never used it for embroidery. I found both of the videos incredibly informative. I would love to learn some embroidery techniques if I won this-even if I don’t win this.
I use DMC floss for embroidery. awolk at rogers dot com
I use DMC floss for embroider. awolk at rogers dot com
I’ve used many type threads for embroidery, Aurifil, Valdani, DMC, Flower Threads – I like them all for different reasons and looks.
As for the type of embroider, I’ve embroidery almost all my life, my grandmother showed me and coached me. In the mid 90s I learned to do silk ribbon embroidery, and fell in love with the beautiful ribbons.
I love to use Cosmo or weeks dye works for embroidery but I just got my first spool of aurifil and can’t wait to give it a go!
I love doing redwork and applique/crazy quilt embellishing with all kinds of threads. I use DMC flosses: skeins, size 8 and 12, Cosmos floss, Sulky 12 wt thread. I did not know Aurifil made 28 and 12 wt thread. Would love to win this box, the colors are great. I am currently doing a baltimore quilt with Aurifil thread and love their thread <3
Red Work is my favorite type of embrodery.
I love to longarm quilt with Aurifil–never thought to embroider with it.
I love using neutral color Aurifil threads when sewing and quilting. I am looking forward to use the color Aurifil threads in my hand embroidery wool projects.
My favorite type of embroidery is shadow embroidery. I love making bullion knots and lazy daisy stitches.
I love all the colors, but especially the variegated blue.
Love them all, depending on the project, but I do really love Aurifil and Cosmos. Valdani is my favorite for wool. Would love to win!!
I use DMC for cross stitch, and I’ve used some Sulky for free-motion machine embroidery. This Auriful looks yummy, though! I love Aurifil for quilting piecing, and I’m sure this is just as nice.
My favorite type of embroidery is Sashiko, so my favorite size needle is big!
I use DMC embroidery floss for my embroidery projects!
I have lots of DMC to use for hand embroidery. I love aurifil threads for quilting. I like to machine embroider, also.
I use DMC threads for cross stitching and usually use a size 24 needle.
Thanks,
Peggy
I am trying out any threads I can get hold of! Ribbons to silk. It depends on the project and the effect I want. I am interested to see thread for Shasiko. I have some patterns but haven’t liked the threads I’ve tryed.
1. I have used glide, superior threads, aurofil, Floriani, Madera
2. machine embroidery is my favorite, although I will occassionally do hand embroidery
3. Embroidery needles for the machine. I usually use a size 70 or 80 depending on project and thread.
would love to win this gorgeous thread in this collection.
thanks for the give away and PICK ME!
I haven’t done much embroidery lately, but I love Aurifil threads for piecing – I would love to try out the 12wt to create some decorative pieces like I’ve seen on Pinterest.
I love to do cross stitch, and embroider using French knots and blanket stitch, and… Have not tried Sashiko yet but would like to. I often use cross stitch thread,but would love to try the Aurifil thread.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Thanks for the chance to win these wonderful threads!
I use DMC floss, but would love to try Aurifil!
In the past I did alot of crewel embroidery, using fine wool yarns and loved it!
I used DMC and Pearle Cotton. Would love to try the Sashiko Collection.
Currently, my favorite embroidery is redwork using perle cotton on tea towels. Each month I send the completed towel to my mother to decorate her kitchen. It’s my Christmas gift to her–a person that is difficult to shop for.
I’m also trying Aurifil by doing the block of the month. What a great idea!! Small projects done quick.
Thanks for the opportunity to win thread, Pat.
LOVE Sharon Pederson-very inspirational. And the aurifil threads are gorgeous! Great giveaway.
I use 80/12 needles. Love Aurufil !
I use DMC to embroider. I love Aurifil for piecing my quilts. Have not tried others.
Eu uso DMC e ANCHOR,Eu sigo gráficos ponto cruz,e vou por eliminação de cores.Obrigada pela chance.
I use aurafil whenever I can as it is such great thread. Love all the colors it comes in so I’m never without a good match.