Stars and posies...

I've gotten several emails asking questions about the embroidered stars and posies on the Wool Noggins and on embroidery in general so I thought it was a good time for a little tutorial. This is a photo heavy post and the lighting here this morning sucks so please forgive me.

Embroidery is a fabulous toy... really... its amazing how creative one can be with even just a few basic stitches. There are virtual tons of embroidery resources both on the net and at the bookstore. Results can be anything from simple and whimsy, like these hats, to dainty and elegant like the tiny silk rose buds on heirloom pieces.

All you'll need for yarn embroidery is a tapestry needle with an eye big enough for the yarn to fit through. For some reason my little tin of needles has gone missing (I'm sure temporarily) so I'm using a Chibi needle which is fine for what we're doing.

Lets look at this very basic star first...

Really, this isn't even an embroidery "stitch". Its really just a few large stitches connected to make a star. Its exactly the same as the stars you learned to draw with a pencil when you were little. Stars are still my favorite... if I'm doodling on the edge of a paper while I chat on the phone its stars I'm doodling rather than hearts like so many girls do...

I always leave a long tail on the wrong side of my work rather than anchor it at the beginning. This way its easy to pick out the stitches if they don't turn out the way I'd like. Don't worry about crooked or out of line stitches, just like knitting they can be pulled out and done again. Also, don't pull the stitches tight, they should be flat and firm but not tight enough to pull on the base fabric.

Come up (from the back to the front) at one "corner" of the star... and return to the back at another "corner"...

Come back up through the front at another corner and this time return at a previous point, connecting 2 sides of the star...

Continue around, making complete "corners" and connecting the sides of the star. It really doesn't even matter what order you do the sides in as long as the are all connected when you are finished...

Viola.. a star. If you are satisfied with the appearance now is the time to go back and weave in the ends on the wrong side.

Now a posie done with Lazy Daisy stitches...

Lazy Daisy stitches are simple and somewhat versatile. Once you learn to do them you will find that there are several other stitches that are formed in much the same way but with small differences.

Each petal of these flowers is one Lazy Daisy stitch. We'll do 5 stitches total. I'll show you how the stitches work and then show you a short cut.

Leave a tail at the back and come through to the front of the work where you want the center of your flower to be and return to the back at the same point (essentially making a loop)...

return to the front up through the loop... the point at which you return to the front will be the outer tip of a petal so plan accordingly... return to the back on the outside of the petal loop... this will anchor the petal loop in place...

Continue working round the flower adding petals always coming up through the same center point...

Once you see how these little petals work, you can work them this way...

Come up through the center point as usual. Now, instead of going the entire way through to the back, just insert the tip of the needle into the center and poke it out again at the outer petal tip...

Now draw the needle through pulling outward firmly to bring the petal loop in...

Once the petal loop is in place...

just anchor it by returning to the back on the outside of the loop as before...

There ya go... a 5 petal posie. Easy, no?

Comments

[Rebecca]

I keep forgetting to tell you this, but the daisies and stars make me really happy, especially the daisies. I took an embroidery class once and loved making daisies so much that I covered a bag with them--thanks for reminding me!