Mock Blackwork

It's blackwork, but not on even-weave fabric. And using surface embroidery stitches. Done in colour. So not technically blackwork, but inspired by it.

Traditional blackwork is striking, done in black thread on white even-weave fabric in a style that is structured and uniform. It's beauty lies in stitch repetition. If you're not familiar, you can read more about this type of embroidery and how to do it on Craftsy, Nordic Needle and Sew Guide. 

Historically dictated by the weave of the fabric, blackwork has evolved to include more freeform stitching and colour, making the leap to a creative surface embroidery design that mimics blackwork that much easier to envisage.

Sonia Lucano's book, Made in France: Blackwork, is beautifully photographed and full of inspiring blackwork that feels contemporary despite the designs drawing on traditional patterns. And a pinterest search shows the more freeform elements of this style of embroidery as well as the repeat patterns that inspired my surface take on this style of embroidery.

Adding colour isn't a new idea, but it does add more interest to a design already made more interesting (I think) by the use of various surface embroidery stitches as opposed to the limited number used in traditional blackwork.

Mock Blackwork, the second in the Mock range, is available as a PDF pattern on Etsy and Craftsy. 

Mock Whitework

It's whitework, just reimagined and in colour. So not technically whitework, but inspired by it.

Traditional whitework incorporates quite a few different types of embroidery, from Mountmellick to Hardanger to Broderie Anglaise. They're very traditional types of embroidery and you can find out more about the various techniques from the Royal School of Needlework, The Spruce and a slew of articles on Needle n Thread. 

I've taken extreme creative licence in designing a pattern with the feel of whitework, but using creative surface embroidery stitches.

A quick google image search and you'll see the similarities and inspiration, from the stitched squares of Hardanger to Mountmellick stitch (learnt from Yvette Stanton's book on Mountmellick embroidery), knots and other stitches used in this particular style of whitework to the "grids" found in drawn thread embroidery.  

And then I added colour to keep the pattern fun to stitch and add interest to the design. 

Mock Whitework is the first in the Mock range and the PDF pattern is available on Etsy and Craftsy.

120 embroidery stitches and eight samplers

Update: September 2018

120 Embroidery Stitches has a fresh new cover to go with my latest ebook, Embroidery Tips, Tricks & Techniques.

It's done! I finally finished collating, writing and illustrating instructions for every stitch I've ever used in a design and put them all into an ebook. 

Turns out I've used 120 hand embroidery stitches in various designs for books, kits, magazine projects and PDF patterns up to this point, a handy number for a book title. Turns out there are also often many different names for the same stitch and many different variations on a single stitch, so I'm hoping this helps eliminate any confusion any of you may have had over which stitch to use. The stitches are named as I know and use them in my designs, with all the alternative names I've come across listed underneath. 

The stitches are grouped into eight families, based on how the stitch is done. So stem stitch falls into the chapter on back stitches, because of the way you do it. It's a logical way to group stitches (to me, anyway) and you can progress through each chapter, often adding to a previous stitch or stitching technique to learn the next. 

To make it even easier to master the various stitches, I've come up with eight samplers to get to grips with some of the more commonly used (and a few not so commonly used) stitches from each chapter. They're fun, inspired by traditional embroidered patches.

The ebook and samplers are available in four different packages: 

• 120 Embroidery Stitches ebook
• 120 Embroidery Stitches ebook + all eight samplers in a single PDF pattern
• Eight standalone PDF patterns, one for each sampler
• A single PDF pattern containing all eight samplers 

The single pattern with all eight samplers does not include stitch instructions, as this would basically be a repeat of the book. But the standalone patterns do include stitch instructions, so you can use them to teach yourself embroidery if you're a beginner or looking for new stitches.

The book came about as an accompaniment to my patterns but stands on its own as a straightforward stitch guide too, whether you're looking to learn the basics, add to your stitch arsenal or give your #1yearofstitches project an injection of inspiration.

Minikin Garden: A free pattern for World Embroidery Day 2017

Old needlework magazines usually came with iron-on transfers, some of them closing in on a century old now. It's fun to take elements from them to rework as contemporary hand embroidery patterns.

This is what I've done with Minikin Garden, a free pattern in celebration of World Embroidery Day at the end of the month, on 30 July.

I have quite a few vintage transfers filed away and was looking for something to do with the more appealing ones. My design style isn't really vintage, although I do like some of the old designs, and so I thought it'd be a good idea to take bits and pieces from the transfers and use them to create new designs, embroidered in fresh and bold colours. And because of the copyright ethics, you get them for free!

I did this for the first time last year with Blue Bird and so many of you have downloaded the pattern, more than 700 to date. It encouraged me to do the same again this year, although it didn't take much nudging because it's an easy and fun way to design and embroider something new. And I really wanted to use one of my vintage oval hoops.

You can download Minikin Garden from the free page of my website. 

Sylvan Garland, a woodland wreath

If Sylvan Garland looks familiar, it’s because this project originally appeared in Inspirations in Australia. But the magazine’s rights to exclusivity expired quite a while ago now and so I’ve created a PDF pattern for it. 

It's a light, fresh design that is fairly easy to embroider. The garland incorporates embroidered appliqué, which adds an extra dimension to the embroidery and is good for using up smaller pieces of your favourite fabrics.

At just under 40x40cm in size, it's a design with enough impact to work as standalone wall art or a feature cushion for the couch or perhaps a bedroom. 

The PDF pattern is available on Etsy and Craftsy.