A recent blog post was a re introduction of myself, this post is a re-introduction to the materials I use for my embroidery. In my product descriptions I do try to describe what I have used, but its always useful to have some more detail! I’m planning to share more about the materials used for other products over the next few weeks.
In my embroidered wall decorations and hoop art I mostly use linen to sew on. Linen is a lovely fabric to embroider on as it has a natural elasticity, and it’s more environmentally friendly than cotton! Robert Kaufman Essex linen is my favourite for quality and bright colours.
I use both embroidery thread and Appleton Crewel wool to do my embroidery work. My cotton embroidery threads are from DMC, which is my favourite brand of embroidery thread- they are smooth and shiny and easy to work with! Crewel wool is a completely different texture, it has a soft fuzzy halo, which creates a fabulous texture when it is embroidered with.
Colour is one of the reasons I choose these materials, there is a huge variety of colours which makes my job of selecting the right shade for a project pretty difficult sometimes… I just want to use all the colour! Quality is obviously very important too, and the three brands I use are well known for the quality of their products.
I also have a hand beaded piece, featuring a cactus in a pink pot, which is created from beads stashed away in my hoard of craft materials. I probably bought them whilst at university! Hand beading is time consuming but not as difficult as the finished result would have you think. I really like the effect it gives.
Framing the embroidery is an important part of the finishing process, and I use wooden circular embroidery hoops for most pieces. I prefer the wooden ones to the bamboo frames available if I can get them in the right size. Occasionally I use a plastic frame, with wood grain effect, which are rather nice. I completed a piece of embroidery earlier this year and framed it over a square frame which (I think!) has turned out quite well! I was planning to make another piece like this but 2020 has had other plans for me! Some of my embroidery pieces are framed in a crocheted frame, which I make by crocheting round a metal ring, and stitching the embroidery to the crochet.
So I hope that gives you a bit more information into what actually makes up the embroidery pieces I make to sell, next time I’ll share a bit more about the lavender bags I make!
Teresa x
