Over the (Yellow) Moon

Posted on 3rd June, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

Summer seems to have arrived at last! At least I’ve got my first sunburn of the year – the consequence of falling asleep on the lawn last Saturday. I have some interestingly shaped patches of red skin now, but it was really very relaxing, dozing in the sunshine with the sound of birds and the smell of grass and all that. Add to that a lovely walk along the canal followed by a drink at a canal-side pub before dinner, and seeing an alpaca being born during our Ladies Walk in the morning, and it all adds up to a very pleasant weekend. I even managed to get the pile of 100+ skeins waiting to be bobbinated down to 18, which I hope to do at my stitching group this afternoon.

Hoever, that is not what I set out to write about. Some time ago I showed you the foam purses and notebooks I bought from Yellow Moon, and a bit later the purses adorned with Art of the Needle. This gave me a taste for foam, so to speak, and browsing through the Yellow Moon catalogue I found all sorts of interesting items. Last Friday I received my parcel, containing lots of things to experiment with.

One of them was a set of foam blanks in the shape of flowers and butterflies. I got this mainly for the flowers, although as they turned out to be rather bigger than I thought it might be possible to decorate the butterflies with two small projects, one on each wing.

More practical (well, a little more practical) are the Christmas tree baubles and keyrings. The foam blanks attached to the keyrings are fairly large, but then that would just make them easier to find in your bag! Any stitching will have to be attached quite securely, though, as it will be handled a lot. Perhaps I’ll advise people to use them only for spare keys that live in a drawer or on a hall table … The baubles are glued on one side, so you push your photograph/artwork/stitching in from the unglued side and then glue it shut. These are perfect for mini designs, whether cut or uncut. I rummaged through my workbox and found a few minis I had done earlier (including the blackwork snowflake freebie), which turned out to be just the right size; I haven’t glued them in place yet, but they give an idea of what is possible.

Some mini projects mounted in foam Christmas tree baubles

Finally I got something which was not quite the size I wanted, but I thought if I studied the kit I could then make my own from large sheets of foam with exactly the dimensions I want. These are Bible folders (they also come as book folders, with a bookworm design on them; the bag on top, by the way, is a selection of foam cross-shaped beads I got for our Church’s Sunday school), but of course they could equally well be needlework folders! Not, perhaps, with the supplied decorations, so they will be donated to our Sunday school together with the cross beads, but you get the idea: sew a folder out of foam, using cord or perle or whatever, with a slit to take the tip of the flap to close it, and decorate the other side with a piece of needlework (either sewn or stuck on, hemmed or buttonholed or with a frayed edge), and hey presto, a folder to keep your finished projects in before turning them into framed decorations or useful objects. Or you could keep charts in it, or even the threads and fabric for a project-in-progress. if this one works, I’d like to create a folder with a gusset. If I do get round to it, you’ll see it on FoF!

Folder kit - foam, cord and plastic needle

Buttonhole edging and a new release

Posted on 21st May, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

Well, when I say “a new release” I am being a little bit premature. The stitching has been done, the stitching has been finished in a useful and (I hope) attractive way, everything has been photographed – now I just need to write the chart pack, which includes drawing diagrams for turning inside and outside corners in buttonhole edging. Let’s say I hope to have it finished some time this week. Or month.

The design in question is Art of the Needle, three small buttonhole-edged patches created specifically to decorate the little foam purses I bought a while ago. (I’m about to start stitching another set of small designs, Three of Diamonds, to go on the notebooks.) Working the buttonhole border was actually less boring and time-consuming than I remembered – it was quite relaxing, and once I’d got into a rhythm, fairly quick too.

The challenge was always going to be cutting the designs free from their surrounding fabric. After all that Hardanger, cutting really should hold no terrors for me, but cutting next to Kloster blocks you can see what you’re doing; cutting as close as possible to a buttonhole edge your scissors are half-hidden! I knew I could do it though, as some time ago I designed and stitched a tray cloth for my mother-in-law’s dolls’ house, which meant cutting around a buttonhole edge stitched on 60ct silk gauze, and that held, as did my practice piece on 36ct evenweave (on my finger tip, below), so I told myself not to be a wimp and get on with it.

The first thing to do is to pull out the fabric threads that run closest along the line of buttonhole edging. This gives you and your scissors something to aim for.

When you then fold the fabric away from the little “tramline” that’s been formed, you can see the buttonhole edge sticking out beyond where you’ll be cutting. This is a reassuring sight. Yes, it means that, as I said, your scissors are half-hidden by the overlap, but crucially it also means that you don’t actually have to cut dangerously close to your stitching, as any small cut ends will be covered by the overhang!

If the buttonhole edging is square, that’s all there is to it (apart from a little bit of extra trimming around those rounded corners). But what if the edge is scalloped or stepped or whatever you call it? Obviously you can’t just pull out the thread nearest to the edging. (Slight digression – actually, if you’re not careful, you can. On one of the Art of the Needle designs I pulled too firmly on a thread that should have ended in a corner, and pulled it out completely, leaving a small “tramline” within the design. Fortunately it was almost completely covered up by some French knots.) Back to the way things ought to go: pull the relevant threads loose up to the buttonhole edging (see below), then cut them close, and do the rest of the cutting as before.

Having done the first of the three patches as described above, I then tried pulling all necessary threads (the long ones along the outer edges, and the short, partial ones along the stepped corners) before doing any cutting, and then simply cutting all the way round, including trimming the rounded corners. This worked well and was definitely quicker, although it is also made it easier to nick stitches while going round corners; you can’t tell now, but the largest patch did need a tiny bit of glue to repair one of the corner stitches …

Another thing to remember is to check the back of your buttonhole edging every now and again while stitching. Somehow (and I’m still not quite sure how) I’d managed to move from one stitch to the next by means of a tiny stitch over one fabric thread – imagine stitching a Kloster block and not doing all stitches in the same direction, but doing the first top-to-bottom, then the next bottom-to-top. This, of course, would have come undone when the fabric next to it was cut, so before cutting I secured it with a few discreet stitches on the back of the work. Don’t tell anyone.

So after all that (and the discovery that I miscounted and two orange double cross stitches are one thread out) here are the three patches, cut from their surrounding fabric and then sewn onto three foam purses with running stitch to make a set of attractive project pouches (just right for keeping the threads, beads and ribbons for individual projects separate).

Art of the Needle sewn onto project pouches

Border control

Posted on 13th May, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

One way of finishing pieces of stitching, whether they become bookmarks or table mats or bell pulls or patches, is to give them a decorative and sturdy border (“hem” would probably be a better word, but “Hem control” wouldn’t have been such a good title ). The emphasis is on “sturdy” – it’s easy enough to work a line of running stitch and fray the fabric up to it, and I recently saw a finish where the fabric was frayed up to a border of Kloster blocks, but although that would probably be fine for projects that get stuck on cards, or the tops of boxes, they probably wouldn’t stand up to a lot of handling.

At the moment I’m working on several sets of small and even smaller designs specifically intended to be used with foam items like the notebooks and purses I showed you last week, and also with smaller foam shapes to make ornaments. Some will use the frayed-edge finish, some will be attached with buttons, and some will have a more use-proof finish. But as I am stitching the models, I am reminded why I use these first-class, grade A borders so little. They are very time-consuming! On the other hand, they do produce pieces which will stand up to handling, and which can be displayed as they are, or easily attached to a background (for example a cushion or a bag). Below are a few examples of long-lasting borders: hem stitch (not used in the pieces I’m working on at the moment), four-sided edging (shown here on Percival, used as part of the design on Faith Hope & Love and the Guildhouse needlebook) and buttonhole edging (progress picture for Art of the Needle; not cut out of the surrounding fabric yet).

Foam fun

Posted on 6th May, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

Ever since I bought sticky-back foam from them for our church’s Christmas Craft Event last year, Yellow Moon have been sending me their catalogue. Nothing stitchy, really, but lots of felt and foam and paper and things like that. It turned out to be really useful for the people doing Sunday School and the Mother & Toddler group, which was a nice side effect.

I do like looking through the catalogue myself, even if I don’t really expect to find anything in it that I could use. But this time I noticed a few things which I thought might be fun, and even useful, for stitchers. One of the things we always run up against when we finish a piece of stitching is that irritating question non-stitchers always ask, “what are you going to do with it?” Personally I think the fun I had stitching it is the great thing, and I’m not overly worried if I end up not doing anything with it at all. Do people ever ask someone who has been to a beautiful concert what he is going to do with the music he so enjoyed?

Even so, it’s nice to be able to use completed projects in such a way that they give enjoyment a second time round, as a card for someone special, for example, or as a needlebook, coaster, lap tray, or thread box. And as there are only so many needlebooks, coasters and boxes one can use (although cards always come in handy, however many you make) it’s satisfying to find a possible new way of “finishing” one’s work.

I did briefly toy with the idea of a snow globe – you know, one of those glass (or more likely perspex) domes with water inside, and when you shake them it snows. They sell those, with a slot in the middle for your own artwork. The picture showed a foam insert, so obviously the thickness of a piece of stitching wouldn’t be a problem. In the end I decided against them because at 65mm high they are really a bit too small for anything but the tiniest piece of Hardanger. Two other things I did order, though – foam notebooks, and foam purses. A lot will depend on how securely I can attach the stitching to the foam, but if it works they should make lovely stitchers’ notebooks (for noting down all your projects, with or without pictures) and little project pouches (to hold needles, threads, scissors, needle threader, beads etc). They need a fairly small projects, so I’ve been designing a few especially for these objects; if they turn out well, perhaps I could make them up into kits!

An old-fashioned evening

Posted on 4th April, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

A week or so ago I stitched a card – or what would become a card – for friends of ours expecting their second baby. Last Monday it was born (on my birthday!), and so I needed to add name and date to the piece. For various reasons I didn’t get round to it until last night. I scribbled some lettering ideas (in cross stitch over one) and numbers (in backstitch) on the original chart, worked out where to start to get them in the right position so they would still fit into the aperture card I had for it, and got stitching.

I was two letters into the name when suddenly the room went dark. Power cut. I wasn’t too worried as our rare power cuts generally last for about 30 seconds, but this one obviously had other ideas. It stuck. Cue my resourceful husband who had soon transformed the room into a rather romantic and cosy sea of candle light. Stitching, however, was out of the question. Cue resourceful husband again, who found an Aladdin lamp (a sort of oil lamp on steroids, as I understand), set it up, and before you know it I was at the kitchen table, stitching away.

The light was remarkably good, actually! Even so I wish I’d been working on some chunky satin stitch on 22ct Hardanger fabric, but as it happened the lettering was over one on 28ct Lugana using metallics … not ideal, but I managed, and this morning the card was put together, in time to take it to our friends before we set off on my birthday treat, a vintage car weekend in Wales. We travel there in our 1925 unheated, uninsulated Austin 7. And it’s just started snowing again …

A simple needlebook

Posted on 30th March, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

Remember I said two of the Guildhouse models still had to be made into a needlebook? Well, I decided to do the little stitching that needed to be done before treating myself to my pink alternative version of the course’s first project. I wanted this needlebook to be very simple, with as little stitching as possible, so I’ve been experimenting in the hope that it wouldn’t go so desperately wrong that I’d have to stitch the models again!

First step: work a rectangle around the Hardanger motifs in double running stitch (the picture shows backstitch, which with hindsight is too bulky). Then cut two tiny squares of felt which will only just cover the holes and Kloster blocks and place them on the back. Next, iron a rectangle of iron-on interfacing on the back of your stitching, covering and securing the felt and staying inside the stitched outline. Cut around the running stitch, about four blocks away from it. You now have something looking like the pictures below – as you can see, I used two different colours of felt.

A backstitch rectangle around the two Hardanger motifs

Iron Vilene on the back, covering the felt and staying inside the outline

Fold the rectangle double to make a “booklet” and iron the fold flat. Cut two or three rectangular pieces of felt a little smaller than the cover, place them inside and make a spine by working double running stitch down the middle of the book, going through all layers (the cover and the felt). Fray the edges up to the backstitched line if you wish. Ta-da! A needlebook. And I won’t have to stitch the models again *phew*.

Fold into a booklet and iron the fold flat

Sew two or three rectangles of felt in place with double running stitch down the spine, and fray the edge

Having finished the needlebook I could work on my dusky pink Guildhouse variation with a clear conscience. Using perle #5 on 28ct is quite chunky, but I think it looks nice and plump, and I may well use that combination again. I once bought a kit (a very pretty one which I really enjoyed from Victoria Sampler’s Beyond Cross Stitch series) which used perle #8 and #12 on 28ct; because it was white-on-white the coverage was OK, and it looked very delicate, but anything where the fabric and thread are different colours I’d probably opt for #5 and #8.

The design I’m working on at the moment has no cutting at all so it’s just Kloster blocks and satin stitch, which is very relaxing and quite quick too! The colours I’m using are from DMC’s dusky pink range, 225, 223 and 221 to be precise. I just wish DMC 221 came in #8, but 223 is as dark as they go, so I’m going to have to order a ball of Anchor 896, which the New Stitches thread converter assures me is very much like DMC 3721, a relatively dark shade from that same dusky pink series. Oh dear, what a chore, I’ll have to go stash shopping …

Needlebook thoughts and Happy Hour revisited

Posted on 8th March, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

A while ago I finished the last two models for the first Guildhouse course. Well, they are two halves of one model, really – two small, simple squares to practice cutting, dove’s eyes and square filets. But as the course is for “refreshers” as well as for beginners, I did want to add a little twist so it wouldn’t be boring for those who had done all this before. So I decided to add a bit of bling. The students can decide whether to have the metallic thread only in the borders, or for some of the filling stitches as well.

The reason I stitched the two together is because I thought they might make rather a pretty needlebook; but as we won’t be turning it into one in class, I need a simple method which I can explain in a few lines so anyone who wants to can turn their project into a needlebook at home. Nothing too complicated with whipstitched edges, then, and preferably a method that needs hand sewing only. I’m leaning towards a double running stitch edge, backed with Vilene inside the backstitch line with some coloured felt sandwiched between, and then just cut and fray and sew in some felt pages with double running stitch down the spine. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Some of you may remember that I wrote a number of posts about how designs got their names; one of them was about Kaleidoscope, which started out life as Happy Hour because the four designs were meant to provide a happy hour’s stitching (if you’re a very quick stitcher …) and then be made into coasters. However, they got renamed and so I was left with a name without a design to go with it. This is not as unusual or as odd as it sounds; in my Notes folder there is a list of names which I hope will one day lead to a design. Last week, the time was finally ripe for Happy Hour.

Why? Because last week Tracy sent me those beautiful Cottage Garden threads. I wanted to do something with them, now – well, very soon, anyway. But what? I could use them for one of the Stitch-Along months, as I’m stitching them all again for the SAL blog using speciality threads, but that didn’t seem quite right. They should have a new design of their own! Something small and simple that would show off the threads. Something like Kaleidoscope … four small designs … lots of satin stitch but also some other stitches for variety … two colours each … why not use a different brand of hand-dyed perle for each one? … but Cottage Garden only comes in #8 and #12, so do two of them on 28ct? … and not much cutting, with the option of not cutting at all … Happy Hour was taking shape! You’ll have to wait and see what threads and colours I eventually decided on, but here is a small peek at what the foursome will look like:

Happy Hour

A finish, a near miss and a new product

Posted on 7th February, 2013 by Flights of Fancy

Father-in-law’s birthday weekend went very well, we had a wonderful time with all the family and everyone enjoyed themselves (even when several of us got up to sing an appropriately rewritten version of “Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines” in honour of FIL’s flying days). I managed to get the card finished before we set off, but forgot to photograph it. I did take a picture of the completed stitching, though, and here it is, with silver filling stitches:

Of course I couldn’t possibly go off for a long weekend without my stitching bag, but I wasn’t sure which project to take. Walled Garden was calling to me loudly – all those pretty colours in my project folder waiting to be used – but it’s a bit too big for a travel project, so I decided on a model stitch for the next Guildhouse course. It’s a variation on Round Dozen, using double wrapped bars and spider’s web filling stitches. A nice quick stitch, not too complicated and the perfect opportunity to try out a new Caron colour, Calabasa, a warm and sunny variegated orange. Like the Appalachia/Jade combination, this one is definitely going to get used more often! Perhaps with Daffodil, another cheerful, sunny colour.

Remember I called this little project “not too complicated”? Famous last words … I’d done all the surface stitching, Kloster blocks, brick stitch, satin stitch, Queen’s stitch, everything, and had started to cut. I’d completed about half the cutting when I came to a Kloster block that made me stop in my tracks. It took me a while to work out why it had set the alarm bells ringing, and then I realised – I’d stitched two of the block’s five satin stitches into one hole!

A mistake in my Kloster blocks

There was no way I could cut along the Kloster block like that; the fabric thread at the bottom of the block was unsecured and although it was unlikely to make the whole thing unravel, it would certainly be a weak spot. It also looked wrong, would forever annoy me, and set a very bad example for my students. At that point I could have decided to give up on it and restitch the whole thing, but that would have been rather a waste of time and material, so I attempted a rescue operation. I cut the perle #5 on the corner where the misshapen Kloster block met its neighbour, carefully unpicked both blocks and fastened off the two cut ends. I then restitched the two unpicked blocks, pulling less firmly than usual so I wouldn’t distort the fabric threads that had already been cut. It worked, and with a sigh of relief I resumed my cutting. Can you tell from the photograph which was the rogue Kloster block? I can’t. So if you ever find that you have miss-stitched a Kloster block, or accidentally cut your stitching while cutting the fabric, don’t be too down-hearted – you may very well be able to salvage it!

During the courses I teach I like to suggest ways of finishing projects; this project and another Round Dozen variation which I haven’t stitched yet are just the right size to be made into coasters. You can see two sets in the Gallery, one using Round the Year, and the other using Kaleidoscope. As I was considering how many coasters I would need to get for the students, I thought I might as well order in some more and make them available on Mabel’s Fancies! They’re really nice ones with rounded corners, and quite hard-wearing – the one below has been in constant use on the little table by my stitching chair for the past eighteen months or so, and apart from a few very slight scratches it’s absolutely fine, and still shows the stitching off a treat.

You can find the coasters on the Squissors & Kits page, per pair or in a set of 4.

Model stitching and students’ work

Posted on 30th October, 2012 by Flights of Fancy

The Guildhouse course has ended by now, but there is one project I haven’t shown you yet. Unlike the others, this was not a counted technique. The students were given a piece of satin dupion with a few outlines on it, and a diagram showing the outline and the various stitches worked on and around them. It included shisha stitch and some paisley and peacock feather motifs, and the idea was to produce some fairly free-hand Indian-style embroidery. I’d managed to get some very reasonably priced little round mirrors for the shisha stitches, but I decided to work mine using two fivepences – just to show that you can, really! The other stitches included French knots, chain stitch, couching and buttonhole stitch.

When I teach a course I like to give suggestions for finishing the projects we stitch. Some methods only require a bit of sewing, for example a humbug scissor fob or biscornu. If the budget allows I include some finishing materials in the course material pack, such as cards, coasters, sticky-back magnets (for fridge magnets), felt (for needle cases) or in one case a silicone cupcake mould to make a cupcake pin cushion.

Sometimes, however, the finishing item would be too expensive to include, or too much a matter of personal taste. I mounted the silk gauze miniature peacock in a silver locket I happened to have, but I didn’t think I could include one in every material pack! It works well as a suggestion, though, and it helps if I can point students to shops which supply finishing items such as pendants and brooches.

It also helps if the shops in question don’t suddenly stop stocking things *exasperated sigh*. I’d mounted the Shisha model in a satin-covered box by Rajmahal which used to be available in a range of sizes and colours from Debbie Cripps. But as I tried to find the right web page so I could put it in the handout for that class it turned out that since I last looked the boxes have disappeared – and the people from Debbie Cripps haven’t replied to my email about them. They are still available from some Australian sites, but unfortunately with the postage that may not be worth it.

But some students show great initiative, and are not to be discouraged by retailers dropping things from their catalogues. One lady simply made a fabric-covered box herself!

I’ll finish by showing you three more projects. One student decided that she wanted her Silk Sampler to be useful as well as pretty, and remembering some of the finishing items from previous courses mounted it in a coaster.

And probably my star pupil was a lady who had only recently taken up stitching, and so far had stuck to cross stitch on aida. I’m not sure she quite realised what she was letting herself in for when she joined the course, but she took to it all with relish, from blackwork to Shisha to Hardanger with ribbon work – and she produced some of the most regular buttonhole wheels I have ever seen! Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of that, but here are her blackwork card, and her Hardanger.

Bookmarks

Posted on 9th July, 2012 by Flights of Fancy

Stitchers are fortunate people. For all sorts of reasons, but the one I’m thinking of at the moment is that they always have the means to make a very personal gift for people who are getting married, celebrating a birthday or having children, for people who have done something that needs a Thank You, or for people who are going through a difficult time.

And they needn’t be big projects either. Of course it is possible to stitch an alphabet afghan for the baby or a poster-sized sampler for the bride & groom, but often a card or small gift is equally appreciated. Cards with the birthday boy’s or girl’s age (be tactful here!), the anniversary celebrated, or the baby’s initial are quick yet personal and can be framed by the recipient if they would like to display it more permanently.


from "1-2-3"	from "A-B-C"

If you prefer to give something that can be used, there is once again a whole range of possibilities, from large projects like bedspreads or table linen to smaller items such coasters, cotton shopping bags or bookends, or (my subject of today) bookmarks.

I love bookmarks myself – I’m generally reading about three books at any given time, so they come in very handy. But they also make great gifts. They are easy to personalise; they are usually relatively quick to stitch; and there are at least five different methods of finishing them. Don’t believe me? Here they are!

I’ll just mention the first two briefly, because they are fairly self-explanatory. One is to use ready-finished bookmarks to stitch on. I haven’t actually done that yet, but I do have one in my stash for a future occasion. The second is to use a double fold aperture bookmark, in which you mount your stitching in much the same way as you would in an aperture card.

Then there is the option of stitching on a material that can be cut and doesn’t fray, like vinylweave or perforated paper. Once it has been cut into shape it can be backed with adhesive felt, or for a slightly neater finish (which is unfortunately also more labour-intensive) you can cut some felt to the size of the bookmark and attach it with blanket stitch. Below is the back of the Assisi bookmark you can see in the Gallery.

A very decorative way of finishing a bookmark is with four-sided edging. This is a very neat and quite sturdy finish, and if the back of your stitching will stand inspection you could leave it at that. If you are afraid stitches might catch or come undone, or if the bookmark uses cutwork, it is a good idea to back it with felt cut slightly smaller than the bookmark. If you attach the felt with matching thread by catching the upright threads of the four-sided edging it will be almost invisible. Below is the back of the complimentary Matchbook bookmark you can see in the Gallery

Finally there is the whipstitch finish, which comes in two variations. For a whipstitch finish you first backstitch a bookmark-shaped outline around your stitching. You then stitch an identical outline on a second piece of fabric which will form the back. Cut about 5 threads away from the outline, fold the hems in, and then whipstitch the two pieces of fabric together (I’ll show this in more detail a bit later). You can choose to backstitch and whipstitch only the long sides of the bookmark (placing some thin wadding between the two layers if desired), then stitch a line of double running stitch across the short sides and fray the fabric up to that line.

Whipstitched & frayed bookmark, close-up

The other variation uses backstitch all round the bookmark, and can be rectangular or have a point at the bottom. This is what I used the other day to finish two bookmarks for friends of ours who are going to be baptised this Sunday. What do you need? First a stitched bookmark with a backstitch outline. If you use a whipstitch finish for something that will be stuffed (like a pincushion) keep the backstitches small, as this will make the seam stronger. For a bookmark I use backstitch over 4 threads for the straight lines, and over 2 for the diagonal lines. Next you’ll need an outlined back as well, and if your bookmark uses cutwork, some felt to go between the two layers and show through the cut areas. Cut the felt so that it is about 5mm smaller all round than the outline.

A stitched piece with a bookmark-shaped outline

An outlined back, felt, and perle cotton

Fold the hems in and press them with your fingers. Make sure your hands are clean – you’ll be fingering the edges of your bookmark a lot! Now decide whether you want the whipstitching to stand out or blend in. For an invisible finish, use a colour matching your fabric both for the backstitch and the whipping. For a decorative, cord-like edge use a contrasting colour for the whipping; here, I matched the whipping to the felt. Now tie a knot in the end of your thread and take a few small stitches along the top of the felt; fit the felt inside the folded edges of the front of your bookmark, and bring the needle up between two backstitches a little away from the top right-hand corner. Place the back fabric against the front, and whipstitch all around the bookmark by taking the needle underneath facing pairs of backstitches.

Finish off with a knot around the first whipstitch, then take the needle down between the two layers and bring it up a few centimeters further; pull firmly so that the little knot disappears into the fabric, and cut the thread. And that’s all!

Flights of Fancy

Mabel's musings on anything stitchy

Category Archives: Finishes