Shirley Hudson - Lovely Little Hand Embroidery: Projects for Holidays & Every Day

Publisher: Amy Barrett-Daffin Creative Director: Gailen Runge Acquisitions Editor: Roxane Cerda Managing Editor: Liz Aneloski Editor: Karla Menaugh Technical Editor: Debbie Rodgers Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek Production Coordinator: Tim Manibusan Production Editor: Jennifer Warren Illustrator: Aliza Shalit Photo Assistants: Rachel Holmes and Gregory Ligman Instructional and Sweet Celebrations vignette photography by Shirley Hudson; lifestyle, subjects, and detail photography by Kelly Burgoyne and Estefany Gonzalez of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549 Dedication To my saint of a mother, Betty Lou (Drummond Bozzi Cowan). Acknowledgments I want to thank my family and friends for their love and support. I especially want to thank my husband, Dana Hudson, for always believing in me and doing anything in the world to help my dreams come true. He is truly an angel. I would also like to thank my daughter, Selina Hudson, for being my partner in crimesomeone I can always bounce ideas off of.

She is a true delight to hang out with every day! Thank you to my dad, John Cowan, who has always helped save the day and is truly an inspiration for getting through hard times. He never quits, and I learned to do the same. I miss my wonderful mother, Betty Cowan. She was a very strong woman and a smart one to boot. She loved to sew, and I caught that bug from her. (She would be writing her own book, too!) I am sure she is thrilled with what I have achieved. (She would be writing her own book, too!) I am sure she is thrilled with what I have achieved.

Lastly, I want to thank my dear high school home economics teacher, Andrea Crisp, who mentored me and taught me so many sewing skills. She is the nicest person you could ever meet. Introduction Growing up, I remember the fantastic feeling the holidays and special occasions gave us kids. Holidays provided a great break from schoolwork, chores, and duties. I always looked forward to the next one; it made the harder times much easier. We didnt have a lot, but we did have arts, crafts, and coloring.

I loved the simple times. Creating fun holiday decor from construction paper and simple supplies was pure joy! I started my first embroidery when I was young. It turned out to be a mess, so I threw it in a trunk, where it remained for years. Later I decided to give it another go. Im so glad I did! With practice, I improved my embroideryand you can, too. You can always learn and grow! These embroidery projects are a great way to celebrate the holidays and the months of the year.

Quick, simple, and easy, these projects not only look great in your home but are also great gifts for family and friends. The designs are bright and cheerful, and children love the characters. Holidays have always been something to look forward to, and we all need that! Making this book is one of my biggest dreams come true. I feel so blessed and thankful! Embroidery Basics Gather Your Supplies Choose the fabric for your embroidery. The best fabrics to use are muslin, tea-dyed muslin, light cotton prints, or solids. Lighter fabrics are great because the traced designs are easy to see.

When using a darker fabric for embroidery, use wash-away stitch stabilizer so the printed or traced design will be very visible. Linens can be used for embroidery as long as they have a tighter weave and are not too stiff. A needle should be able to go through the fabric without a struggle. Choose the embroidery floss for your project. The project directions tell you which floss colors I used, but feel free to make the design your own with colors you love. The floss color may need to be altered if the embroidery fabric is darker than the examples.

Lay your floss colors over the embroidery fabric to see how they work together. Can the floss be seen, or does it disappear? You may wish to use a stabilizer. You can use a product like Wash-Away Stitch Stabilizer (by C&T Publishing) on top of the fabric or put some batting behind it while you stitch. Transfer the Design to Fabric There are a couple of ways to do this. Trace the Pattern Use a lightbox or a sunny window to trace the design onto the center of the fabric. Place the fabric on top of the pattern.

The light makes it easy to see where to trace. Use a disappearing blue marker that washes away with water. Transfer the Pattern to Stabilizer You can use a product like Wash-Away Stitch Stabilizer (by C&T Publishing) to stabilize your fabric. This stabilizer goes on top of your embroidery fabric, so you will transfer the pattern to the stabilizer instead of the fabric. Trace the design or print the pattern onto the stabilizer using your printer on a rough-draft setting. Trim the excess stabilizer away, leaving (6mm12mm) around the design.

Attach the stabilizer to the center of the fabric. The stabilizer comes on an 8 11 (21.6cm 27.9cm) page and has a peel-away sticky backing to adhere the design to the fabric. Stitch the Design Try placing a layer of cotton batting under the fabric for your embroidery. The extra layer makes the stitching prettier and more stable, and it prevents any threads in the back from peeking through to the front. Use cotton batting under all embroidery fabrics. Place the fabric and cotton batting in an embroidery hoop and tighten.

Stitch the design, referring to the stitch guides in Embroidery Stitches. Cut a length of embroidery floss 14 (35.6cm) long. Use 2 strands from the 6-strand floss for most embroidery. Occasionally, the directions will indicate using 1 strand or 3 strands for special effects. It is easy to separate the number of strands needed: Gently take 2 strands from the 6 strands and pull apart slowly. Thread the embroidery needle with the floss and knot the end with a small knot.

When finished with a color, secure the floss on the back of the embroidery by taking a stitch through a nearby stitch and looping it through to make a knot. Clip any excess tails of floss on the back. Tips Keep stitch lengths around (3mm) long. Do not make stitches more than (3mm) long; it tends to look sloppy. When stitching around curves, use smaller stitches. Make sure the embroidery needle goes into the last stitch hole when backstitching to make for neat embroidery.

If the needle didnt make it into the last stitch, take it out now and redo it. It only takes a second to correct a mistake. A few extra tips: Always keep your hands clean when stitching. Use good lighting and a comfortable seat. Take breaks. Keep floss organized.

If you have used wash-away stabilizer or a disappearing marker, you will need to rinse them out of the fabric after you have stitched the design. Rinse thoroughly. The stabilizer may need to be soaked in warm water for a few minutes. Let it dry flat on a pressing cloth or towel. Press wrinkles away with an iron on the front side. When pressing a metallic thread, lower the iron temperature and avoid going over that section with an iron.

Embroidery Stitches Backstitch Most embroidery in this book uses the backstitch. Use the other stitches when indicated.