FARMHOUSE EMBROIDERY

LEVEL: EASY

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Pure Wool 8ply in 4 colours
• Needle
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Fabric
• Frame

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1 - Using a pencil, lightly draw your design onto the fabric.

Step 2 - Using a combination of stitches, fill your designs with the different coloured wool. We used backstitches, French knots and Lazy daisy stitches to create our embroidery.

BACK STITCH (for the stems)

Bring your needle up to the right side of the fabric, slightly in front of the start of the seam. Then, put your needle through the fabric, behind where it came up. Then bring it up again a stitch length in front and putting the needle back through where the last stitch lies. This backwards motion is what gives the stitch its name. Keep working the stitch until you've reached the end of the design.

FRENCH KNOT (for the flowers)

Bring your needle up the back side of the fabric, pulling through the full length of the strand until the knot meets the edge of the material. Point the needle downwards and wrap the thread around the needle 2 or 3 times. Put the point of the needle back into the fabric immediately adjacent to where it came out. Pull the string tight around the base of the needle, forming the beginning of the knot. Pull the thread through the double wrap and down through the fabric, the threads will knot themselves into the right shape. Repeat this process for each knot.

LAZY DAISY STITCH (for the leaves)

This is effectively a chain stitch but detached and can be used for flower petals and leaves to great and varied effect. Bring the thread up at the start of the line and put it back through the fabric immediately adjacent to where it came out, but do not pull the thread all the way through. Holding it down with your nonsewing thumb is helpful. Bring the needle up through the fabric a little further on and slip it under the loop, pulling it back up the line and taking your needle back through where it came out to tie off.