Embroidery Designs Guide

United Arab Emiratie Zareena showcased the true Arab, Pashno cultural embroidery patterns in the recent Dubai fest. The hallmark of her collection are the lush embroideries on single one-piece gowns. Blending old, vintage Afghani references, Zareena uses the thread zari and the gotha (the metallic fabric used richly in Indian wear) as well as luxurious crepes and chiffons to accentuate the sparkle in her embroidery. Every piece is distinct and different from the previous piece and in this lies her excellence. The bejewelled embroideries are made to perfection and have fans raving for more of her collection. Her firm belief is that simplicity is the essence of beauty and all her collections derive their elegance from their clean cuts coupled with a rich look.

‘I await inspiration. I do not plan it,’ she explains. ‘It could be a simple piece of jewellery that might take my fancy and become an inspiration for an entire collection.’

Married with two daughters, Zareena has successfully launched and maintained three businesses with the support of her husband, Colonel Mohammed Murad. She looks towards India for inspiration due to its age old tradition and culture. She has started an enterprise in Delhi with a team of designers and embroidery craftsmen. Her endeavors include a well-known beauty salon and a wedding events management company. She juggles between family life and her career and maintains a healthy balance between the two. ‘Without harmony at home, a woman cannot achieve heights. My family is my strength,’ she points out.

EDG wishes her all the best in her bejewelled embroidered life!

What exactly is bead embroidery? This is an ancient hand embroidery technique which originated in Germany in the 12th century. The pattern was first drawn onto the parchment and then attached to the fabric. The beads were strung onto one single thread, laid on the design in the desired manner and then couched into place with a thread and second needle. So there was a juxtaposition between the beads and the embroidery and this unique technque came to be known as bead embroidery.

In today’s scenario, one generally takes 5 - 6 beeds on the needle at a time. The needle goes into the fabric and these beads are then couched with a second needle and thread into place. The backstitch technique is used in order to run through several of the couched beads. A final thread is run through to ensure stability of the embroidery design.

Check out the dragonfly which caught my eye in one of the beaded embroidery resources - Giuliana’s Beaded Embroidery - This embroidery is done with linen lined with muslin. The dragonfly body is done in clear silver-lined bugle beads, and the wings are solid silver metal Delica beads. The opaque purple beads are size 11/0 Japanese glass beads. Aren’t they a beauty!

There is an informative book on beaded embroidery by Sherry Serafini and you could read it -  The Art of Bead Embroidery: Techniques, Designs & Inspirations

Check out this amazing heavenly collection of fantasy fairies and creatures. One might get to see some embroidered fairies or goddesses but getting all of them at one place is a rare thing. We have them all here at Magical Machine Embroidery and they are a treat. All of them are done using machine embroidery designs. It is necessary that these be embroidered using metallic thread since the necessary shine should come through.

All designs are perfect for the 4×4 hoops. These designs are created using Janome colors although the threads are not Janome. The Pegasus and the Frog Prince are complicated but beautifully done. One could one’s own imagination for creating their own fairies. The available designs can be considered as a benchmark alone.

Most embroidery enthusiasts at some point of time in their path do come across this field of embroidery called blackwork. They pause a little to practise this form and either get completely hooked on to it or move on to something else…

So what exactly is blackwork? Blackwork Embroidery is an ancient and simple form of embroidery, stitched in black thread on white or off-white fabric. It is often called simply “blackwork”. The basic stitch is called Holbein or the double running stitch. This stitch is reversible and looks the same on the back and the front.

A counted-thread form of embroidery that is stitched on even-weave fabric is the easier way to denote a blackwork. Any black thread can be used, but firmly twisted threads give a better look than embroidery floss. Traditionally blackwork is stitched in silk thread on white or off-white linen or cotton fabric. Sometimes metallic threads or coloured threads are used for accents. Here comes the difference between blackwork and scarletwork. Blackwork is compulsory used with black thread, while scarletwork embroidery is sewn with red thread.

Historically, there are three common styles of blackwork:
a) In the earliest blackwork, counted stitches are worked to make a geometric or small floral pattern. Most modern blackwork is in this style, especially the commercially-produced patterns that are marketed for hobby stitchers.

b) Later blackwork features large designs of flowers, fruit, and other patterns connected by curvilinear stems. These are outlined with stem stitch, and the outlined patterns are filled with geometric counted designs.

c) In the third style of blackwork, the outlined patterns are “shaded” with random stitches called seed stitches. This style of blackwork imitates etchings or woodcuts.

Blackwork has been historically been used as designs on shirts, chemises or smocks during the time of Henry VII. Blackwork in silk on linen was the most common domestic embroidery technique for clothing (shirts, smocks, sleeves, ruffs, and caps) and for household items such as cushion covers throughout the reign of Elizabeth I, but it lost its popularity by the 17th century.

If you want to know exactly how to do a blackwork, you could take these tutorials at Blackwork Archives.

Cross stitch is an innovative form of embroidery which is basically a double stitch forming a X in sewing and embroidery. It could also be needlework made of X stitches.

One of the stunning cross stitch projects I came across was : Capture The Mystery Of Egypt project - Ancient Egyptian Cross Stitch. This features 25 glittering and historically accurate projects from the pyramids, the Great Sphinx to the hieroglyphics. It covers the scarabs to the river Nile. Few of the larger projects include King Tutankhamen, Sphinx and a goddess. It also has quite a large amount of smaller motifs ideal for bookmarks including Osiris, the eye of Horus, Isis, Anubis. At the end of the book you can find a few border designs. This book uses quite a lot of color mostly green, red, yellow, and blue. It provides colored charts containing symbols for easy identification. A definite must have for any cross stitcher!

The inner powers really reveal themselves in this creative guide. You could use these as attractive wall hangings or bag adornments.

Millions of Indians all over the world rejoiced last week when it was announced that Taj Mahal was reinstated as one of the seven wonders of the world.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in 1648. This was designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri along with skilled worksmen and craftsmen. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal Indian architecture, a style that combines Persian, Indian, Islamic and Turkish styles. The white domed marble mausoleum is most popular and many a time denoted as a national symbol (India). In 1983, this monument became a UNESCO World Heritage site and was cited as the “Jewel of Muslim Art in India”.

What does this edifice have anything to do with embroidery. Have you ever seen an embroidered Taj Mahal…! Check this out at Patterns Boutique. Isn’t it a beauty. This has been done through cross stitch embroidery. Since it is a pattern, it is important that the embroiderer uses the recommended fabric - Aida 18 and the recommended color - white to ensure the beautiful marvel of Taj Mahal comes out best on your embroidery. In the case of the pattern next to the post, the fabric size is 40*32 cm and there are a total of 30 color stitches.

Portraits like the Taj Mahal are great as wall hangings and door adornments.

I will try to follow this up sometime later with some of the portraits of the other wonders of the world.

This time we are here with something quite different.. It’s time for a mystic approach to embroidery…A rather esoteric way of the unknown powers and spirits that rule our world! Many believe that each of us here on earth have certain symbols or signs which when associated with us individually or as groups - represent powerful attributes and could play an important role in moulding our lives. As for me, I do not really believe in these forces, but one never knows the truth unless one experiences it!

Anyway, to continue - let us first understand the difference between signs and symbols. A sign is a material object which points clearly to something - like a road sign or the weather. A symbol is a deeper connotation or reflection of something profound. For example, the moon symbolizes calmness, desires while a sun symbolizes victory, warmth.

The next important question for a person on this path is to determine one’s sign or symbol. The simpler ones are birthday symbols (determined by your birth date and time - You could also have precious stones related to your birthday). The tougher ones are symbols that are revealed to people through dreams, meditation or trance states.

Signs and symbols embroidery is nothing but embroidering these signs and symbols. What is special is that you would find all of them as a category or group in one place.

Some of the examples would be the embroidered alchemy group. There are 7 elements in alchemy. One of them is copper. Check out the alchemy copper embroidered image above. This is available for sale at “What’s your sign” in the form of embroidery patches, appliqued T-shirts, sweatshirts, wall hangings or just as an embroidered item. Finished alchemy sign embroidery designs (on shirts) are approximately 3.5″ x 3.5″. Finished Wallhangings are about 8″x8″. Patches/Badges are about 4″ x 4″. All shirts are high quality Jerzees, Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, 100% cotton.

You also have animal totems or animal symbols in the same resource website - an example is the alchemy phoenix which you see besides this post. The dimensions and product details of animal symbols embroidery are identical to alchemy embroidery. These are quite colorful and even feature peacocks, lions and other wild animals.

So, what’s your sign?

Check out this great resource I came across on hand embroidery designs - “Knitting-and” The critters have come out really cute, haven’t they! This is one place where we could find some rarely embroidered creatures like dragonfly and redback spider. The Indian motifs especially the peacock design is worth a peek. You could find more information on cultural embroidery at Indian embroidery. Most of these embroideries can be knitted using Brother embroidery machines. But the one which takes the cake is the moth you see besides this post. A moth at the onset of its transformation to a butterfly is a beautiful sight and this embroidery manages to capture that moment. This knitting embroidery was done using 6 six strands for filling and 3 for the outline.

Knitting is a beautiful art and if you ever want to learn knitting, I would recommend the tutorial on Knitting Tips.  It has a basic 5 day free e-tutorial for you.

Hi! I thought of going out of the beaten track for some scintillating embroidery designs for you from Uzbekistan - traditional Uzbek silk embroidery folk art. This exquisite silk embroidery panel you see next to this post was hand-stitched by women using age-old traditions.

The story goes back to the 19th century when Uzbek women produced beautiful bed covers, embroidered hangings, wrapping cloths, table covers, and prayer mats for their households. As the Soviet Era ended and Westerners became more familiar with the finest old Uzbek pieces, prices for antique examples escalated. Now gorgeous contemporary embroideries decorate not only Uzbekistan homes, but also grace European and American households, while talented and industrious Uzbek women have a welcome new source of family income. Fortunately, we now have access to beautiful contemporary textiles that are a natural outgrowth of the old traditions–at very reasonable prices. Most of this embroidery art work are focused in the Tashkent, Nurata, Samarkand, Bukhara and Shahrisabz areas. The new pieces are captivating, with inspired designing, excellent materials, and fine craftsmanship.

How is Uzbek embroidery done? - The embroidery foundation cloth are hand-woven fabrics. These fabrics are woven in narrow strips. Most current-day pieces are a silk/cotton blend: a silk warp is most usual, with cotton wefts. In satin-weave pieces the weft is also silk. Occasional ground fabrics are all cotton, especially for pieces expected to get hard use, such as horse covers. The fabrics are often lightly dyed to produce a soft beige tint. Occasionally other colors are used for the ground fabrics. Team work - generally part of the same family - gets together for large suzanis where several of the fabric strips are first sewn loosely together and the pattern is drawn on them. Later when the panels are rejoined, the pattern parts may not match perfectly, and extra stitches may be added in the areas along the seams.   You could hang these as tapestry or use as an applique,  bedspread, coverlet, curtain, or tablecloth.