Embroidery Designs Guide

We have some embroidered angels arriving for you here! Aren’t they stunning? Check out this resource at Sew Dragon Designs. Divinely inspired hoop embroideries in the 4 X 4 size. These designs are available in pes, art, hus, xxx, sew and dst formats and the information on machine embroidery would come in handy here! The designs can be used as cute appliques on girls frocks, napkins, handkerchiefs.

All designs have been done with an eye for detail. Check the hoop besides this post. The expression of the angel child as she sits on the cloud represents one of serenity and happiness. All the angelic  embroidery designs reflect innocence and purity.

These are available as instant downloads.

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.

Here is a great resource on some pretty embroidery fonts - The Embroidery Font Shop. All of them would make great appliques. Each font category has unique characteristics and should be used appropriately for the right person and dress. For example, the Aristocrat font denotes classiness while the Funky font is more casual. The Flirty font is best for teens, whilst the Monster font is the kids favourite. There are some good wedding fonts like Silverbell, Charming or Edwardian which you could use for special invites.
All fonts come in small, medium and large sizes with 26 letters. If the font style is such that the size varies depending on whether it is at the center or right/left position, then you would have both the size options. The embroidery fonts come in Jef, art, pcs, pcd, xxx, exp, csd, pec, pes, sew, hus, dst, vip formats (the information on machine embroidery would come in handy here).

Some of them are quite unique like Tinkertoy, Antique, Skittles. A good auto digitizing software for embroidery fonts is Singer Hyper Font - Font Auto Digitizing Software. The hyper font software easily converts any Windows True Type (R) font into embroidery embellishments.

Happy Embroidery Fonting!

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.

To start with, what exactly is beadweaving : “To form embroidered designs by combining various elements into a connected whole adding beads at regular intervals is known as beadweaving”. Check the diagram at your side to get some understanding of the same.
If you want to go through a simple project book with lots of pictures, I recommend the book by Ann Benson : Beadweaving: New Needle Techniques & Original Designs.

Benson focuses on converting craft into wearable art. She uses black-and-white diagrams to clarify procedures and introduces two types of beadwork–needle weaving, in which beads are threaded together, and card stitching, in which beads are sewn directly on to a backing of construction paper or lightweight cardboard. More than 40 amazing projects–mostly jewelry and decorative accessories–are included, with graphed or gridded patterns, step-by-step instructions, and a complete list of materials right down to bead size and color.

Another book worth noting in this art is The Complete Guide to Traditional Native American Beadwork: A Definitive Study of Authentic Tools, Materials, Techniques, and Styles by Joel Monture. This book offers stunning photos and a good section on traditional color use which together could give one a good starting point for one’s own creations. Joel is a professor of traditional arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. His book documents not only native American beadwork techniques, but the tedious methods of leather preparation that are necessary prior to beading.

Check out the decorative bells available for you through the cutwork art of embroidery. This is available for view at Secrets Of. You can navigate your way by choosing “Everything for Embroidery” clicking through “A Stitch and A Half” and selecting “Decorative Bells Embroidery Designs”. Aren’t they a beauty? These are shaped in the form of bells and could be used as table centerpieces or as part of your festive decorations. Some of them are available as appliques and the information on applique embroidery designs would come in handy here. All of the embroideries come in hoops in sizes of 4X4, 5X7 or 6X10.

Check out the 5X7 table centerpiece. The stitch count is 9614, height at 3.8 inches and width 6.6 inches. These are available in all machine embroidery formats namely ART, HUS, PES, PCS, SEW, VIP, DST JEF and the information on pc-machine embroidery would certainly help you understand the various formats. Have a great time livening up your decorations.

My friend, Sarah (of Knitting Tips fame) ran a contest for the best knitting secrets and she was flooded with some great tips on knitting embroidery. The best 5 ones are as below :

Loose and Easy - All knitting work should be done putting this in the background. Sumi writes, ‘I keep the first row tension loose and easy by casting on over two needles, but adding the 2nd needle only after the slipstitch.’ She notes you have to be careful when you are ready to knit to pull out the 2nd needle. Pull out the first one and Oooops! You’ll lose your first cast-on stitch.’

Manage Color Chaos - It is imperative that one manages the various colors that are available for knitting. Chrystine Martin writes, ‘knitting with hand dyed yarns?’ Be sure to use two hanks - alternate every 2 rows, as if you were making stripes. This will keep the color repeat random and not show where you change hanks.’

Magic Row Tracking - Anita Grosso sounds like someone who brings her knitting with her everywhere because sometimes she knits without bringing her knitting counters or pencil/paper. (!) This is the kind of tip that is just too clever for words. She writes, ‘when I need to put my work down, say on the 23rd row, I take my right needle and insert it into the 23rd stitch on the left needle as I stow it away. When I pick it up, count to the 23rd stitch, VOILA! I know what row I’m on.’

Power Knitting - Many knitters gain speed, symmetry, and same length by knitting, say either both sleeves or both fronts at the same time. But would you like to knit THREE times as fast? Tina Lee has found a way — she knits three skinny eyelash yarn scarves on the same l-o-n-g needles. She writes, ‘with 14″ straight knitting needles, I cast on 16 stitches of Skein 1. Push the stitches to the very end of the needle.’ Rinse and repeat for Skeins 2 and 3. This shortcut gives you more knitting than turning time, plus the scarves will have uniform tension and be the same length. Just remember to keep the yarns separate from each other (maybe even keep them in ziploc bags?)’

Binding off Viva La Crochet! - Lisa Hanratty combines a little crochet action while binding off. She substitutes a same-size crochet hook for the right needle. It makes it so easy! Instead of passing the first knit stitch over the second, you just pull the second stitch through the loop. I tried it and it turbo-charged my finishing.

That’s about it for the secret tips…If you want to read a good book covering various aspects of knitting, you must read “Knitting Tips”

Introducing the ‘Miles O Smiles‘ colorful applique embroidery designs. Aren’t they a treat to watch? The best part is that you could purchase your own custom set and download immediately. All the designs are available in dst, hus, pes, art, vip, jef, csd, exp formats and are available in sets of 8 applique designs costing 30 dollars. The information given in machine embroidery designs would come in handy here.

I found these designs strikingly similar to the iron-on appliques that we had posted in the month of May. Apart from the two hand impressions which were really cute, I took a fancy to the pattern you see next to this post. What I liked best is that all the 6 items which includes the tree, cloud, sun, chair, sea and umbrella were well fitted into one small applique in a beautiful manner.

These embroideries could be stitched or used as iron-on’s on frocks, handbags or T-shirts.

For all the kids and kids related clothing, here is the surprise resource for you. Kids Travel Zone is specially focused on cute animals which can be used as beautiful appliques on all childrens garments and related items like bibs and dinnner cloths.

I liked all of them especially the camel and the colourful frogs. But what was really eyecatching was the bull. The expressions of the bull came out quite clearly in such a simple manner. The expression on the face has been remarkably embroidered. This would make a cute applique on T-shirts of small boys. For girls, one could use the camels or the various bunnies that we have at Kids Travel Zone.

This is truly amazing! Creating freestyle stitches by hand and the end result looks like paint brush strokes. Whether you love hand embroidery or not, this book is a must see - Painting with Stitches: Creating Freestyle Embroidery by Hand.

The creative side of embroidery designing at its best! According to the author of the book, Sue Dave, techniques or materials should not obsess the designer. Nor should there be a right or a wrong way of embroidering. Expressing oneself through the design is most important. The technique or materials are only means to this end. In todays world of embroidery designing, such work comes through like a breath of fresh air. The principle she follows is: “Feel free to break rules that you dont like.”