Embroidery Designs Guide

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.

This art is truly amazing! What is punch needlework embroidery? Punch needle stitchery is the technique of ironing a transfer pattern onto cotton/polyester fabric and then punching yarn, floss or ribbon into the fabric to fill design areas with color. There are special needles used for this purpose which are sharp, stainless steel hollow tubes (in varying sizes) with an eye, inserted into a comfort-fit handle. They come in various shapes like flat, looped, contoured or sculpted depending on your requirement. The end result is a breathtaking display of dramatic textures and combinations.

Take a look at the embroidery design of Jeffrey Lansing beside this post. The warrior literally stands out on the piece of frame and a lot of emphasis has been given to the contours of the face and headband. Some more designs could be found at Punch Projects.

Happy punching, friends!

If you are interested in converting computer generated images, camera digitized files and clip arts into machine embroidery designs, you have reached the right place. I have been getting a few requests on queries related to converting pictures into embroidery designs and I hope that this post gives some insight into the process.

After doing some research, we found one software that is easy to install, easy to use and most important - easy to understand. Just THREE steps required! Design Authority is a home machine embroidery software, which needs Windows 98, Pentium III computer to work with. The final output can be exported to Brother(.pes), Elna(.sew), Janome(.sew), Melco(.exp), Tajima(.dst), Toyota(.10O), Barudan(.hduxx), Happy(.tap), Sunstar(.sst), Pfaff(.ksm), Juki(amsm3), Mitsubishi(,1xx), Komtekct(.cem) There is a section on free downloadable embroidery designs, where you can download samples of standard fill, advanced fill and photostitch embroideries! (You could also go to Diana portrait to see the art of photostitch hand embroidering.) The ship you see next to this post is a free standard fill embroidery design converted from a picture and is available in all machine formats.

Introducing you to a great resource on hand embroidery designing - Emu Needlework. Apart from the beautiful canvases and kits on hand embroidery and cross stitch, we also have some valuable information on design needles, cloths, tapestries, threads and other accessories. All of these items in various categories are available for purchase in order to facilitate you to embroider your design.

On the canvases, the best ones I liked apart from the three horses displayed here are “African Wildlife” and “Nefertiti”. The “Three Champions” (horses) are 47 cm by 27 cm meant to be hand embroidered on cotton. The embroidery accessories are comprehensive containing unique information on embroidery scissors (gold plated), handeze gloves, embroidery hoop stand, beadings (glass pebbles, petite, antique), needle case, minder and threader, thread organiser with bobbins to name a few. The other resources at our links page should be of help.

Have you ever wished that you had one great knitting resource at your side to help you learn the things that are missing in your knitting repertoire? Have you found knitting manuals to be too technical and confusing? Maybe you have a pattern and just can’t figure out what that abbreviation means? Well, my friend Sarah Beth has put together an awesome Ebook called Knitting Secrets that spells out how to knit starting at the very beginning and moving on to advanced stitches and techniques. It has helped so many people learn to knit that I thought you should know about it too.

Check it out here: Knitting Tips and let me know what you think!

I did go through the 5 day mini course and it was really interesting! It starts right from the basics like casting, the slip knot, casting on single, casting on cable, knitting and goes on details like turning Your work, purling, stockinette, garter, binding off and figuring out gauge - Quite comprehensive, isn’t it?

Check out these Indian applique patterns on parasols beautifully handcrafted on handloom cotton fabric.

Some of the unique points to note are that these applique embroidery designs are made of colorful and multi pattern cotton fabric and are handmade by artisans from Pipilli (meaning Papillion) in Orissa in India.

I found this interesting product description which I am reproducing verbatim: “Applique in Orissa, India is an old temple art, which has been refined to a perfection. A fine example of the craft is the enormous applique canopies above the reigning deity of Puri, Lordjagannath. Applique art is the process of cutting coloured cloth into shapes of animals, birds, flowers, leaves and other decorative motifs and stitching them on to a piece of cloth that can ultimately be used as a lamp shade, a hand bag or even a garden umbrella. The village of Pipli, close to Bhubaneswar, is the site of beautiful applique work, created by artists, quite a few of whom have won national awards for their crafts. Applique’, which is a French term, is a technique by which the decorative effect is obtained by superposing patches of coloured fabrics on a basic fabric, the edges of the patches being sewn in some form of stitchery. It is distinct from what is known as patch work in which small pieces of cut fabrics are usually joined side by side to make a large piece of fabric or for repairing a damaged fabric. Though the form is not unknown in other parts of India, it is Orissa and specially in Pipli that the craft has a living and active tradition continuing over centuries.”

Introducing applique embroidery designs straight from China. Shanghai Sungod Dailyuse Hardware Imp and Exports of China got in touch with us recently to introduce their line of applique lace embroidery design products. All these are done using hand embroidery techniques. Each country has its own unique touch in their embroidery designs and all the 11 embroidery patterns I came across were eye stoppers. (You can find one of them next to this post).

The company supplies a selection of handcraft applique products in many sizes (12 x 13 cm, 22 x 20 cm, 9.5 x 9.5 cm, 25 x 23.5 cm, etc.) and various shapes (flower, butterfly, heart etc.) with high quality and cometitive price. They are now continuing to make non-stop effort in Quality Control and Products Research & Development in order to keep the step of fashion.

If you are interested in more information on these embroidery designs, please use the “Contact” button above.

At the start of this new year, we have for you a one stop shop for all Indian embroidery designs at Indian Embroidery. India is famous for fabric decoration using traditional weaving, dyeing and embroidery. What is interesting is that each province of India has its own unique style of embroidery coming down from ancient times. In traditional Indian embroidery, the threads are dyed in natural vibrant colors and the embroidery is done using a variety of stitches unique to that form of embroidery. The simple running stitch of kantha or the satin and chain of Kashmiri Kashidakari depict the passion and life of the people of the state. The Chikan work of Lucknow resembles the fine marble carvings of the Mughal dynasty at Uttar Pradesh and Phulkari embroidery springs forth from the florals of Punjab. The intricate patterns and stitches of Katiawari and Sindhi embroidery entrap the beauty of the desert landscape of Rajasthan. The Mirror embroidery designs of Gujarat reflects the Persian influence on the state.

All the patterns are hand embroidered. The various forms of embroidery that you would find at this website are Kantha, Banjara, Kathi, Aari, Rabari, Kasuti, Soof, Zardozi, Chikankari, Mirror, Phulkari, Bidri, Kashmiri, Banni and Ahir embroideries. The history behind each of these designs is explained before proceeding on to the process of stitching each of them. This website should, to the best of my knowledge, cover all the varieties of Indian embroideries. If you do come to know of any more, please do let me know through the contact button below.

All cross stich enthusiasts should definitely not miss this one! Among the best books on this particular form of hand embroidery is undoubtedly Cross Stitch Myth & Magic.

Cross Stitch Myth and Magic combines the talents of nine respected artists and designers to produce a unique collection of designs from the fascinating world of folklore and legend. All the 70 embroidery designs captures a special romance and enchantment which togethers creates a collection to delight both the mind and the eye. Imaginative designs for cushions, boxes, curtains, sachets, wall hangings are waiting for you.

This is a fantastic book for cross-stitch addicts! The book is full of charts for everything from wizards and unicorns to oriental dragons and zodiac motifs. There are 6 main categories for the charts: Myth & Magic, Winter Enchantment, Oriental Fantasy, Angelic Messengers, The Mystic Deep and Celestial Heaven. Within these categories there are also charts for complex, intricate, time-consuming masterpieces, as well as for smaller motifs. The complex charts are more suited to an experienced stitcher and most of the motifs are very easily done by the beginner stitcher.

The directions for working the charts are very clear and concise. The designs give the name of the designers of the charts, which is an added bonus in case you find yourself wishing to do more charts by that designer.

Need I say any more!

Quilting was earlier practised only by a few institutions on a larger scale. These days, this technique has entered the house with ordinary embroiderers practising this with ease. If you are a novice and interested to learn, we have the perfect resource for you - The Beginners Guide to Quilting by Penny Halgren. The goal of this guide is to teach you to transform ordinary fabric into a beautiful handmade quilt. With just 9 easy-to-follow steps and full photographs of the quilt (work-in-progress), quilt sewing is not only easy but also fun. At the same time, Penny ensures that this is not just another blanket. The book comes with five free bonus gifts which includes an offer to post your handmade quilt on the website for free for one week. If you just want to check your skills on quilting, try the free 7 day mini course which will give information on fabric cutting, colors management, keeping blocks in order among other important tips on quilting. Take a look at the butterfly quilt next to this post. This has been split into 3 parts to be paper-pieced. Then the center body is appliqued. The antenna are drawn on with a pigma pen. 4 fabrics would be needed for this quilt block - 2 colors for the wings, a background color and black for the body. Before you leave, dont miss the 200 free quilt patterns available!