In celebration of actually finishing something I started...here is me working through one of our fabulous embroidery kits. As with most sewing and creative ventures, this was salve for the nerves. And who doesn't need that these days? (May I suggest needle felting for watching presidential debates...stab, stab, stab.)
The kit I made is Little Witch from the French design company Un Chat dans l'aiguille. I love these kits because:
- they are great for beginners as well as experienced embroiderers;
- the floss colors are soothing;
- the designs are charming;
- the fabric is really nice linen;
- the instructions are easy to follow and printed in French and English;
- the design lines rinse away;
- they can travel you wherever you go, even if it's just from the living room to the bedroom;
- the directions tell exactly what color to use and what stitches to make: something akin to "sit down, shut up, and relax."
I unpacked the kit and promptly put the threads in order on a thread minder (we have some nice new cherry wood minders from Katrinkles).
I never used one of these before! It was WAY better than unknotting globs of floss to change colors. This proved especially important because this kit has a few thread colors that are one or two shades off from each other. Sorting them all out at the beginning absolves you from guessing throughout the project.
There is an embroidery hoop in the kit that I'm assuming is more for framing and hanging as it was a bit too large for me. I used my own 6" hoop. It is big enough to see the design and stitch around but not too big that it's unwieldy.
I assembled the fabric in the hoop and started stitching along the pink lines!
She also went with me to my son's sailing lesson on a very windy day and almost blew into Lake Erie.
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Once the fun of stitching was completed, I gave her a nice warm water rinse to fully remove the pink stitching guides. Yes, poof, it's magic.
And dried her off by rolling her gently in a clean towel and leaving to air dry for a few hours. No wringing!
Once the fabric was dry, she got a good pressing on the back with a hot iron.
Even though the hoop that comes packaged with the kit is actually really nice and meant to be used for framing, as I mentioned before, I opted to use one of our European beech wood hoops by Nurge size No. 4. It has a slightly richer color and sheen.
I used a piece of burlap in my stash for the backing, secured the two layers of fabric tightly in the hoop, and trimmed closely around the edge.
She felt a little naked : 0 ... so I added the grapevine wreath. Lastly, I embroidered a couple of organic felt leaves using some leftover floss. The black and white ribbon and wreath are from Michaels.
And she's beautiful!
Highly recommend any of these lovely kits: we have masks, pouches, glasses cases, sampler booklets and Christmas ornaments.💛 Here is a link to what is currently in stock at Bolt & Spool!
Un Chat dans l'aiguille Embroidery Kits.
Enjoy!
🍂 Nan