About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms Lesson 4: The Berries

 

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Welcome to Lesson 4 of Blackberry Blossoms & Brambles, a stitch-along that I’ve been running here on Needle ‘n Thread this late summer.

Today, we are going to finish stitching the project. We’ll embroider the foundation for the berries, add the beads, and then add some finishing touches to the project. Then, our final lesson next week will be preparing the project for framing.

If you are just joining in on this project and you want to read more about it – or follow along with it at your own pace – you can find the Blackberry Blossoms & Brambles Project Index here, where all the previous articles about this project are listed in chronological order.

If you are a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you will find this lesson in a handy downloadable & printable PDF format already posted.

Let’s get started on the berries!

Lesson 4: Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms stitch-along
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Fabric & Kits, Books, & Tools – Oh My!

 

Happy Labor Day! It’s a three-day weekend here in the States, where work is so fun that we can’t call it labor – most of the time, anyway.

We’ve been laboring in the background to bring you a variety of new and re-stocked goods on the website. I wanted to release them all at once, because it helps you with shipping costs.

So here we go – a “product dump” of a number of delectable goods that have been a long time coming!

You will find all the re-stocked goods here in the shop. I’ll also link to them individually below.

New and Restocked Products on Needle 'n Thread
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Blackberry Bramble & Blossoms Lesson 3: The Blossoms

 

Welcome back to our current stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread, where we are on Lesson 3: The Blossoms.

If you’re just joining you, you can find all the previous installments of this stitch-along available in the Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms project index, here. As the stitch-along progresses, each lesson is added in chronological order so that you can easily follow along.

If you are a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you have already received this lesson in a very handy PDF format, easy for downloading and printing.

Remember: the stitch-alongs are meant to progress at your own pace. Even though I’m putting these instructions out once a week, it doesn’t mean you have to stitch the whole lesson before the next one is posted. It’s not unusual for Life to get in the way of our projects, so just go at your own pace!

Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms Stitch Along - Blossoms
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Project Update: Monogram & Crown

 

A few weeks ago, I shared the beginnings of this project, where I was test stitching the design with floche to see how well I’d like it.

The final conclusion about the floche for this particular project: I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It wasn’t delicate enough. The design is fairly small, and it was difficult to get any nuance of shade with the floche, which is a slightly heavier thread compared to one strand of cotton (or silk) floss.

I decided to go with silk, since I already had the quantity I needed in the colors that I’d use.

Now, this is a project I’m just working on at home in the afternoons when I have stitching time. While I don’t have a deadline on it, I’d like to finish it pretty quickly so that I can move on … well, you know how it is! … to another project.

O Clemens embroidered maniturgium
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In the Studio: Cutting Fabric!

 

Work in the studio these days alternates between computer work, shipping, project development, and – more than anything else right now – cutting fabric!

As you know from earlier news this year, I’m only at the studio from 9-noon each day. This means that poor Anna spends the afternoons laboring over the cutting table without me.

Poooooor Anna!

Not-so-poor me. These days, I spend most afternoon hours stitching between dad-care. I’m making progress on a couple projects. I’ll share those with you soon.

On the cutting table, we have a variety of linens that will make up linen sample packs. We’ve carried linen packs in the past, but because the industry always seems to be shifting – with importers manipulating their stock to meet trends – it was very difficult to keep the same linen sample packs consistently in stock. This lack of consistency has been a real hurdle for me.

I finally decided to overcome that hurdle in a few ways. One of those ways is to be flexible in varying the sample packs.

Linen Fabric Sample Packs
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Transfer Talk: Mesh & More

 

Today, we’re continuing with the discussion of embroidery design transfers.

Here on Needle ‘n Thread over the years, we’ve touched on multiple ways to transfer embroidery designs, and recently we’ve talked at length about carbon (and similar) transfer processes.

Today, we’re going to broach the subject of “transfer mesh.”

I’ll introduce you to the general concept of using transfer mesh, talk about the brands that offer product for this type of transfer, and then, down the road, we’ll look at specifics, make comparisons, and I’ll share a few alternatives that can produce similar results.

Embroidery Design Transfer Mesh
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