Embroidery

[Polka Dot]

Hello Ladies,

With all the sewers on this board, I thought that some of you might also know something about embroidery. I recently made a batch of handkerchiefs from cotton batiste, as I'd like to get in the habit of carrying one more often. I now have a dozen plain white handkerchiefs, and I want to decorate them--some with my initial, some with flowers or another design. Does anyone know of a basic guide to embroidery (online)?

Thank you!

 

[olive bleu]

I was excited to see this thread , as i have been doing free-hand embroidery since i was 7( my favourite aunt taught me) It is a dying art,what with with machines now that can do it all for you.I did some searching on the web, but was surprised that there doesn't seem to be too much instruction out there that is free. A hankerchief is a great project to start with, I now do sheets & everything! I have my mother coming over for dinner today and my house is a pig-sty, so i have to run now, but i will check in later. I have some books and i will try to scan some pages in for you, if i can get it to work.Maybe some other emroiderers will know of some sites, before that though!

 

[AllaboutEve]

Oooh how exciting I love embroidery too! I will add some ideas here later on today in addition to the pages that Olive has lined up.
It would be great if you could do some designs true to the period I will have a trawl through my collection and see what I can find and post later.....

 

[Polka Dot]

Olive bleu, that's what had me stumped, too. I couldn't find anything online that didn't involve a sewing machine that does embroidery.

Thank you both!

 

[Snookie]

Yesterday my husband bought me a vintage sewing book from 1943 ("The New Encyclopedia of Modern Sewing") and it has a chapter on embroidery titled "Flossy Touches". This first page shows some basic embroidery stitches, and then it gives a couple patterns and tips on combining embroidery with homemade appliques, and some info on monogramming. All the vintage embroidery patterns I've seen are this line-drawing type. You can sketch the drawing onto your hankie and then cover it up with your stitches. Let me know if you need a better copy.

Also, check your library for books on embroidery. I know mine has a couple that are very in-depth, and lots of general sewing books cover the topic.

 

[Polka Dot]

Thank you, Snookie!

 

[olive bleu]

well, for some reason, i have not had any success adding my attachments.I have had another look around the web & found this site. some of the things here are pretty advanced,and much more complex than you will want on a hankie! I would get an embroidery hoop ( a small one if you are doing something small) I don't use one ALL the time, but it does help keep everything organized & prevent you from sewing the fabric together!..some pretty embroidery thread and some very fine needles & you are are all set.
As for patterns, you can make your own by drawing a design & then using dressmakers carbon to transfer it on to your fabric. there are iron on ones too that you can get at fabric/craft stores. I have a lot & i would be happy share them for you to print if i could figure out how!
any way here is the link for some stitches

http://www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/stitches/index.html

 

[olive bleu]

oh, that's great snookie! you beat me to it! looks like a nice book!

 

[Nashoba]

I have a couple of embroidery books that i inherited from my great-grandmother and my mother. I'll look through them and see if there's anything worth posting and scan them.
Nash

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

I love embroidery, too! I also sew, do beadwork, crochet....

In the embroidery department, I'm working on a very cute "days of the Week" set of kitchen towels with Scotty Dogs in red and black. I'll try to scan or take pictures.

I'm also excited because I just got these Vintage WWII Hot Iron transfers - I don't know if they were intended to embroider, but I may give it a try! Maybe tea towels? Apron pockets? Fabric covers for things?

If any of you have any ideas on putting these to use, I'd love to hear them!

Also, I'm happy to email you the scans, of you care to have the designs for transferring via transfer paper or some other method.

 

[olive bleu]

those are awesome, how big are they?

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

those are awesome, how big are they?

The "V" for Victory and Liberty Statue are around 6 inches high - the Uncle Sam and Plane are each around 4 inches or so.

Of course now we have the magic of computers and photocopiers to make any size we wish!

 

[olive bleu]

oh... i thought if they were a bit bigger you could makw a cushion cover! I just ripped the cover off a throw cusion on my sofa, and i am now thinking to embroider a new cover.Something elaborate like that would be fun!I love the statue of liberty one!

 

[Elaina]

Look up redword and blackwork. It's the easiest way to embellish, and it's really simple, and there is a ton of info online, as well as making simple designs that look good without the trial and error of embroidery.

I have that book btw. Good source for all kinds of info.

 

[Redlights]

Oh my goodness! I really want victory tea towels now! How cute!

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

oh... i thought if they were a bit bigger you could makw a cushion cover! I just ripped the cover off a throw cusion on my sofa, and i am now thinking to embroider a new cover.Something elaborate like that would be fun!I love the statue of liberty one!

Great Idea! You can always use the computer or photocopier to make it the size you need....