She starts with pencil sketches and then develops a final pen-and-ink version. Once her design is digitized, we often need to simplify it a bit to make it easier to stitch.

Here is her Eye #3 from sketch to embroidery pattern to the embroidered sample I stitched.

Adorable Embroidered Hat by Tamie Snow at Pimp Stitch

I’ve been embroidering a lot lately and experimenting with new stitches and fabrics. I’ve done a few items that are embroidery on knitted fabrics but no photos yet.

The challenge I always seem to face with embroidery is transferring the design to the fabric. This is particularly troublesome with dark, heavy fabrics like something I’ve knitted.

The other day while doing research, I ran across this great tutorial from Tamie Snow at Pimp Stitch for using standard copy paper to transfer your design.

I’ve used this method before and it is tedious to get rid all the little bits of paper once you’ve finished stitching but sometimes it’s the only method you can use. And the results are fantastic so it’s really worth the time and effort.

Gingerbread Man in Cross-stitch

Happy holidays, everyone! I love the holiday season and I particularly love to use gingerbread people and houses in my holiday decorations.

I cross-stitched this little gingerbread man from a kit several years ago.

I backed the finished project with a piece of green felt and used the half-stitch in red, green and white to stitch the two pieces of fabric together. Finished size is about 3 inches wide by 4 inches high.

He is now an ornament on our tree, sitting nestled between branches at a low level so that little ones with curious fingers can admire him.

Bear in My Stocking ornament

I’ve introduced a new embroidery pattern in my etsy store: “Bear in My Stocking”.

It features my animal friend, Bailey, the Brown Bear, hanging out with a candy cane in a Christmas stocking.

The photo shows an ornament I am making. I stitched this cute design in red, green, brown, and white using raised satin stitch and outline stitch. The fabric is a square 6×6 hem-stitched piece of 60/40 linen I purchased from one of my new favorite online stores All About Blanks (look for hem-stitched table linens…these are the 6×6 cocktail napkins).

To finish the ornament, I’ll add a second napkin as the back, sew the two pieces together, stuff with poly-fiber, and weave a ribbon through the hem-stitching holes.

For instructions on how to make the ornament, you can download a pdf at All About Blanks.

Embroidered Eye (Allyson Mitchell's Eye #3)

I’ve been doing a lot of embroidery projects lately and here’s another new one.

This is a “shades of pink” embroidered eye I stitched from a pattern my niece designed for our etsy store (Eye #3 by Allyson Mitchell of Pink Tea Design).

The fabric is a cotton kitchen towel and I used the following stitches: split stitch, french knots, raised satin stitch, outline stitch, and stem stitch.

It was a quick project, taking about 3 hours to complete. I’m working on other eyes in her pattern series now.

Embroidered Bag with Pink Flowers

One of my first embroidery projects, this small blue tote bag includes  a design of vines and pink flowers that wraps around the top of the bag. I made this bag for my mother who loved the color blue and little flowers. The bag itself is from Joann’s dollar section. The design is freehand and includes a combination of stem stitch and lazy daisy stitches. After stitching, I added a lining in pale yellow cotton.

Embroidered Bag "B"

In Summer 2008, I embroidered this small cosmetics bag for my preteen niece whose name starts with “B”.

It was one of my first embroidery projects and turned out to be a sampler of sorts as I learned new stitches. The design was completely freehand and I made it up as I went along, filling in the space. Some stitches I used: stem stitch, outline stitch, daisy stitch, french knots, satin stitch, and a sort of weaving stitch (in the heart) that I improvised. I created the “B” using negative space inside the heart.

As a finishing touch, I attached a small butterfly patch and several flower-shaped buttons. I purchased the bag at Joann’s…it’s purple felt with a black zipper across the top. Once the embroidery was complete, I lined the bag with a purple paisley print (handstitched).

New Design: P is for Penguin

I’ve been thinking lately of new designs for my little penguin and here is the first of many: “P is for Penguin”.

In the sample, I appliqued the letter P and the little penguin in soft flannel in baby colors. Then embroidered some details with seed stitch and outline stitch. This will become part of the quilt I’m designing/making for my new nephew or niece.

I envision developing animals for each letter of the alphabet…it will be a fun challenge!

I’m also working on other animal friends including a cat, zebra, rabbit, cow, bear, panda, and others as the inspiration strikes. As always, my designs are available as PDF patterns in my etsy store.

New embroidery pattern: Hug Me Penguin

I recently finished a new embroidery pattern design: “Hug Me Penguin”.

This design is part of a series of animal patterns I’m developing.

My niece, Allyson, stitched this cute purple version as a gift for a friend. She used outline stitch and satin stitch on the pink background. The overall design she used is approximately 4 inches tall.

The pattern is available for sale as a black and white downloadable printable pdf in my etsy store (darcyplace.etsy.com). It also includes a reversed version for iron-on transfers.

I think the pattern would be perfect for appliqué on a baby’s quilt or painted on a child’s tee.

Look for more penguin and other animal designs coming soon. I’m working on some holiday designs now.

Kokeshi Doll Amigurumi (Crochet)

I crocheted this Kokeshi Doll amigurumi for my niece from a pattern created by Michelle McLaughlin (available for free at her site Suncatcher Eyes).

The pattern calls for mostly single and half-double crochet stitches. In my case, the embroidery is simple straight stitches.

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn for the body, face and hair and standard embroidery floss for the embroidered accents. This was one of my first crocheted amigurumi and it was a quick project that looks quite cute!

Here’s a definition of Kokeshi dolls from Wikipedia:
“Kokeshi (???, kokeshi^?), are Japanese dolls, originally from northern Japan. They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and an enlarged head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. The body has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.”

Embroidered Felt Bag

The above is purple zippered felt bag I embroidered in 2008 as a gift for my new sister-in-law.

The zippered bag was purchased at a craft store and is about the size of a small cosmetics bag.

I drew the initials with a washable transfer marker and stitched them in the stem stitch using two strands of pink floss and 1 strand of white to create the variegated look.

The flowers, leaves, and vines are freehand stitching and are a combination of lazy daisy stitches, french knots, and straight and back stitches.

After the stiching was complete, I lined the bag with some cotton purple/lavender paisley print fabric from my stash.