The bride to be wanted colors to match her wedding color scheme. I asked her to send me some color references, so that I could create a customized thread palette. Choosing colors has to be one of my favorite parts of planning a piece. Below is the images she sent me, and the threads I selected.
Once we've agreed on the colors it's time to draw up the custom pattern and stitch it up. First, the heart and names, and then the bouquet of flowers and leaves are stitched over several sittings. It's too much to do in one day, so I will stitch for a few hours broken up between several days. It's a labor of love.
I use a water soluble pen to sketch out the flowers. I like having the reference, but allow a lot of freedom to diverge from my sketch.
One thing I do a lot is take out stitches I don't like. I can stitch the same piece or part of a piece several times until I get it right. Like the leaves on the left side (below). They were just not right, so I pulled them out and tried again.
Once I think the leaves are done I'll remove the water-soluble pen marks to see the piece better. Then, I'll add in lots of little french knots into the flowers and fill in any empty spaces with more leaves.
The very last step is adding in the string for the rings and backing the hoop with a coordinating cotton fabric.
Hope you enjoyed this peek into my custom embroidery process. It's a lot of work, but I love the idea of these pieces becoming treasured family heirlooms....
I'm loving reading about your process :)
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteHow fun to follow your process of putting together this adorable custom embroidery heirloom. Truly a treasure.
The colors and pretty flowers really make it special. Thanks for sharing...
Phew, lots of stitches! So fun to see!
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteAs a beginning embroidery fanatic, I am in love with your work! Thank you so much for breaking down your process into a simple, interesting and engaging post. The colors you chose are beautiful and as a graphic designer, I am particularly in love with your hand-lettering.
I do have a question, though. How do you remove the water soluble pen from the finished piece? And what brand of pen do you suggest?
Thank you!
Hi Anna,
DeleteThanks, thanks! You can remove the water soluble pen with a few squirts of a spray bottle or dabbing the fabric with a wet cloth. It's easy, just make sure it's gone completely, because heat can make that blue pen resurface. It's strange to see it come back, but it's not permanent.
Hope that helps!
jessica
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteAs a beginning embroidery fanatic, I am in love with your work! Thank you so much for breaking down your process into a simple, interesting and engaging post. The colors you chose are beautiful and as a graphic designer, I am particularly in love with your hand-lettering.
I do have a question, though. How do you remove the water soluble pen from the finished piece? And what brand of pen do you suggest?
Thank you!