Finding Inspiration For Embroidery Designs

As most of you know, I live out in the middle of nowhere,...........Texas...........

and in the middle of mesquite filled woods. There is never a day that I am without inspiration to find something for a great embroidery design. Long morning walks and the bounty from Mother Nature provides an unending source.

However, I find wonderful ideas for an embroidery design in fabric. I love botanical prints and vintage fabric with faded flowers and leaves. I have always love the cluster of these blue flowers on a piece of upholstery fabric I have had for years.............

A pretty flower to stitch, using french knots in the center and center ring, and shading with long and short stitch.

I have always loved leaves...........with their various shapes and changing colors..............

one can let their imagination run wild when it comes to stitching leaves. Shading done in long and short stitch and .............a new stitch I will show you at the end of this post..........to make the veins of a leaf more raised.

What designs do you like best in fabric? Is it the chintz roses? perhaps a group of floral sprays?

I would love to hear!

As you can see in the photo above, the center vein of the leaf is raised and draws more attention.

This is called an overcast stitch............I use it in embroidery like this, but I also use it when I am monogramming a design in white work.

Using 3 strands of the color you want your leaf vein to be, lay the strands along the vein line. With one strand of the matching color, couch.......or tack a few stitches to the strands along the vein line to keep the strands in place. Now you are ready to stitch......

This stitch is made up of tiny, upright satin stitches, worked very close together over a group of threads, resulting in a raised line. Starting at one end of the vein line and using 1 strand of matching thread, cover the tacked threads with small straight satin stitches, making sure to pull the thread firmly so that there will be no loose threads along vein. Work the stitches all the way to the other end of vein, making sure all threads are covered. Push needle under the design and secure in the stitching underneath and cut. Your veins should look wonderful after your shading work on the leaf is done.

So go out and take a walk to look at leaves..............or find your favorite material in your stash and create something!

Most importantly.........have fun!