Celebrate National Embroidery Month With These Fun Projects

February is known as National Embroidery Month. The process of embroidering is very popular, since it allows artists to give clothes and other items a fun, personalized design. Whether you use fabric, beads, or something else entirely, there’s a lot you can do with this artistic process. Celebrate National Embroidery Month by trying your hand at one of these fun projects.

Embroider Notebooks

Supplies:

• A notebook
• Piece of paper with a design of your choice
• Embroidery thread
• Washi tape or cello tape

Instructions:

1. Gather your materials together. Place the design you want to use on top of your notebook and tape it down so it stays secure.
2. Using a darning needle, follow the lines of your design and poke holes through the notebook cover. Space each hole about 3-4 millimeters apart. Do this around the entire design, and try to avoid making each hole too big.
3. Peel off the paper, and this will show the holes on the notebook. This will allow you to sew the thread into the book.
4. Separate your embroidery thread. About three strands will be good for a medium-sized notebook, and two will be fine for anything smaller.
5. Thread through each of the holes, starting from the back. Use a backstitch to connect the dots. Keep the original design on standby so you know to use the correct colors for each hole.

DIY Embroidered Sneakers

Supplies:

• White canvas sneakers
• Embroidery floss
• Beads
• Scissors
• Embroidery needle

Instructions:

1. Unlace the sneakers and string your first color thread onto the needle. Tie the end of the thread to one of the shoelace grommets.
2. Cover the sneaker in different patterns and stitches using various colors of thread.
3. String beads onto the needle and stitch them onto the sneaker for extra flair.
4. One potential stitch you can try is the French knot stitch. Poke the needle through the sneaker starting from the inside. Wrap the thread around the needle four times. Stick the needle back through the sneaker right next to where it emerged. Hold the thread in your left hand while you pull the thread with your right hand on the inside of the sneaker to create a nice tight knot.
5. Try to cover the sneaker with tons of French knots. Space them out to create a polka dot look or place them close to each other to create a textured patch.

Embroidered Bouquet

Supplies:

• 8-inch square background fabric
• 4-inch embroidery hoop
• Embroidery floss in miscellaneous colors
• Flower pattern (create your own or use the one from this link)

Instructions:

1. Download the pattern and print at 100% scale (this is important; make sure you aren’t scaling to fit the page or your embroidery will be the wrong size). You can also use your own design if you wish.
2. Trace the pattern onto the fabric. Stretch it onto the hoop, and make sure the pattern is centered.
3. Using two strands of embroidery floss throughout, stitch as follows:

• Large pink flower: French knot center, satin stitch petals, with a few extra stitches in deeper red through the petals to add depth
• Blue flowers: satin stitch
• Blue buds: French knots
• Apricot flowers – satin stitch, with a lighter color for the flower center
• Yellow buds – satin stitch
• Red buds – French knots
• Pink drooping flowers – long & short stitch
• Stems throughout – back stitch
• Leaves – fishbone stitch

1. Finish by cleaning the back of the embroidery. Cut the fabric in a circle 4 centimeters wider than the hoop. Put a felt disc inside the hoop. Cut a piece of thread 10 centimeters longer than the circumference of the hoop. Knot at one end, then do regular stitches of the same length all the way around the hoop. Tighten the thread to achieve a “yo-yo” effect with the fabric, and secure the loose end with a knot. Put the second piece of felt on top and stitch it onto the fabric all the way around with a blanket stitch. You can also glue a piece of cardboard onto the back edge of the wooden frame.

Embroidered Pencil Holder

Supplies:

• Embroidery thread in assorted colors
• Embroidery needle
• 6 Cardboard tubes
• Drill with small bit
• Paper
• Ruler and pen
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Trace the length and width of the tube onto a piece of paper and cut it out. Draw a grid pattern on the paper and pierce at each intersecting grid with a needle. Tape the paper onto the tube and make a mark where the holes are, then drill a hole at the marks. This might take a while to complete.
2. Take your selected colors and embroider the tubes. When it comes time to attach two tubes together, hold them tightly and embroider through the holes. Be careful if you plan to combine three tubes, since the process can be a little fiddly.

Inspiration:

• Knits & Brew
• Brit + Co
• Down Grapevine Lane
• Eryn With A Y

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