Monday 8 July 2013

Show me the bunny

Here is my first ever embroidery that I was working on last week, hanging in its 22.5cm hoop:


Thanks to a helpful suggestion from stitcheranon (love the Irish, so), I opted for a satin stitch to fill in the balloon - and what a difference! I considered unthreading the long and short stitches that I filled the balloon with initially, and I am pleased that I decided to keep that stitchwork underneath as it conceals any gaps between the longer stitches.


I used a whole skein of red embroidery thread though; that's a deceptively guzzly little piece of embroidery work right there.  It was very quick to stitch, taking just 10 minutes to do.  I really like the overall effect that it gives to the balloon and it's now my favourite part to look at. And stroke occasionally.


You may recognise the illustration that I traced and enlarged on the photocopier. It's a sweet Sarah Jane drawing found in her Balloon design that's part of her Children at Play collection, which is another of my absolute favourite fabric lines.


I'm a bit of a font geek, so if anyone wants to know what it's called, it's modelled on the Sue Ellen Francisco typeface.  For the benefit of those new to embroidery, like I am, I used a split stitch for the words and a backstitch for the rabbit and balloon string.


My plan is to gift this to my sister to hang in her son's nursery to act as a kind of subliminal message to him, as in drift off to sleep, buddy. Or else. It's always a bit of a presumption that she'll like what I make. I guess, we will see, won't we?


Degree of difficulty: Easy
Time taken: 2 days - would have been much less if I hadn't unthreaded the balloon stitchwork the first time around
Result: Obviously, I need practice, especially when it comes to making nice neat, even stitches around curves but I can see how addictive this craft can be.  Uh oh.

13 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Just what I need, another crafting addiction.

      Delete
  2. Well look at you flying with embroidery..and guess what, if you kept some of the shorter stitchers under the satin stitch to raise it then you are delving into the world of Stumpwork embroidery! It is lovely...very peaceful and oh so cute. Have to say though, I am actually from UK living in Ireland though I do have irish in me, it is quite dilute rofl. I think your little rabbit will be very much loved, a definite heirloom piece!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love English people too :). Thanks for your suggestion about the balloon, doesn't it look so much neater? Did you know that I had never tried embroidery before because it looked too hard. Just goes to show that sometimes things aren't as complicated as they seem.

      Delete
  3. Yuss! Go get addicted! Looks great Leanne - i am sure your sister and her little one will adore it x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My rabbit face seems to be channelling Winnie the Pooh...

      Delete
  4. This is gorgeous, and inspiring too. I love that you give difficulty levels, and time to do it etc. It makes me feel as if i really could start my first bit of embroidery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is so wonderful to hear, thank you. I think if you can sew a button on a shirt, you can embroider. Strange thing to say, but it's true! My only advice would be to start on something small with straight lines first to get the hang of the stitches and work on a cloth that isn't too flimsy, like duck cloth. Wendi Gratz on Youtube is my new BFF, she has some really helpful videos if you want to learn how to embroider. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Delete
  5. Cute! And it looks achievable. My Mum puts me off embroidery because she does these elaborate things which take months. I am not a "months to do" project kind of girl!! Very sweet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am surprised you have time for even small projects with all that goes on in your life Sara! I can fully appreciate the more elaborate vintage hand embroidered cloths now, but definitely try a very small basic project first like mine if you want to give it a go.

      Delete
  6. Great job on the satin stitch and I love the font that you used for the text. Lets hope it does the trick and encourages your nephew to get some zeds in

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Juliet, great job on organising the Matariki linky, it was great fun and hugely motivating to try and complete projects.

      Delete
  7. Such a sweet embroidery :) love the image and the colours you chose.

    ReplyDelete

I love that you take the time to comment. Except for spam, not loving that. I no longer allow comments from anonymous users for that reason.