Quick and Easy Gifts

 Here is a fast and easy project...seriously! If you just remembered that your needed a gift for a lady...give these a try. A set of four takes only 1-2 hours.

Some might call them "hot pads" but, I like to use them to hold a plate of food right out of the microwave. They are thinner than standard kitchen hot pads...so, if you wanted to use them that way...just double up.

Supplies: One 10" square of cotton batting, Five 10" squares of fabric.

Step One: Fold four of the fabric on the diagonal and press.

Step Two: Layer the remaining non-folded square on top of the batting square.

Step Three: Place one folded fabric piece on top of this unit, matching the corners.

Step Four: Rotate the unit counter-clockwise and lay the next folded fabric piece on top, matching corners.

Step Five: Repeat Step Four to layer the third corner.

Step Six: Lift the first folded square and place the last (4th) corner into place.

Step Seven: Lay the lifted corner back into place. This is how the assembled project should look.

Step Eight: Pin all the corners into place. Sew around all four sides (seam allowance is 3/8" or 1/2")

Step Nine: Trim off corners.

Step Ten: Trim excess batting within the seam allowance. Hint: Duckbill Scissors are great for this task!

Step Eleven: Turn right-side-out by pushing out each corner and hand pressing flat. You should now have the folds on the opposite side of the solid fabric piece, with the batting in the middle.

Last Step: Press nicely, wrap and present as a gift!

Curl Center Rose

Way back in 2014 there was a post shared about a couple of stemmed roses that I had stitched in Silk Ribbon and perle cotton. Here is the Link.

Well I've been playing with that rose idea again, and thought you might like a little tutorial as I progressed through the stitching. This little variety is only about 2-inches tall from ground to tip; a perfect little motif size for any block. But, to enlarge just use 13mm ribbon and longer straight stitches and/or add more "rounds" of petals.

Kathy's Curl Center Rose

First off, I should explain the background as it is a bit "fuzzy". If you saw the prior post than you already understand; but if not...this fabric is a shrunk sweater that I'm using to create pin cushions. This little rose is the first to be stitched.

To begin this rose thread some 7mm ribbon on your chenille needle. Take a tiny bite of your background without anchoring the ribbon to the back (per the usual). I've enlarged these photos and cropped them close...so this bite might look large. But, notice the width of the ribbon which is 7mm...and you can surmise that the bite is actually about 1/16th (or about half of the 7mm size). Pull the ribbon through until you have about 1 to 2-inches remaining.

This little ribbon tail (right side) is going to become the center of the rose. To hold it in place, we'll need some standard needle/thread so go ahead and get that prepared.

Take a couple of anchoring stitches in the center area, it's not important if you pierce the ribbon or not as you're only just anchoring the thread so it doesn't pull out of the background fabric.

Use a small round tool (stilleto, toothpick, or painters brush as shown here) and roll the ribbon from tip to fabric around this tool. If you catch the sewing thread, no problem. Now ease the tool out and hold these curls down with fingers from the hand you don't sew with.

The hand you use is important because you need to tack these curls in place with needle thread, go through all layers. (Confession: I didn't do a good job and my curls came partially loose during this rose creation...and I had to work to re-curl them and poke them into the center outside curl again. So, learn from my error and tack through so that you catch all layers of this curl. The left side of the curl is the ribbon that has been sitting there patiently in the needle waiting for the next step. Clip your sewing thread after you have secured it on the back side of your fabric. You are finished with the needle/thread...so back to the silk ribbon.

The needle position is presently at 9-o'clock if this rose were a clock face. Needle down at 12-o'clock (12-OC) making a straight stitch. Keep it a bit loose rather than letting it flatten against the fabric.

This is a good time to point out a critical "technique" element in silk ribbon embroidery. ALWAYS manipulate the ribbon rather than just pulling through like you might with thread embroidery. I like to needle down and then stop...as I pull the ribbon with my left hand (non dominant hand) I use my right hand and the needle to apply tension against the ribbon. Just insert the needle under the loop that you are pulling through and keep the needle in place so that the ribbon remains flat close to the fabric...as it feeds through the fabric the last wee bit will be flat then rather than twisting and turning. These straight stitches don't include twists/turns...but some SRE work does; so just remember to add the appropriate number of these as you guide the ribbon into the fabric WHEN they are called fore. Not in this rose however...

Note that the photo above is the stitching of the SECOND petal. We had needled down at 12-OC. So, this petal requires us to needle up at 11-OC, slightly behind the first petal (as shown above). Needle down at 1-OC and guide the ribbon through the fabric keeping it straight. Remember to keep if a bit "poofy" and not let it lay flat against the fabric.

Make a THIRD petal in the same manner; needle up at 12-OC and down at 3-OC (this little petal is at the upper right in the photo below.

Now, we need to make a supporting stitch to help hold the center CURL in place. This stitch will be hidden but it is important to get a pretty rose. Needle up at 9-OC and down at 3-OC (this petal is at the bottom of this photo). BTW, don't stitch into the "same hole" on these...so if you have more than one instance of 3-OC for example...make sure that these are a couple of threads apart rather than going back into a hole already used at that clock face position (words of wisdom).

Now we'll work on some bottom petals. Needle back up at 9-OC and needle down at 6-OC. Keep the petal straight and puffy.

Needle up at 7-OC and down at 5-OC. Then needle up at 6-OC (as shown in the photo above)...

...and down at 3-OC. This completes the head of this little rose. IF you want a larger rose you can add another round of petals in the same manner. Using wider ribbon will also increase the size a bit because the curled center will be taller...and therefore the clock face is a bit larger. But, the difference is not as much as when you add a second grouping of petals. This little rose head has some possibilities for sure. Change the center, change the color of center/petals, and just play around with the petal placement to get a variety of roses using this general idea.

Next...the stem. Your choice of stem could include a standard Chain Stitch, a Wrapped Chain Stitch, a Stem Stitch, or some other stitch of your choice. For this tutorial I'm going to work a combination of Chain Stitches and Single Feather Stitches...with a twist.

I'm going to begin with a Detached Chain Stitch. Granted, it's hard to actually see this here in this photo...but that's because the "loop" is tight so looks more like two Straight Stitches from this angle. But, trust me...it is a Detached Chain Stitch. I began about 1/8th inch (2mm) below the rose head and the loop tucks under the head and is tacked down with a wee little straight tacking stitch. Then, I needled up about 1/8 inch from the base and on the left side (you can do the right side first if you prefer, that really doesn't matter).

It might be best if I remind you exactly what a Single Feather Stitch looks like:

This drawing has the stitches slightly offset from each other...but you can follow a drawn line (this would align #3 and #5 vertically...placing the #5 needle position directly under the #3 position rather than slightly to the right. That's what we'll be doing to keep the stem straight. We'll also be adding a "twist" to the stitch. So, this can't be accomplished with the SCOOP method of stitching...rather, we'll STAB up and down and manipulate our thread using both hands as we create the line of stitching.

We began by our needle up slightly to the left of the Single Detached Chain. So, now we needle down at the base of the Single Detached Chain to continue our Twisted Single Feather Stitch. Needle up about 1/4th inch (4mm) vertically below the Single Detached Chain...to keep a straight stem. Ordinarily we'd just loop the perle under the needle to do the Single Feather Stitch.

Instead we are going to pass the thread on TOP of the needle before going under it. This causes the thread to cross-over (or twist) as we make the stitch. Pull Through...

This is what the stitch looks like...kinda neat! We will continue to create the same stitch but begin each at opposite sides. So, needle down slightly to the right of center...and come up vertically along the center line (imaginary, but you can draw one to keep you on track) about 1/4 inch down from the where the perle is right now. Do as many of these stitches as you want the rose length where "leaves" might be. So, stop before you get all the way to the bottom.

You can see that I've done five of the Twisted Single Feather Stitches (3 on the left and 2 on the right). Next we'll add some length to the stem with some standard Detach Chain Stitches. Go into the "loop" of the last Twisted Single Feather Stitch and needle up about 1/4 inch away vertically in line still with the center of the stem.

Do as many of these Detached Chain Stitches as needed to make the rose as tall as you want it to be. I've included TWO of the stitches as you can see at the bottom area of this photo. End the last Chain Stitch by anchoring the loop with a little tacking stitch.

I wanted my stem to be a bit more "solid" so I'm wrapping all of these prior stitches. Needle up at the base of the stem (right or left side) and pass your needle under the loop portion of each stitch (use the EYE so you don't stab the work). Do this for every stitch and the result will WRAP the perle around the stem from bottom to top.

The end result looks pretty solid with little "stems" on each side. These could be interpreted as thorns if you wanted to add large leaves in silk ribbon. But, I'm going to consider them as little leaf stems...and add silk ribbon leaves in 2mm ribbon. These will be tiny because I want to create at least 3 for each stem. Roses often have 3, 5, or even 7 leaves...but never an even number on their little stems.

Create the leaves with simple Straight Stitches in ribbon. The length of each leaf in the set (trio) is about the width of the ribbon. Stitch the two leaves at the base first, from tip to base...then stitch the top center leaf as shown in the photo above. Viola, the rose is finished!

Stumpwork Acorn and Oak Leaves

 Before you  begin this tutorial...let me include a disclaimer: This is NOT my best work.

It could have been...I tried to have it be...but the choice of threads used...almost ruined it. Or, the choice of transfer methods...which every way you look at it.

Anyway, I used a water soluble stabilizer and printed the design...and stitched over. The soluble is easy to use, and I'm very busy...but it needs to be removed with water. The threads I chose were Krenik Soie d'Alger...which are about twice the cost of DMC Cotton...and I "assumed" that that would mean they are color fast as well. Not so...the colors ran...and trying to work with that issue caused my satin stitches to become loose and wobbly. So, please forgive the "errors" and just see the tutorial for the "how to do" that it is intended to be. Thanks...hanging my embarrassed head. :)

Surface embroidery is enhanced with a dimensional leaf to portray the leaves and acorns. The squirrels and chipmunks are sure happy to see these begin to drop from the mighty oak’s branches.

Supplies Used:

·         Sheer Fabric (model used 1 layer of silk scarf, 2 layers of organza)

·         Background Fabric of your choice (model used fine linen)

·         Thin wire for larger Stumpwork leaf (12-18 gauge)

·         Wash-Away Stitch Stabilizer (or use your favorite pattern transfer method)

·         Embroidery Thread in brown, gold, orange, and red/orange for the surface embroidery leaf. NOTE: The model was stitched in Kreinik Soie d’Alger in colors #4213G, #2546G, #4116A, and #645A. However, these were proven not to be color fast as they bled when the finished project was placed in water to remove the water soluble stabilizer. Therefore, if you use these threads, trace the pattern or use a tissue paper pattern instead of water soluble.

·         Cotton or silk sewing or embroidery thread in white for the Stumpwork Oak Leaf.

·         Embroidery needle and hoop

·         Promarkers (or permanent ink marker) in a dark red, orange, and yellow.

The surface embroidery work is best done in two threads, often combining two colors. Here are the combinations used for the model: acorns and center vein = gold/brown (#2546/#4213); acorn cap = dk brown/dk brown (#4116A); leaf inside = gold/orange (#2546G/645A).

Step 1: Hoop the background fabric, with the small leaf and acorn pattern transferred for stitching. Here is the design printed on the stabilizer, and trimmed close (to reduce the amount that needs to be removed later on). You can see that this water soluble creates a good printed image. The paper backing peels off and the design has a "sticky back" that stays on the fabric as you stitch over it.

Step 2: Use a tiny Chain Stitch or Reverse Chain Stitch to embroider the outline of the oak leaf; a Satin Stitch to embroider the base of the acorn caps; and a Split Stitch to embroider the leaf veins. I'm not sure that the mixed thread colors was the best choice for the acorn it looks a bit rougher than it is.

Step 3: Fill in the acorn cap with French or Colonial Knots.

Step 4: Embroider the inside area of the leaf with Split Stitches. Be careful to align these stitches with the direction of the adjacent side-veins. Work one section between these veins completely before proceeding to the next. Note that the direction of the stitching will change slightly as you progress up the leaf.

Step 5: When the embroidery is completed, remove any water soluble or other paper/tissue transfer paper. Remove the hoop. (NOTE: IF you do not want to do a stump-work leaf; the second leave can also be stitched just as this first leaf was; you only need to include BOTH leaves in the pattern transfer rather than just this smaller leaf.)

Step 6: Hoop the layers of organza and the silk scarf. The scarf is on top. The silk provides a solid tightly woven layer to ink color into later on. The organza layers provide more substance to the piece but do not increase the density of the piece because their weave is more open than the silk is. The design should be already transferred to the silk fabric.  The water soluble stitch stabilizer works really well for this pattern transfer.

Step 7: Cut ten-inches of wire. Bend one end at a 90-degree angle, about a half inch from the end. Using the white thread, couch this bend into the stem end of the leaf. Sew through all layers as you couch the thread down. Try to keep your needle angled slightly under the wire as you stitch, this will keep the couching stitch tight to the wire. Make a stitch about every 5mm (or about every ¼ inch). As you work around the leaf shape, couching the wire in place…use a second larger needle (like a Chenille) or a stiletto tool to “shape” the wire.

Step 8: Continue to Couch and bend the wire. At times, this requires a slight forward step with the Bending Tool, gently bending and them more forward movement with the tool; and gently bending some more. This works better than trying to get the shape with a single bend…that will only give you a sharp angle. The goal is to match the curve to the leaf pattern shape.

Step 9: After the wire has been completely couched in place, trim the stem ends to about 1//2 inch. Use the same white thread to create a tiny Buttonhole Stitch around the wire. This secures the fabric tightly into place. Working with thread will take a little time; but do not use two pieces thinking it will be better or faster. It will just give the leaf a bulky edge and ruin your efforts. The “ridge” of the Buttonhole Stitch should lay on the INSIDE of the leave design…not along the outside for this specific pattern. This gives the edge a smoother line rather than a ridged one.

Step 10: Using one strand of the white, embroidery the leaf veins with a tiny Chain Stitch or Reverse Chain Stitch.

Step 11: Cut the leaf from the background fabric leaving some border around the wire.

Step 12: Trim close to the wire to remove all of the excess fabric. A pair of sharp pointed embroidery scissors make a great tool for this task.

Step 13: Use the red Promarker to ink the outside stitched edge of the leaf. The ink will automatically wick to the inside area of the leaf a bit. Just touch the stitching along the outside edge. NOTE: If you do not want to use the Promarkers...you can use a Green/Orange color of sheer fabric and thread instead; and omit Steps 13 and 14 then.

Step 14: Use the yellow Promarker for the inside of the leaf and the orange Promarker to color the veins. These colors will begin to blend together. If you have used a water-soluble method to mark the leaf shape, then soak the leaf to remove these marking. The ink will run some, but it will only enhance the blending effect. Dry completely.

Step 15: Tightly twist the two ends of the leaf’s wire at the stem edge. With a large needle or stiletto pierce the background fabric at the “circle” on the pattern sheet. Bend the leaf wire at a 90-degree angle and insert the twisted double wire into the background fabric. Flip over the work, and couch the wire ends down on the back. Sew through the prior embroidery work only, and do not pierce the fabric.

Here is the pattern for the small leaf and acorns, for the surface embroidery technique.

Here is the pattern for the large leaf, for the stumpwork technique.

And, here is the pattern all together, just in case you want to do the entire design using surface embroidery techniques. You can size these as large or as small as you like.

I'm off to take out the satin stitches and redo...when I get a new photo...I'll post an update to this post.

Hugs!