Saturday, June 02, 2018

Contemporary Hand Embroidery on Linen

       I just got in a new shipment of gorgeous Linen, and I could not wait to use it in some new projects.
     This is a  fairly simple Embroidered Linen Pillow project I finished last week for a friend. It started with a simple square of white linen and a basic line drawing. I really enjoy working with just a general plan in place and letting the work evolve on its own. 
     For the drawing, I sketch in pencil first and then go over my lines with a Fine Point Sharpie. This gives me a heavy enough line so that I can pin my linen to the paper and see the marks clearly enough without using a light box. I mark my linen with a fine line Water Soluble Fabric Marker.

     I stitched the mandala shape first starting in the very center, and then I started filling in the outer areas with different shades of taupe and gray. When you are using a neutral color palette, it is really interesting to play with the value of the embroidery threads for different effects.
     Below shows the stitching on the piece completed and blocked. Spritz your piece with water, smooth it out, place a few pins in it, and let it dry.The blocking process is really easy, and it makes a huge difference in the finished work. 



     This is the blocked piece that has been dried and is ready to go.


 
     Here is the finished pillow. The embroidered area is 16" square, and I cut my fabric at 17 1/2"  square so I could add a 1" flange. my friend is in the process of redecorating her entire house in mostly neutral colors, so this pillow will work almost anywhere she wants to use it. 

     I will be posting more embroidery tutorials, so please let me know if there is anything in particular you are interested in.

2 comments:

Webster Zibeon said...
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Shane Marshal said...
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