Below, you will find each article that pertains to this project listed in chronological order so that you can follow along with the project easily.

This Index will be saved under “Tips & Techniques” in the main menu on Needle ‘n Thread. You are welcome to bookmark the Index page so you can easily access the articles when you need them.

If you are a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you will receive all the instructions for this project in PDF format for easy downloading and printing. You can check out the Needle ‘n Thread membership community on Patreon here, where you’ll find all the instruction on past stitch-along projects available, too, plus other member-exclusive content.

You’ll find kit information in this article. The Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms kits will be restocked as soon as possible, if they are sold out.

Listed below are are the other articles & stitching lessons pertaining to the project.

Blackberry Blossoms & Brambles Stitch-Along

• Preliminary Information – read this article to find out what a stitch-along is and how it works
• Introduction to Blackberry Blossoms & Brambles – includes materials & tools lists and the project design
• Lesson 1: Branch & Brambles
• Lesson 2: Leaves
• Lesson 3: Blossoms
• Lesson 4: Berries
• Lesson 5: Preparing for framing

Stay tuned! As each new lesson is published in the stitch-along, it will be added to this list.

In fact, I don’t think I’ve written one.

Normally, even if I don’t personally love a thing or I would never use a thing, I can understand what other people might like about it. I can acknowledge good aspects about things that might not be my cup of tea. And I can recommend them on those merits.

If I can’t find those positive aspects, I generally won’t write the review or mention the product.

But I have recently encountered an embroidery hoop that has nothing to recommend it – including the hefty price tag for its worthlessness.

I think it’s worth mentioning so that you don’t do what I did: buy it to try it.

Cosmo is probably best known – at least here in the States – for their very nice, high quality cotton embroidery floss. I like Cosmo floss! I wrote about it eons ago, here. I don’t use it often, because it’s not as universally available as DMC, it’s much more expensive than DMC, and it requires “converting” the color numbers from DMC to Cosmo if you want to use it in place of DMC on projects that have a DMC thread list.

But it’s a nice thread.

Cosmo is a brand of needlework supplies from Japan, and among the supplies they offer is this very questionable embroidery hoop.

I recently purchased this under-5″ hoop for the hefty price of $20.00 because I was curious. I mean, for $20, there had to be Something Mighty Special about this hoop!! And if there was, then (so I thought) you should know about it, too.

(See, I’m always thinking of you!)

What ultimately piqued my curiosity was this, above.

Not too long ago, I wrote about this antique Duchess embroidery hoop. The same company also made the Princess embroidery hoop, which was a kind of “sprung” hoop – that is, it worked on the principal of a spring action from a metal strip that helped keep the hoop tight. You can Google “vintage Princess embroidery hoops” to see what they look like, and I’m sure someone out there has gone into detail about how they work.

They’re not made anymore.

The Cosmo hoop here caught my eye because it has a spring-like feature very similar to the one on the Princess hoop, except that, on the Cosmo hoop, the “spring” (the flat metal piece) is on the inside of the inside ring. On the Princess hoop, it’s on the outside of the outside ring.

Curious!

How well does this thing work? I asked myself.

Just looking at the hoop, I was not thinking favorably of it. But sometimes, looks are deceiving. I was willing to gamble $20 to see what this thing was all about.

I separated the two rings and took a look.

The fact that these grommets are on the side of the ring in contact with the fabric didn’t strike me as promising. How well would that work, squeezing embroidery between these grommets? Would thread catch on those little rings? Would the rings cause problems with embroidery or fabric? These things I did not know.

Just as a comparison, this is one of the very high quality hardwood hoops that I carry in the shop. I’ve used this thing for years and years and years. In the States, they’re often branded as Hardwicke Manor hoops, from Access Commodities, but you might also know them as Klass & Guessmann hoops. I’ve been using the same ones for 20+ years.

As you can see, they have hardware, but it’s sunk in the (real) birch hard wood that the hoops are made of. I don’t have to wonder if that hardware will affect my fabric or stitching, because it doesn’t come in contact with either.

But back to the hoop in question:

Aside from the hardware, my greatest point of consternation was the very, very, and I mean very cheapness of The Thing. It is cheaply made out of cheap parts. The wood is cheap. The hoop weighs practically nothing – there’s nothing to it. It’s the type of wood that feels vulnerable to any pressure, easily breakable. It reminds me of the cheap craft hoops at big box stores, only worse.

And, at $20, this wasn’t exactly cheap.

Let’s look at how it works. Maybe that’s where the secret to its greatness lies.

When you remove the inner ring, the thin strip of metal stretches out flatter.

You squeeze the inner ring to get it into the outer ring, and this is supposed to be what holds the tension on your fabric.

That’s the working principle.

This is the solid brass hardware on a Hardwicke Manor hoop, by the way.

But you know, I’m not trying to sell you Hardwicke Manor hoops. That’s not the point. Other hoops have good hardware, too – Nurge, Edmunds…

That thin flexible metal strip isn’t what I’d call good sturdy hardware.

But let’s keep exploring!

Oh!

Well!

I never!

Where did that come from?

Here I was, just looking at the thing, and there on the table in front of me materialized a sliver of wood. I wasn’t sure where it came from…

…but a quick perusal around the edge of the hoop revealed the source.

Hm.

$20.

To hoop up your fabric, you have to go backwards with this one. You place your outer ring down first, then your fabric front-side down, and then you squeeze the inner ring to get it to fit into the outer ring that’s on the table, pushing the inner ring into the outer ring, so that the fabric is between the two.

Well, ok… if it works…

There’s the front of the fabric inside the hoop.

Is it taut? Does it work?

No.

If I push on the surface of the fabric ever so slightly, the fabric pushes straight down to the table and the outer ring moves up. It shifts upwards off the fabric.

I’m using a regular linen between light and medium weight – not a full medium weight, but not lightweight like handkerchief linen, either. A good hoop holds this fabric taut without a problem.

I use this fabric all the time in hoops! I can always get it drum-taut, and it stays that way through multiple stitching sessions.

I haven’t even tried stitching on this fabric in the Cosmo hoop. There is no point. It will not hold taut at all. It is immediately loose with the flimsiest excuse for tension, just holding it in my hands.

It is not usable, in the way that a hoop is meant to be used.

Oh, ok. Fine! Let’s give it another chance. Let’s tighten it up and try again…

Nope. And there goes the outer ring, upwards again.

Incidentally, it’s kind of hard to see, but there’s the dent from the grommet after a whole minute in the hoop. That doesn’t bode well, either.

Pros and Cons

Pros: none

Cons: all

It is a non-functional waste of money.

Where to Find It

Do you really want to know?

You’ll have to Google it. I cannot bear to shoulder the responsibility for your disappointment or for the wasteful expenditure of your hard-earned cash.

Well, it was a good $20 spent, if only to prevent you from doing the same! There’s nothing more disappointing than purchasing low quality goods at “high quality” prices. You can buy good hoops for almost half the price of this bad hoop.

Hope your week’s going well!

And, by the way, if you’re looking for quality hoops, these are worth the investment:

Today, we’ll be stitching the branch and the brambly bits on Blackberry Bramble & Blossoms. If you’re just joining in, this article will give you information about the stitch-along and what you can expect as we work through the project. And last week’s Introduction article will provide you with the materials & tools list, as well as the design.

If you are a member of the Needle ‘n Thread community on Patreon, you’ve already received this lesson in PDF format for easy downloading and printing.

Note: Always read through the instructions completely at least once before you begin stitching, so that you know where you’re going and what to expect along the way!

In the order of stitching, we’ll be working the thick branch around the design first, and then, section by section, the twiggy branches that fill out the design.

I’ll be working these parts with the two browns, dark and variegated, and with two greens, light and medium.

The thick branch is worked with two strands of floss in the needle. All the other stitching is worked with one strand of floss.

Predominantly, all of this is worked in what I call a “sketchy” split stitch. Occasionally, you will use simple straight stitches, and you might use “split backstitch” (where you split down into a previous stitch instead of up) here and there on the twigs. The entire process of stitching the lighter twigs is very loose and open to interpretation, as you will see. You’ll be stitching “free style” for much of the twigs, embroidering on the provided design lines but then filling with all the detailed smaller bits that are not part of the printed design.

That’s the overview. Let’s start!

You can begin your embroidery however you wish. Some stitchers use knots on the back. Some don’t. It really won’t change the outcome of this, as long as you’re not using gargantuan knots that would show through as a big bump on the front.

I like to use a waste knot and tiny tacking or holding stitches to start my threads. With a knot at the end of the thread, I pass down into the fabric on the design line, a short distance from where I will start stitching. Working towards my starting point, I take two or three teeny backstitches into the fabric (still on the design line or in the design area). These stitches will be covered with embroidery. As I approach the knot, I cut it off.

This is a secure way of starting your thread. You can end your threads this way, too, if you have a design area close to your ending point, so that you can cover your tacking stitches. In the case of ending the thread, you work three tiny tacking stitches in a close cluster within a design area that will be covered with embroidery and you snip the thread.

To each his own – if you prefer starting with a knot on the back, just use a knot!

Using two strands of dark brown in the needle, you’ll be working the split stitch over the thick branch elements on the design.

You’ll work the split stitch in rows close together. The stitches can be long – about 1/4″ – or they can be shorter where they need to be.

When you work the split stitch, you go forward a stitch length and down into the fabric. Then you come up and split that stitch to start your next stitch. If you’re not familiar with the split stitch, you’ll find a video tutorial for it here.

Work the split stitch in one direction over the thick branch line, and then, when you reach the end of that segment of the branch, return in the other direction.

Again, work the rows closely so that there’s no fabric showing between them.

You’ll fit three rows comfortably over the thick design line to cover it.

You don’t have to be at all obsessive about stitch length and consistency on this. It’s supposed to be a little rough and sketchy.

If you can alternate your stitch lengths so that they aren’t all starting and ending right next to the starts and ends of the stitches in the previous line, that’s great. But if you don’t, it doesn’t really matter. Your goal is simply to cover up the thick design line with about three closely worked rows of split stitch.

When you finish each branch segment – or when you finish all the segments (up to you!) – switch to one strand of dark brown and work little “thorns” along the branch segments.

These little thorns are made with two straight stitches that form a triangle, with the tip outside the branch.

Sometimes, you might just use a single straight stitch.

Sometimes, the thorn will originate on the very edge of the branch segment.

Sometimes, the thorn might originate slightly inside the branch segment.

Vary this, but again, don’t obsess over “perfection.” Don’t try to make every thorn exactly the same length. You want some variety so that it looks natural.

Now, switch to one strand of variegated brown.

Go over each branch segment and add some of the lighter brown along the branch segment, using split stitch or just a simple straight stitch here and there. You don’t have to cover one whole side of the branch segment – you just want to touch in some little sketchy lighter brown lines.

Add a tiny straight stitch of lighter brown to a thorn here and there, too, for variety.

You can see on this segment that I added quite a bit of the lighter brown on one side. There’s no hard-and-fast rule here. You’re just touching in the lighter brown to add depth and interest to the branch.

You can see here the placement of the highlights on my branch.

Placement does not matter so much – it’s a small touch of interest, and the design is quite small, so it won’t really matter in the overall scheme of things where these highlights end up.

When I worked mine, I imagined a light source from above the top edge of the embroidery, and I worked the highlight according to where I thought the light would shine on the branch from that source. Again, it doesn’t really matter on something this size, with as much “filler” that will be covering the branch. That’s just how I did it.

Now to the twigs!

Switch to one strand of dark brown.

Work long split stitches over the design lines that form the brambly twigs.

When you work these split stitches, it’s ok if your twigs are a bit angular and sketchy. That’s what you want! If you make your stitches somewhat long covering the main stems (say, 1/4″), and you split at the ends of the stitches, you’ll get nice, thin, twiggy lines, which is what you’re after.

As you go, add little “off shoots” of twigs onto the foundation lines, to fill in around them.

As you work these lines, don’t cover the whole line in the dark brown. Leave spaces here and there between the dark brown stitches, as shown above.

You’ll be coming back over this with the lighter brown to fill in those spaces.

This will give your twigs some variety and lighten them up.

You can see how I’ve skipped parts of the design lines and left spaces. You can see where I’ve added little jutting twigs – some longer, some shorter, some with other twigs coming off them, filling out the whole bramble – as I stitched.

Notice that the stitches sometimes overlap each other. The starts and stops ar not perfect, the stitch length is varied. These are not structures, precisely stitches elements. You want them to be a little “free” in form.

The One Rule

The only rule for stitching the brambles is this:

Don’t extend any stitches beyond the farthest point of any design line that’s already provided. So, when you get to the end of a design line that’s farthest out on the outer edge of the design, don’t add anything beyond the end of that design line. Otherwise, one side of the circular wreath may end up off balance with the opposing side.

You want the overall design to be balanced, so it’s important to be aware of where the design lines end at the farthest points away from the center of the design.

After you’ve worked the dark brown and left spaces on the design lines, switch to one strand of the variegated brown and fill in the spaces you left.

As you go, build smaller twigs off the main design lines, filling out the bramble with the lighter brown.

The red line in the image above indicates a typical stitching path that I used.

Whenever I came to a leaf or berry that interrupted the direction I was going, I continued to carry the thread across the back of the embroidery, behind that element, but I took a small stitch inside the element to keep the thread from being too long and loose on the back. That little holding stitch will be covered by the embroidered leaf or berry – and so will the longer stitch across the back of the work.

Here’s a close up of one of the bramble sections at this point. You can see how much I filled out with smaller twigs from the main design line.

Now, switch to one strand of light or medium green in the needle. I used medium green on some sections and light green on others. If I were just going to work with one color of green, I’d probably pick the lightest green.

Continue to fill the bramble by touching in some green twigs at the tips and here and there along the main stems.

This completes the bramble elements.

I worked in sections around the wreath, doing one section of bramble at a time. As I worked, I tried to balance the overall density of each section with the previous section. It helps to occasionally hold the work out away from you and squint at it, to see that the filling is balancing out across the sections as you add them.

You can see that the back is a bit messy. That’s ok! As long as you aren’t carrying threads all the way from one side of the stitching area to the other and back again, that’s fine. Just follow logical paths as you stitch. And if you have to carry threads small distances across the back, that’s ok.

Tip: Be aware of your thread length as you are stitching. If you suddenly notice that your thread feels shorter than it should, check the back of your work for a knot. It’s always better to catch a knot right away, so you can remove it easily!

There’s a typical completed section.

Try to relax while you’re doing this type of stitching. Take your time and enjoy the process!

Next week, we’ll move on to the leaves!

I’ll be posting a Project Index for this stitch-along later this week, so that you can easily access all the lessons as they develop.

Have a marvelous Monday!

In this introduction, I’ll share the materials and tools I used and the design. We’ll discuss preparing your project for stitching, and I’ll also summarize what you can expect from the stitch-along and a general outline of the timing.

If you are a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community of Patreon, you have already received this information in PDF format for downloading and easy printing. It was published last night. Additionally, you have received the first stitching lesson (the branch and brambles), which was published earlier this morning.

Before beginning any project, it’s important to gather all the supplies so that you have on hand everything you need to complete the project successfully.

Supply List

Fabric:

I used a 9″ square piece of fine, high count linen ground fabric in a natural color. In the US, this linen was imported by Access Commodities as part of their “Legacy Linen” line. They call it “Manuscript Vellum.” I have used it on numerous projects on Needle ‘n Thread, and it was always one of my preferred ground fabrics when I wanted to work with natural linen. It is Graziano’s 6262 linen, in “Melange.” I do not know if they are still producing it – it is harder to come by than previously, and I have been told that Access Commodities is not importing it any longer.

It is somewhere between a “lightweight” and a “medium weight” linen. It has a high thread count, a close, fine weave, and a very smooth hand. It is light enough to see through when using a lightbox for tracing the design. You can substitute any natural colored linen that is lighter in weight and has a close weave to support the embroidery stitches.

I did not use a backing fabric behind the linen. It does not need one.

Thread:

I used DMC stranded cotton in the following colors:

Blanc, 24, 105, 153, 154, 470, 472, 498, 936, 3021

Beads:

I used Miyuki 15/0 seed beads (rocailles – round, not delicas) in the following colors:

0014 lime green transparent silver-lined
0315 garnet gold luster
0401 black opaque

Other Tools:

Needles – crewel #8 and #10. I used John James.

Beeswax – a small bit for strengthening the thread for the beads

Hoop – I used a 6″ hoop (I have plenty of high quality 6″ hoops in stock, here)

Scissors – small and sharp! These Rainbow Cutters are excellent little affordable scissors. If you want to “graduate” to high quality, life-long embroidery scissors, I carry Dovo scissors here. And for those who like color and a little bling on their fine scissors, I carry Golden Forge Scissors here.

I used a laying tool while I worked on the leaves (you’ll see why when we get to that point). It’s not absolutely necessary to use a laying tool, but it does help. We carry small, affordable laying tools in the shop, here. You can also use a very large tapestry needle or something similar as a laying tool.

Transfer tools – if you do not have the kit, you’ll need your favorite transfer tools for getting the design onto the fabric with your favorite transfer method.

The Design

The design for Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms prints at just a hair over 4.5″ in diameter. Please make sure that your printer settings are set to print at actual size on US “Letter” sized paper.

Here is the PDF for the design:

Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms embroidery design

Please note that when you transfer your design, you don’t need to transfer the “branch” line – which is very thick – as a solid line. It is represented as a thick, solid line so that it’s easy to distinguish. On the design transfer with the kits, it is a thick solid line, because the entire line is covered. It’s up to you how to you transfer that line, thick or thin!

Set Up

For this project, if you don’t have the kit, you’ll need to transfer your design to your ground fabric.

When this is complete, mount your fabric either in a hoop that holds the entire design (6″ is ideal) or on a frame (stretcher bars, slate frames, or similar). This type of embroidery requires that your fabric is drum-taut while stitching.

Stitch Along Timing

Next week, we will begin with Lesson One, where we will stitch the branches and brambles.

Each subsequent week will follow with one lesson for the next elements: leaves, then blossoms, then berries.

Finally, we will address how to prepare the piece for framing and how to frame it.

There will be a lesson once a week, unless something odd surfaces in Life. Right now, the lessons are planned out once a week.

However, you do not have to stitch at that pace. If your life is too busy to keep up with the publication pace, it’s not a problem. You can access the lessons as you need them and work at your own pace! Please do not feel rushed or stressed to “keep up”!

I will also create a Project Index and publish it on the blog, so that you can access the project index to find all the lessons listed chronologically as we progress.

That’s it! We’re ready to start stitching, which we will do next week with Lesson One!

See you then!

If you’re not sure what this strip of linen is and what it’s used for, you can read about its liturgical use – and what becomes of it after its liturgical use – in this article.

Many, many years ago, I embroidered a maniturgium (you can see it here) with the Latin text “O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis Virgo Maria” on it, which comes from a prayer called the “Salve Regina” (or, in English, the “Hail, Holy Queen”).

These were all bespoke (commissioned) pieces.

I’ve taken on another one. After all, being stuck at home a lot lately, it gives me something to do there. I might as well be doing something productive!

This embroidered maniturgium is, in a way, a repeat. It is similar to the “O Clemens” one I worked years ago.

But I plan to approach it differently in a few ways.

For one thing, I’m testing floche as an option for the embroidery.

I’m not 100% certain I’m going to go with floche, but I’d like to. I enjoy embroidering with floche. It’s a pretty thread and it’s affordable. It holds up nicely when a thing is washed. I don’t have to worry about temperamental thread for pressing or anything like. It’s just a good cotton.

Instead of just outlining the letters (which is what I did last time, when I was working in a hurry against a shortdeadline), I plan to fill them.

But I’m not sure how I want to fill them.

Here, I tested the letter with split stitch filling. It’s hard to tell, but the bulk of the C is outlined with a darker blue, then filled with a slightly lighter shade, and I worked just a tiny streak of light blue along the inside outer edge.

I think I prefer to split stitch filling to satin stitching. I can do more with the split stitch.

For the gold filigree, I’m playing with different stitches.

Stem stitch was my natural first choice. With stem stitch, you can broaden and narrow up a line by changing the angle of the stitches. You have to be careful, though, with this approach. If your stitches become uneven, or if you don’t concentrate on keeping the angle consistent, it can end up looking wonky.

I’m not sure I want a method that’s going to take too much concentration. LOL! (I’m a lazy stitcher, when I’m stitching at home!)

Still, I do like this method with stem stitch a lot! I like how you can move it into practically a satin stitch and then right out again into stem stitch. It’s smooth. It’s pretty. It’s efficient.

Still, it’s not the only way.

I also played with stem stitch worked in rows, to fill heavier parts of the filigree.

I like this approach because you can precisely control the thickness of the filigree line. It seems easier to be consistent when thickening and thinning the lines. It’s not as smooth as adjusting the slant on the stem stitch, though, so I’m not sure I like the finished look as well.

I thought about mixing up the kinds of stitches I use on the filigree, to add a little more texture and interest to it.

To this end, I played with a whipped chain stitch for some of the filigree paths. The arrow points to it in the photo above.

I’m not really sure I want to mix up the stitches on the filigree. I like variety, but this isn’t necessarily the type of project that benefits from variety.

Besides, stem stitch – with either approach: slanting or in rows – provides its own texture!

Besides the text on the maniturgium, there will be an ornamental cross or other symbol on each end of the text. I really like this cross, but it might be too ornamental.

It’s only about 2.5″ high, and that 2.5″ inches are packed a lot of little scrolly bits. The floche might be too heavy for this, but if I’m doing the lettering in floche, I want to keep the ornamentation consistent in weight with the lettering.

If I switched to a lighter weight (like a single strand of floss), the ornamentation would get lost.

I might switch the design element to something else. We’ll see.

These are the aspects I’m testing out on this project, then. I’ll share progress on it as I go. I’m looking forward to getting it underway so that I have something engrossing to work on from the home front!

Coming Up

Later this week, we’ll start with the preliminaries for Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms, the current stitch-along that’s starting up here on Needle ‘n Thread. The kits are presently sold out, but we may be able to stock a few more. I’m working on it!

Don’t worry, though – you can stitch follow along without the kit. As with all stitch-alongs on Needle ‘n Thread (at this point, anyway), I’ll provide the materials list and the design so that you can work from your own supplies.

And even if you don’t stitch the project, you can still glean a lot of embroidery tips to add to your own repertoire and use on your own projects!

The kickoff, then, is Friday, with the preliminary information – materials, tools, design, etc. The first stitching lesson will be next week. That way, those who have ordered kits are more likely to have them in hand by the time we start.

See you Friday!

I know. It’s a tough job, always having a reason to “play” with embroidery thread!

Soon, I’ll review the threads in depth, but since I haven’t actually stitched with them and tested their performance and resilience, today, I’m just going to show you the threads in general (no names, branding or anything) and share some first impressions – and some reasons why I think I might want to explore using them in some projects and kits.

I’m afraid I did the same thing to you a few weeks ago, showcasing this new collection of embroidery ground fabrics. This is the same approach with threads – a little eye candy, without much real substance.

Well, that’s candy for you! All sugar, no substance…

But who doesn’t like a little sugar now and then?

You see, I had occasion to visit an embroidery business that dyes their own threads, which they sell in a vast array of colors. These threads are overdyed – they have subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) variations in colors.

My first thought when I saw the thread wall before me upon entering the building was Good Golly! That’s a LOT of color!

First, I just walked along the wall to take in the quantity visually.

I knew I would purchase some of the colors to take home and test, but in fact, I didn’t have a plan on how to approach that. I wasn’t expecting such a wide array of colors, with all kinds of shades and nuances.

Without a plan, there was nothing for it: I had to let whatever struck my fancy rule my choices. I regret now that I did not pause longer over certain color families and make more judicious – and extensive – choices. But more on that below.

I am always drawn to reds, and oh, the array! Here, it was a matter of picking colors that caught my eye first, followed by making choices within those colors based on the names.

I know it’s not a very scientific way to choose color, but that’s all I had to go by – the color of the thread and the name of the thread. I had to use something to narrow down my choices.

Here is where my regrets lie. There was a lovely range of purples, and oh, how I wish I had thought things out more carefully!

It always seems to me that there’s a dearth of good purples in most thread collections. The DMC line of floss, for example, suffers from a lack of varied purples in numerous shades and colors. Cosmo, the same. Even working between brands – combining DMC, Anchor, Cosmo – I’m always surprised that I still want more options in purple.

With purples lacking in the standard commercial floss world, I like to look at specialty threads to see what smaller dye houses offer.

And I knew this! But I got caught up in the moment, didn’t think, and didn’t concentrate on selecting more from the purple range. If there is a next time, I will know better.

There is a wide and vast nuanced array of blues and blue greens. Think oceans tropical to polar and everything in between, in all their moods; deep and rich and light and airy.

When I got to the yellows and greens, I was suddenly sadly defective in my ability to choose well! I acquired very few from these color families.

Oh my word, there was so much green to choose from. From deep dark woodsy greens to spring and summer grassy greens, and more – oh, much more! So many options!

While I managed to work some brighter orangey reds into my red choices, I regret that I also didn’t concentrate on their orange range as I should have. Again, I was distracted by too many options.

I’m going to play with these threads soon, and I’ll share my experiences with you and tell you more about them as I learn more about them.

There are several reasons why this thread line appeals to me, and if it works out that I can use these threads for a project or two – or maybe as some curated thread color packs so that you can sample them, too – I will. We shall see!

Besides loving their extensive range of color, I’m happy that the company dyeing these threads is somewhat “local.” It’s a small US business not too far from me. So that attracts me, too.

More to come!

Bernadette Banner is an online content creator (you can find her extensive YouTube channel here and her website here) who focuses on dressmaking before the era of the sewing machine. She recreates period-specific clothing by hand (and sometimes with period-specific machinery – but it’s mostly by hand, and that’s No Small Thing).

Recently, she and Hand & Lock (of embroidery renown) collaborated on an engrossing documentary about embroidering an 18th century waistcoat and produced a little embroidery kit to go along with it.

The images here are screen captures from the video that you’ll find linked to below.

The video – 18th Century Embroidery is No Joke – can be found here. It clocks in over 30 minutes, but it didn’t seem long to me. I started watching and next thing I knew, it was over!

The outcome of the project and its explorations is a Regency / 21st Century Meld of an embroidered waistcoat. Utilizing modern methods of machine embroidery combined with traditional methods of goldwork (couching and chip work) and other hand techniques – and discussing along the way the fluctuations in the clothing industry throughout history, the prohibitive cost of creating entirely hand-embroidered clothing of this scale, and more – the participants in the video give their audience a good understanding of what’s involved in producing even a “simple” embroidered waistcoat.

“Simple” is certainly not meant to be derogatory. There’s nothing simple about what this collaboration produced. And even though there are more elaborate waistcoats out there – like the ones I highlighted from this visit to the Bavarian National Museum, where there are at least these two (and a monkey’s coat) – this one is quite beautiful, even if not as elaborate.

And, oh! The pailettes! How they sparkle!

To ice the collaborative cake, Hand & Lock produced a kit to go along with the video. It includes ground fabric worked with a machine embroidered motif that corresponds with the stylistic flavor of the waistcoat (the ground fabric is a poly satin, just so you know), to which the embroiderer applies goldwork, beads, and the like that require hand application. It’s a neat idea! And it’s a great way to get a feel for what was involved in completing this (forgive the pun, but you had to know it was coming…) banner achievement.

You can find the kit on Hand & Lock, here.

I hope you enjoy the video!

Coming Up!

We’ll be starting the stitch-along for Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms next week, with the first installment covering tools, supplies, and designs. So even if you haven’t purchased a kit, you can follow along and glean some good tips and techniques to add to your embroidery repertoire.

I’ll also show you a project that I’m experimenting with, testing threads and whatnot.

And we’ll continue our discussion of design transfer techniques. I’ve got a few other seldom-discussed methods that may or may not work for you – but you may as well know about them!

Have a lovely weekend!

I introduced you to Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms here last week, and gave you a heads-up on today’s shopping event. In that article, we chatted about what’s in the kit and what you can expect from the stitch-along.

Today, I’m not going to recap all that. Instead, if you’re looking for the detailed information, please visit last week’s blog post linked to above. Thanks!

You will find the kits for Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms available here.

If you’re looking for equipment to go with your kit – like a 6″ hoop, twill tape for binding the hoop, good embroidery scissors, thread organizers and the like – you will find all those delectable doo-dads available here under Embroidery Equipment.

I’m so excited to get this going! We neeeeeed to work on a project together again, and I can’t wait!

Often, when I’m looking up information in old books, I’ll come across references to earlier publications that I’d never be able to see in person, except when I can find those references online in places like Internet Archive.

And often when I’m looking up something specific on Internet Archive, I’ll stumble across a little gem here and there that I find inspirational, interesting, amusing, or helpful.

Not long ago, I came across this book by Peter Jessen called Der Ornamentstich. It’s in German, but if you like exploring these old books and you don’t know the language, sometimes Google Translate can be a good helper.

And hey! If you’re just there for the pictures, that’s ok, too!

This book caught my eye because the title is The Ornamental Stitch. I expected to find a lot more about ornamental stitching than I did, but there are some really nice little gems in the book, as far as images go.

I especially like the needle lace designs. If you’re into the Italian needle laces, you might find some good inspiration here!

And while there’s not a lot, design-wise, in the book that would translate that great into surface embroidery, there are a few morsels. I like this panel, above! That corner motif offers a lot of possibilities.

Although the book isn’t a vast resource, I still found it entertaining to browse through. I’m not a huge fan of over-Baroqued design, artwork, and whatnot, but I still like looking at it! I find some of it amusing, some of it overpowering, some of it delightful, and some just Downright Odd. If you browse through the book, you’ll know what I mean!

Hope you enjoy browsing! Have a lovely weekend!

I’m happy to say that there are still blackberries on the vine here in Kansas, so our upcoming stitch-along, Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms is still in season. I’m excited to get it launched!

To that end, I’ll tell you a little bit about the stitch-alongs I run here on Needle ‘n Thread, so that you can decide if you want to participate. I’ll also introduce you to Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms, let you know when the kits will launch and how that works, and share the initial timeline with you for this project.

Update Aug 5: The kits have launched and you can find them available here.

Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms is a stitch-along project that will develop here on Needle ‘n Thread over four or five lessons.

What’s a Stitch-Along and How Does it Work?

A stitch-along is a lot like an online class where you work through a project (at your own pace), referring to the instructions, tips, and techniques that I post here on the website. I will also post a Project Index, where you can easily find all the lessons as the project develops, so that you can come back to them as you need them.

We produce kits for the stitch-along project. They contain everything you need to complete the project, except a hoop and scissors. You’re not obliged to purchase the kit, but it is a great way to get all the components in one place without having to search for supplies, pay multiple shipping fees, or make substitutions that can alter the outcome of the project.

Each week during the stitch-along, I post a lesson with step-by-step instructions and tips to help you successfully complete the project. The final lesson covers our finishing process for the project. In this case, we’ll be framing the embroidery in a round frame.

For members of the Needle ‘n Thread Community over on Patreon, I post each lesson in a handy downloadable and printable PDF format, so that members can have easy access to the formatted lessons. Usually, the PDFs are a little more detailed than the lessons here on the blog, because I can include more detail in a PDF. I also offer members an early shopping event, so that they can get a kit without having to queue up for the website launch.

Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms

BB&B is designed for determined beginners and beyond. You should already know the basics of embroidery – how to separate out your floss, how to thread a needle, how to start and end threads – and you should be comfortable following embroidery instructions. The embroidery is worked with one and two strands of DMC stranded cotton, depending on techniques and stitchers’ preferences.

In BB&B, you’ll learn many useful stitching techniques to add to your embroidery repertoire:

We will do some shading on the leaves, and I’ll show you a particular way that I shaded on this project, to help make the process go a little faster.

You’ll learn how to create beaded blackberries on a built-up foundation that makes them look rather realistic and delicious!

We’ll also cover what I call “sketchy split stitch” – a very “free” form of stitching, that helps make twiggy things look a bit more twiggy and a bit less formal.

Finally, you’ll learn how to frame a piece in a round frame – although how you finish it is up to you! You might decide to do something else with it, and that’s fine.

What’s in the Kit?

In the kit, you will find the ground fabric – a natural colored, high quality Italian linen – with the design printed on it; ten full skeins of DMC embroidery floss; three types of Miyuki seed beads; needles; and a small beeswax “berry” for strengthening your beading thread.

You’ll need to supply small sharp scissors and a 6″ embroidery hoop or your favorite type of embroidery frame. We have excellent scissors and hoops available here.

I also made use of a laying tool quite frequently. While not essential, it’s definitely handy! You can find a mini awl available here, which serves nicely as a laying tool.

When, When, When?

We will launch the kits exactly a week from today, Wednesday, August 5, at 10:00 AM Central Time (I’m in Kansas). That’s when the kit will go live in the shop here on the website. Members on Patreon will, as usual, have an early shopping event so that they don’t have to queue up on Wednesday morning!

The stitch-along will begin the next week, on Monday, August 10, with the first installment covering design, materials, and initial instructions for getting started. We will begin the first stitching on Friday, August 14. At this time, there is a maximum of five lessons planned for the project, but this plan may be adjusted based on participant feedback and so forth.

Yummmmy! I do love blackberries!

Stay tuned for the stitch-along, and enjoy the rest of your week!