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.

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.

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!

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a free hand embroidery design here on Needle ‘n Thread!

This is my renovated version of a rose medallion (formed as a cross) from an old ecclesiastical embroidery-related publication.

While the design could also be used for secular embroidery – especially if you’re looking for something very symmetrical – the cruciform shape lends itself well to church embroidery.

For church embroidery, this design might be used, for example, on an embroidered pall with Marian theme to it (the rose being one of the many symbols used for the Blessed Virgin), and it could be done in all whitework on white linen, or it could be done in color.

It might be used as a goldwork and silk embroidered cross on the front of the chalice veil, a burse, and so forth, with a set of vestments embroidered in the same theme.

It would also make a nice secular study for silk shading and goldwork. It could be enlarged for a study in soft shading with wool.

There’s a lot you can do with it!

Downloadable PDF

If you’d like to play around with this design, here’s a downloadable PDF for personal use:

Rose & Leaves Medallion embroidery design

Looking for More?

If you’re looking for more hand embroidery designs, there’s a whole section of free designs available for personal use right over here on Needle ‘n Thread. You’ll find several series of monograms, too, as well as church embroidery designs, counted designs, and regular surface embroidery designs for exploration!

Coming Up!

Later this week, I’ll share the introduction to our upcoming stitch-along, Blackberries, Blossoms & Brambles! Yes, we have kits for you, and I’ll share the launch dates for the kits as well!

But at the same time, I’d like to share a little bit of the joy and pleasure I experienced when, with trembling fingers and antsy excitement, I recently opened up some long-awaited, highly-anticipated packages from abroad.

So today, I’m going to share a little eye candy with you.

Never fear! Ultimately, this is for you.

Words aren’t necessary, are they?

Just take a moment to revel in these colors…

…to contemplate the exquisite wonder of high quality, beautifully woven, lovely fabric, perfect for needlework.

Are you sighing over it like I did?

Then we understand each other!

Wouldn’t you just love to run your hands over the surface of all that glorious linen?

And it is glorious!

Soon, my friends!

Soon!

New Tools & Accessories!

A few weeks back, I wrote about reorganizing our thread drawers, and I mentioned that we organized them according to the DMC real thread color card. We have finally received our DMC shipment of real thread color cards, and we have those in stock in the shop now! Yay!

These extremely handy mini awls have been re-stocked.

I’ve topped up these enamel needle minders and added a couple new selections that ingeniously coordinate with…

… These lovely Floss Fobs! Think of them as thread organizers with a little pizazz. The enamel fobs are 1.5″ in diameter – so quite large, easy to see, really pretty! And they hang on a drop-shaped gold-toned ring with a barrel clasp that holds thread drops or floss organizers. These particular organizers are imprinted with a pretty decoration and have a space for writing your floss color and number. There are 8 thread drops on each Floss Fob. (The Floss Fob works well with any thread drop that has a small hole for a snap ring.)

Carbon-style transfer techniques are useful enough that it’s good to be familiar with them. You never know when this approach might come in handy, depending on the fabric you’re using, the size or scope of your design, and so forth.

It probably won’t surprise you, if you’ve read the two articles (Part I here and Part II here), that these aren’t my go-to methods for transferring designs. I would rather trace with a pencil than use a carbon transfer method.

But you can’t always trace a design. In cases where you can’t, there are still other methods I prefer over carbon transfer.

Still, carbon transfer is a useful option to know, and it works well under some circumstances.

Today, we’re going to look at the method on dark fabric, using artist’s white “graphite” paper and DMC’s transfer carbon. Then, we’ll chat about a different approach for dark fabric, and I’ll make some suggestions on modifications and techniques you can try.

If you’re just checking in on this series of articles, please take a moment to read the first two articles linked to above. That’s where we talk about method.

Today, I’m not going to dwell on method much, as far as the actual carbon transfer process goes.

I’m using a white artist’s transfer paper from a craft store, on black linen, with a ball point pen to trace over the design.

It is always difficult to photograph in everyday lighting black linen. Ugh! But the image above is pretty true to what I could see from the white transfer onto the linen.

It’s not very bright, but it is there. If I were planning to stitch this monogram (it’s an M in this Celtic style monogram set), I’d have to enhance the transfer somehow, in order to make sure that 1. it stays on the fabric long enough to work the embroidery, and 2. I can see it comfortably while stitching.

To this end, after executing the white carbon transfer, tracing over the design again with a different instrument can help enhance the line.

In this case, I used a Sewline “ceramic” lead pencil. Bohin also makes these pencils – I wrote about them eons ago here. Bohin also has this chalk liner that can be sharpened, though I still think it’s a bit too heavy for detailed designs, and I don’t think the design would last long.

You could also use a white gel pen, as long as you’re super steady and can be certain you’ll cover the lines with embroidery.

You can see in the photo above the much brighter line from the ceramic lead pencil. It’s much easier to see!

And here, you can see it again.

It took me quite a bit of effort, though, to get a nice steady line that followed the design clearly. I had to keep referring to my original printed design (on paper) because I found the initial carbon transfer really difficult to see under normal light.

Let’s switch to some DMC “embroidery tracing paper.”

This is more or less the same type of transfer paper as Saral, a brand of artist’s transfer paper, and also very similar to Dritz’s dressmaker’s carbon that also comes in packs of different colors.

We’ll use the same set up. This time, I’m using the yellow transfer paper that comes in the DMC package. With the “chalk” side face down on the fabric, I taped the corners lightly, placed the design on top, taped that lightly to hold it in place, and then traced with a ball point pen.

It’s definitely easier to see than the artist’s white transfer paper was, but … but…

It’s very blurry and smudgy!

I would want and expect a crisper line, but I didn’t get one.

On dark fabric, I find that carbon methods are a lot of effort to go through for the quality of transfer that you get.

So let’s switch to something more traditional in transfer approaches – prick and pounce.

If you don’t know how prick and pounce works, I have a detailed tutorial here for this method of transfer. I also have an older tutorial here for the same method, transferring with white powder onto red velveteen and using yellow paint for the final design.

I pricked the design with tiny holes.

Then I grabbed a scrap of felt and rolled it into a tight roll, securing it with a rubber band.

I have a little pot of cornstarch in my “transfer materials” drawer. Alternately, you can use ground cuttlefish bone (if you want to be really authentic), or you can use talc (although people have an aversion to talc due to its carcinogenic reputation). I’ve gotten to where I prefer cornstarch because it’s easy to get and it works fine.

Pounce, pounce, pounce.

I don’t really “pounce” the cornstarch onto the paper. I rub the felt over the design so that the cornstarch falls through the little holes and sits on the fabric.

I made a jolly mess of that. But it’s ok, because the excess brushes off fine!

You can see that the design is easy to see at this point. But it is not stable. You can’t just stitch pricked-and-pounced fabric as is and expect that the transfer is going to stick around.

So out comes the ceramic lead pencil again, to trace the pounced outline of the design.

I blew the excess cornstarch off the fabric. And then I picked up the fabric and shook it well. The above photo is the result.

It’s not bad! In the past, I’ve used a gel pen for tracing over the pounce, but gel pens mixed with cornstarch can be messy and they don’t always write smoothly after a while. So in this case, I’d likely prefer the ceramic lead pencil or some other similar white transfer pencil that can provide a relatively fine line.

In fact, I have written about using a gel pen for drawing a design on dark fabric. You can read about that here, with the pros and cons.

And I’ve used this modified approach to prick and pounce frequently, using the tip of a pen instead of pounce powder on lighter fabrics. It might work with a fine-tipped white gel pen that emits enough ink when just touched onto the fabric through the holes. You might test this, if you’re keen on the precision of the prick and pounce method but would prefer a shortcut.

If I were transferring a big design for a long-term project – a magnum opus of some sort – on dark fabric, I would use prick and pounce and then I’d use paint and a tiny paintbrush to paint the design lines on.

The fact is, I don’t stitch frequently on very dark fabric (like black or dark navy), and mostly, that’s for two reasons: my personal preference, aesthetics-wise, coupled with the fact that I have really bad eyesight and I find it hard-hard-hard-hard-hard to stitch on black or very dark fabrics.

But for what it’s worth, these are some viable options for transferring on dark fabric, either using a carbon approach or using prick and pounce.

I hope this comes in handy!

When it came out earlier this year, I grabbed a couple of them so that I could try them. I figured you might be curious about them and might want to know what they’re like.

So today, we’ll take a look at this new transfer pen and chat about it.

That’s a nice looking little pen, isn’t it?

And it is nice-feeling, too. It might sound weird, but I like to “feel” a pen – to see how it feels in the hand, what the barrel feels like and whatnot. Of course, this applies mostly to writing pens, not transfer tools!

But this little transfer pen does have a quality feel to it, and it looks nice.

It is a water-soluble transfer pen.

As such, it has pros and cons, which we will talk about below.

In my mind, the primary focus the tool is the tip of the pen.

This is a fine tipped pen (0.4mm). It does not create a thick line. And this point (excuse the pun) bears keeping in mind when we discuss pros and cons of water soluble pens, below.

It has a precise, hard tip, not a brush-type tip or a softer marker-type tip, which goes a long way to keep the transfer lines fine.

It’s pretty easy to write with on fabric. I’m using a high count linen here, with a smooth surface. There is a little “pull” on the surface – just a tad bit of that friction you expect when using a pen on fabric – but nothing really noticeable or troubling. It writes well.

The pen writes best at a slow and steady pace. If you go too slow with it, or hesitate with the tip on the fabric, the line may darken more than you’d prefer.

I found if I moved at a slow and steady pace, I got a very nice line from it. If I tried to write fast with it, the line was much fainter and a little skippy – not skipping badly, but the ink just doesn’t have a chance to “pull” into the fabric if I tried to write fast.

If I hesitated and held the pen in one place, there was some heavier ink-pull between the fabric and pen, causing the ink to be much darker, to feather a little more, and, if left in one spot, it could create an undesirable drain on the pen’s ink.

The answer, then, is a slow but steady movement with the pen, and it will wright just right.

Now, the thing about a water-soluble transfer pen is that the ink disappears with the application of water.

And to that end, I applied water.

This was just a quick splash – I didn’t expect it to disappear right at the time of applying water like this. I dropped the fabric in a bowl of cool water and got busy on other things.

Eventually, I remembered the fabric, took it out of the water, and laid it on a towel to air dry. At a glance, the ink was gone, as I expected.

Here’s the dry fabric, and for all practical, visible purposes, the ink is gone.

It’s not entirely gone, in fact, but gone enough for most purposes. You can see in the circled area above the vestiges of the “C” of DMC.

Still, for all practical purposes, I think we can say that the ink certainly “disappeared.”

Pros and Cons

The pros of this pen are several:

1. The fine line and ease of use.

2. The line disappears with water.

But there are cons of all water-soluble transfer pens:

1. Although the line disappears, the ink itself is not necessarily gone from the fabric. Over time, “ghosting” can appear on the fabric from the water-soluble ink. That is, the design line reappears slightly, usually in a kind of very light brownish-tinted line.

For this reason, I’m not generally a huge fan of water-soluble, heat-soluble, and air-soluble transfer pens. The fact that they can all leave ghosting, or that their lines can re-appear, indicates that the ink or the chemical compounds in the ink don’t really leave the fabric. But still, these pens have their uses and I can see why they appeal. While I wouldn’t use them for some of my projects, I might use them for more casual embroidery projects.

2. The thread and fabric you’re using must be colorfast in water. Never use a water-soluble transfer pen with fabric or thread that is not certainly colorfast.

The Advantage of the Fine Tip

When considering the cons of water soluble transfer pens, I think we can safely say that fine-tipped pens like this one counter the visibility problem with “ghosting” for the most part.

Because the tip is so fine, it is easy to cover the ink line completely with embroidery, so that it would be less likely that any “ghosting” would be evident if the line re-appeared with faint ghosting over time.

Longevity

One consideration with any type of ink pen used for transferring is how long the pen lasts. Just how many uses can you get out of one transfer pen?

It’s important to note that, besides the ink usage, other things may affect the longevity of this type of transfer pen: age, environment, storage. Pens like this tend to last longer if they are stored flat. They probably should be stored away from light and heat, and it makes sense that they’d probably last longer in a dry (non-humid) environment.

How long does this particular pen last?

That, I cannot tell you. I would have to “use it up” and gauge how much I wrote, how long it was stored, and so forth.

I would imagine that, if you are doing a lot of smaller projects over a relatively short period of time (not years, more like months), you could likely get good use out of this pen. And for the cost (they’re around $6), it would be a relatively cost-efficient way to achieve your design transfers.

Where to Find It

According to the folks at DMC, this particular pen is not priced for wholesale distribution, so your best bet is to order it directly from DMC’s retail website. There may be other retailers who carry it, but I haven’t come across any. No affiliation – just letting you know where it’s available in the US if you’re interested in acquiring one.

It was late at night. I was wide awake. I was enjoying the rhythm of working the hemstitch, and all was well with the piece. I had a mere four or five stitches left. It was, for all practical purposes, finished.

And I didn’t want it to be!

I didn’t have another “home project” set up. What would I do at night, when I needed something to occupy myself?

In a moment of impulse, I said to myself, “Hey, why not withdraw another strip of threads and work another line of hem stitch a little further in?”

And I answered myself, “Hey! What a great idea! I’ll do that!”

And I picked up my scissors, and I started snipping fabric threads.

Now, my intention was to accomplish pretty much what you see in the above photo.

Spoiler Alert: It happened, as you can see.

I had the idea that I could withdraw a path of four more threads, equally spaced from the original path of four removed threads for the original hemstitch, leaving a solid path of four threads between the two withdrawn areas.

Why not? Seemed like a great idea to me!

Snip.

Snip.

Snip.

I didn’t take any photos to illustrate my blunder, because I didn’t know I was blundering at the time.

I’ll try to explain the problem.

See where the white arrow points? When withdrawing the threads, of course the intersecting area of withdrawn threads at the corners ends up entirely empty.

But if I just removed threads up to that point, the area indicated by the red markers would become entirely unstable. The hemstitched threads already worked wouldn’t have any “anchor” area – they’d just be floating in a small woven space of four threads.

And as I started pulling my snipped threads, I suddenly realized I’d have empty corners and that wouldn’t do. I had to have some kind of “stopper” for the withdrawn threads – something that finished the area of withdrawing and held the threads securely.

I wasn’t really thinking very clearly, and I obviously didn’t have any plan. And I had already started cutting the fabric threads and withdrawing some of them.

And without thinking it though again, I developed a faulty plan for the corner.

Since I hadn’t withdrawn the threads completely into the corners yet, I very weirdly decided to stitch an eyelet (an “Algerian Eye” stitch) on the corner that formed the intersection, erroneously believing this would solve my thread-stopping problem for the corners.

The green lines in the photo above indicate where the corner threads along the withdrawn path would be, and the red lines indicate an Algerian Eye or eyelet right there.

I stitched four of those eyelets, one in each corner on the withdrawn path.

But if you pause and think – which I did not do – you would understand the problem I ran into.

The holding area for the withdrawing threads could not be right there in the corner, because once the threads were withdrawn, I’d have an eyelet that was not attached to anything on two sides of its square.

And lo! I did indeed discover my misconception as I withdrew threads towards a corner. The eyelets in the corner would not hold, of course.

It didn’t help that this was all happening in the middle of the night. I was so furious at myself, because I had, in effect, pretty much just ruined a perfectly good hem job.

I went to bed.

The next evening, I did the only thing I could do at that point, which was to satin stitch the corner areas as you see above, to provide a barrier for the withdrawn thread area.

I don’t really like the look, but … needs must!

It was the only way I could salvage the situation.

After I finished working the inner line of hemstitch and the shoddy corners, I toyed with the idea of embellishing the inner strip of intact fabric between the two hemstitched areas.

Using all six strands of the green floss used in the project, I worked a very satisfying-to-work braid-like herringbone stitch over that area.

It was fun to work, and I do like the look of the stitch itself, but I didn’t like the look of it with that particular project. It was too heavy and textured and not in keeping with the rest of the design.

Plus, it just accentuated the corners. The shoddy corners.

Hmmmm…. Perhaps if I had satin stitched the corners in green…?

Uh. No.

I finished the project with just the plain double line of hemstitch.

I haven’t taken photos of the whole finished piece yet. Down the road, when I press it and put it out for use, I’ll take some photos and share them with you so you can see the overall effect of the double hemstitched area. The double hemstitched area isn’t bad – it looks good, in fact.

Had I planned that approach from the beginning, I could have avoided the satin stitched blobs in those corners, and it would be fine.

But I don’t like the shoddy corners. They are messy and unstable because they were stitched when there wasn’t enough fabric left to hold the threads well.

Moral of the story: think things through, and certainly think them through before you snip threads!

I wish I had left well enough alone with the first line of hemstitch, but at least I learned a good lesson. And along the way, I also found a decorative approach to hemstitch that I can use on future projects.

The End.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Today, we’ll pick up that topic again and talk about a different type of carbon transfer medium.

In the first article, we looked at dressmaker’s carbon. Today, we’ll try something else!

Never underestimate the value of exploring arts & crafts stores to find products that will do what you want them to do, even if they aren’t specifically sold as needlework-related products.

In most art stores, you will find artist’s graphite paper.

There are differences between artist’s graphite paper and dressmaker’s carbon, and those differences can be significant when it comes to using this type of carbon transfer for hand embroidery. So we need to talk about it and weigh pros and cons.

On the left, you’ll see dressmaker’s carbon and on the right, artist’s graphite paper. Obviously, one is much much darker than the other.

The overall advantage of any carbon transfer is that, if it works, it’s a good way to transfer onto fabric that is not suitable for tracing, and it is less time consuming than other forms of transfer on heavy or completely opaque fabrics.

Dressmaker’s carbon is paper coated with a chalky pigment, and it is specifically intended for fabric. It’s intended to be temporary. It is often (but not always) applied with a tracing wheel, and the lines it produces are usually somewhat thick and not necessarily crisp. It can smear and rub off, and often does if you are embroidering something that gets handled a lot.

Artist’s graphite paper is… well, graphite. It is not necessarily intended to wash out (but that doesn’t mean it won’t wash out – often, it washes out ok, especially over time). It will normally produce crisp lines and details well. It can be used over and over again, even on areas that have already been used. While it can smear if it’s rubbed (especially if purposely rubbed), it doesn’t tend to smear or wear off as readily as dressmaker’s carbon.

The most distinct advantage of artist’s carbon is that you can accomplish very fine lines and details, and usually, these fine lines are easy to cover with embroidery.

A distinct disadvantage is that artist’s graphite can migrate to the embroidery thread noticeably, if you’re using light threads. Still, sometimes this effect is desired (ie Appenzell embroidery, where the graphite transfer is characteristic to the finished embroidery), and, like I mentioned, it can wash out.

If you consider that designs for some whitework techniques are transferred via graphite (for example, Schwalm), you will understand that it is possible to remove graphite transfers. Look, for example, at Luzine Happel’s Basic Principles of Schwalm Whitework reviewed here. You can see the graphite transfer of her designs in those images.

Let’s look at the artist’s carbon for embroidery design transfers.

The first test here is on a higher count natural colored linen that has a close weave and a smooth hand.

I’ve taped the carbon gently to the fabric surface, carbon face down onto the fabric.

I’ve placed my design on top of the carbon, face-up. It’s just printed on regular printer paper.

I just used a ballpoint pen to trace over the design, and I didn’t go at it too aggressively, except on one small section, before I remembered I was using graphite paper instead of dressmaker’s carbon.

The transfer is crisp and clear. To achieve this level of clarity with dressmaker’s carbon with the same easy tracing pressure would not really be possible.

Let’s try it on a much heavier linen, with a low thread count and a chunky weave. This would be the type of fabric that’s impossible to trace on, even with a good light source behind the linen.

Not a bad transfer! I was a little more aggressive on the pen here and there out of habit, so you can see where the line is a bit darker where I was a bit more aggressive.

Let’s try something a little more detailed. I was a bit sketchy with my approach with the pen on this – you can see that I didn’t transfer with one continuous line, but rather “sketched” or “colored” the line with the ball point.

I don’t think that this much aggressive “coloring” of the line is necessary, but the level of pressure when transferring will vary from person to person, fabric to fabric, design to design. Test!

Even on chunky fabric, that’s a pretty clear carbon transfer.

If we zoom in close on the image, you can see the darkness of the graphite on the fabric threads.

If you’re going with this type of transfer for a project, take the time to test the fabric and the thread with this transfer technique before committing whole-heartedly to it.

I’d work a small sample of the design, transferring it via this method to a small piece of the ground fabric I intend to use. I’d use the same threads I plan to stitch with and stitch a portion of the sample. I’d check the threads for any graphite migration. If there is any notable graphite migration, I’d hand wash the sample to test the removal of the graphite.

Interestingly, with Schwalm whitework, after embroidering, the linen is boiled for a while, and the graphite disappears completely. Whether or not this method will work for your project depends on the threads you’re using! Test, test, test.

Here’s a used piece of artist’s carbon. I’m going to use it again, right over the previously used area, to transfer a more intricate design.

I transferred the design onto a medium weight natural colored linen. It’s probably about a 30-32 count linen, so not as low count as the above chunky-looking natural linen, which is 24-count, and not a high count linen like the first linen (which is a 50-or-60-something count plain weave).

The transfer is nice and clear, with no skips in the design where it ran into the used portion of the carbon.

Here are all three samples on three weights of linen, using the artist’s carbon. It works well for details, even on the heaviest weight linen, which is usually a bear to transfer detailed designs on.

Test! Test! Test!

As you can see, there are advantages and disadvantages to using artist’s carbon for transferring embroidery designs.

It does work, and it is a viable option under many embroidery circumstances.

If you are interested in using this kind of carbon, my advice is to test the technique for your particular project by transferring a small sample of your project on the fabric you intend to use and stitching that sample with the thread you intend to use to see if it works for you. If you notice graphite migration, hand wash the sample in a way that is recommended for the threads you are using.

At that point, you should be able to make an informed decision of whether or not you want to use this method of transfer.

Coming Up!

We’re not quite finished with this subject – I’ve got a few more samples and tests to show you soon.

I’m also going to review a new product on the market (also having to do with transferring designs) and share some thoughts about it.

Earlier this week, I mentioned my Border Blunder. I’ll share a blunder and my fix for it. Yes. It was a real blunder. And yes. It looks pretty bad. But … what can one do? Well, we’ll see!

And I’ll introduce you to our upcoming stitch-along, Blackberry Brambles & Blossoms. This is a little project that’s been in the works for a while, on and off the burner. We’ll have a limited number of kits available, and I’ll go over all the stitch-along details once we have the launch date set in stone.

Tools that are useful, pretty, well-made, and affordable are hard for me to resist. If a particular tool can help make embroidering easier or more pleasant, if it can enhance the results of my embroidery, if it can serve a useful purpose and look great while doing so – well, that’s the type of tool that set my little tool-lovin’ heart a-flutter!

Recently, in the dead of night, unbeknownst to the wider Needle ‘n Thread World, I slipped two such tools into the shop. I brought them in because I have been using them and I like them! I find both tools very useful. They’re just nice tools!

Let’s look at them!

This little awl and this bar needle minder both hail from Avlea, the company that produces these folk embroidery kits that I stock here and that I’ve written about here and here.

I really love the needlework products and kits that designer Krista West produces. I find her kits absolutely charming and accessible for anyone who enjoys cross stitch, and I really like the folk style of them. They’re folky, but they’re also very elegant. (On that note, I recently added these three drawstring bag kits. The bags are lined with coordinating Liberty of London cotton lawn. Pretty and useful!)

Krista’s tools are equally lovely and useful! And when she added this mini blunt-tipped awl (I use it as a laying tool) to her offerings, I knew I had to bring it in, too.

I like a laying tool that has a slightly blunt tip.

Many laying tools have very sharp tips. The BLT (Best Laying Tool), for example, has such a fine, sharp tip that it could be wielded as a subtle and effective weapon in the next needlework murder mystery you happen write.

And while that sharp tip comes in useful for many things in embroidery – and I use it for some things! – in most cases when I just want a laying tool, I prefer a tool that doesn’t run the risk of snagging threads or fabric. (Not familiar with a laying tool, what it does, and why it’s useful? You can read more about laying tools and see how to use them here.)

So these little rosewood-handled awls fit that bill. They are sharp enough to use as an awl to open small holes in fabric. They are perfectly smooth and therefore suitable as a laying tool. But they are not so sharp on the tip that they’d snag your thread or fabric inadvertently while in use as a laying tool.

Additionally, did I mention it’s a mini awl? It clocks in at a total length of 2 5/8″ long, with a 1″ long tip.

So yes, it’s a Small Awl! And that makes it great for tote-ability. It will fit easily into your traveling needlework pouch, taking up very little room, but is still capable of doing its intended job.

The handle is made from a beautiful, smooth, polished rosewood. It’s comfortable to hold and it’s attractive.

All in all, it’s swell small awl!

Then, there’s this bar needle minder. It’s a very pretty hard enamel needle minder, 2.5″ long and 5/8″ wide, with three magnets along the back. It is not a deadly-strong needle minder: it works very well for holding needles, but don’t expect it to hold heavier tools.

Needle minders are handy-dandy tools! They make stitching easier and more efficient. And you know what? They make me happy. I love a pretty or cheerful or fun needle minder mounted on a project!

If you’re not sure how needle minders work, you can read about them here.

Essentially, they hold onto parked needles. I especially appreciate a needle minder when I’m working with multiple needles at a time. I can park the idle needles on the minder – threaded, ready to go, and easy to find – while I’m stitching with the working needle. Parking needles this way makes stitching so much more efficient!

I think these needle bars are a nice addition to the line-up of enamel needle minders we already carry, which you can find listed here. And because they’re long and roomy, you can keep several needles propped on them, distinct from each other and easy to grab when you need them.

Where to Find Them

You can find these two tools – and other handy dandy needlework tools – in my shop under Embroidery Equipment, here. I plan to keep them stocked, so if they happen to sell out, never fear! They’ll be restocked pretty quickly.

And that’s the Tool Talk for today!

Coming Up!

Later this week, we’ll return to transfer methods. I’m going to review something that recently showed up on the market, so keep an eye out for that!

And I’ll be showing you the hem on this project. Yes, the hem that I totally flubbed up. We’ll learn a good lesson – think things through before you LEAP! – and I’ll show you my salvage effort.

Finally, finally, we will be releasing a stitch-along this summer, despite the incredible delay in absolutely everything on every front. We finally have all the kit components and the samples are almost finished. I’ll introduce you to it next week, and I believe the kits will launch the last week of July.

It is one of my “top books” this year – it’s a banner book that celebrates a banner accomplishment! And it teaches you, very simply and directly, how to stitch your own bits of the Bayeux Tapestry.

The book is Embroider the Bayeux Tapestry by Mia Hansson, who, in fact, has pretty much embroidered the whole Bayeux Tapestry single handedly.

Let’s take a look at it!

I learned about Mia Hansson and her incredible embroidery feat – embroidering her own reproduction of the entire Bayeux Tapestry – when she somehow magically showed up in my Facebook feed. I was immediately hooked, and frankly, bowled over. I couldn’t believe the extent of work she has put into this incredible accomplishment!

I wasn’t surprised to learn that Search Press was publishing a book by Mia that shows readers how to embroider the Bayeux Tapestry for themselves – or at least, pieces of it, which is much more manageable than embroidering the Whole Thing!

The book pulls from Mia’s experiences over years (ten of them so far, I think) of stitching her phenomenal repro tapestry.

The book itself is worthy of the endeavor – it is a beautiful hardbound book, just as suitable for the coffee table as it is for the work table.

The outer cover has a delightfully tactile linen-like texture!

The end papers deserve a nice pause and perusal!

The book is both an instructional book and a project book – and there are loads of projects! Big and small vignettes from the tapestry feature characters, animals, events – so there’s something for every interest, as long as your interest includes the whole style of the tapestry!

Seriously, there are loads to choose from. Most books don’t feature this many projects, but because the instruction is all the same, there’s a lot of space for many projects.

The book begins, of course, with information about the original Tapestry…

…and an explanation of materials and tools (which are rather minimal!)…

…followed by instruction on the embroidery stitches used for all the projects (also minimal – there are not very many types of stitches employed in the tapestry, after all)…

…followed by an overview on how to approach and stitch the projects.

There’s also a nice section on tips and techniques for stitching the designs.

Then there’s the Meat of the Matter – the whole point of the book, and the vast majority of the book: The Projects.

There are, in fact, twenty five projects!

All the projects are worked with the same stitches and same techniques covered in the general information earlier in the book. Each project is presented with a materials list…

… a close up image of the finished vignette, sometimes with a blurb on how the design or interpretation differs from the original and why (very interesting stuff!)…

…a line drawing of the scene with the stitch & color layout…

…and close-up photos of different elements of the scene, so that you can know where you going and what you’re trying to achieve as you stitch that particular scene.

There are projects that are small and very manageable…

…and for those of the “Go Big or Go Home” Mindset, there are large, more complex scenes to stitch as well.

Finally, in the very back of the book, attached to the inside back cover, you will find an envelope contains iron-on transfers for all the projects.

These full-size, ready to use iron-ons will help you hasten the project preparation so you can get right to the embroidery!

And that, my friends, is a detailed look at Embroider the Bayeux Tapestry by Mia Hansson!

If you’ve ever had a hankering to stitch a Bayeux Tapestry scene, Mia makes it easy! This book is a delight on every level, from the background information, to the instructional content, to the pattern collection, to the overall presentation of the book! It’s definitely worth adding to your embroidery library!

Where to Find It

If you’re looking for your own copy of Embroider the Bayeux Tapestry, you’ll find it listed here on my Amazon Book Recommendations page. Get it while you can! I think it’s proving to be a very popular book!

The link to my Amazon Needlework Books Recommendation Page is an affiliate link, which means that Needle ‘n Thread may receive a small commission for purchases made through that link, at no extra expense to you. Thanks!