Jazz up Your Projects with Embroidery

Give your quilt projects a personal touch with embroidery.  It’s fun and relaxing.  Handwork has a way of calming and centering me.  All you need are embroidery needles, a hoop, and some colorful floss.   You can use your embroidery in a variety of ways.

Use it to embellish an applique quilt block.   Add faces to people.  Like I did on my Family reunion and Sugar and Spice quilts. Or dress up a  snowmen  like I did on Winter Whimsy.

Add color and texture to a quilt with big stitch quilting.  I’ve done this on pillows as well as on my Stellar Stars Caught in a Web quilt.  Learn how to big stitch quilt with this tutorial.

I’ve even used it on a binding.  I love the look this gives to a solid fabric binding.  Especially when I use bright colors on a gray binding.

Embroidery is a great way to make applique stand out.  Try a blanket or other decorative stitch.

Add vines, stems or other detail work.   You can even create an embroidered blocks to your quilts.

You don’t have to stick to quilting projects.  Recently I’ve started embellishing my clothing with needle and thread.  I added legs, eyes and a beak to a bird I put on a skirt.  I’ve appliqued hearts and surrounded them with daisies on some jeans that got a hole.  Currently I’m adding butterflies and flowers to a pair of bell bottoms I own.  I’m using the Missouri Star’s Garden Friends Kit for the patterns. Saves me from trying to draw the elegant butterflies.

Have fun jazzing up your projects.  I hope this gives you a few ideas.  Be sure to share what you create with me on my group Facebook page