Come and join my new Embroidery Membership on Substack – today is the launch day and I’m so excited to have this new space for my work!

I started this blog in 2012, and I had no idea back then where my creativity and writing would take me. I just wanted to make stuff and share it!

I’ve been creating content and designing patterns for quite a few years now, and it feels equally exciting and terrifying to be running this new paid-for space. It’s a move into new territory, but I’m excited about the prospect of creating my own stitching community, where we’re all taking time out to be creative through the medium of hand embroidery. Every paid membership truly means so much to me, and I thank you for being here and for all your support over the years. It has taken me months of planning and preparation, but we’re finally LIVE!

About my Embroidery Membership on Substack

Moving forward, my membership will be the only place where you’ll be able to access new Hello! Hooray! pdf patterns that I release (excluding magazine commissions and books). For £10 a month, you’ll get access to the pattern or Masterclass (see below). If you prefer you can also pay for the year at £96 (equivalent to £8 per month but billed annually), or become a Founding Member for £150 and receive access to my Pattern Archive.

It’s a more interactive space than selling them through my website or through Etsy, and I hope it becomes a place where we can connect and meet other stitchers whilst building our own supportive community. This element of connecting with each other through a shared project is really important to me, and it’s something that I couldn’t provide through the platforms I’ve previously used.

The content will alternate between a Pattern Month and a Masterclass month, where we’ll dive a bit deeper into materials and techniques used in the Pattern Month. This will hopefully give you more confidence to experiment with hand embroidery outside of this project. Find out more about how this all works over on Substack.

Come and stitch with me!

The THRIVE hoop is our first project, and you can find supplies here. All patterns are limited editions, so don’t miss out! It forms part of a beautiful trilogy of hoops. JOY was originally designed for Workshop Week in 2022 but is a free bonus pattern for anyone who signs up to be a paid member until 28th February 2024. You can find materials for this here. BLOOM is taken from my next book, The Modern Embroidery Handbook, which is available to preorder now! Materials for this design will be on preorder soon.

If you have any questions about my Embroidery Membership then do let me know – I’d love for you to come and stitch with me and join our lovely community.

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The hardest thing about leaving my studio by far was having to paint over my Studio Dariolina mural that was the main feature of the workshop room. Designed by my wonderful friend and partner-in-craft, Daria, it is something that means so much to us. We were absolutely heartbroken to be honest! But at the same time, we know that the design will STILL continue to mean so much to us. It’s a symbol of our friendship, how we’ve worked together creatively and everything that we will do in the future too It’s not the end, just a new beginning!

You can read more about the process of leaving my old studio here, but in this post I want to document some of the wonderful photos that I took of the time we painted the mural.

The design stage

When I first asked Daria if she would design a mural for the workshop room in my studio, her initial reaction was that I must be crazy! She had never painted a mural before, and wasn’t sure if she felt confident in giving it a go. But I knew that if there was to be a mural, it had to be a Studio Dariolina mural! I was thrilled when she said that she would have a go at putting some ideas down on (digital) paper.

We decided pretty early on that the phrase ‘take time out to be creative’ should be included. It’s something that’s really important to us, as I wrote about in my first book Colourful Fun Embroidery, and it just felt right for it to be part of the design. After a few emails and conversations in person, she sent me the first draft and I was in love! We decided on a couple of tweaks and then it was ready to go.

Painting my Studio Dariolina mural

We began painting on 11th October 2021, and I think it’s fair to say that we were the most nervous about actually transferring the design onto the wall. Armed with a laptop and borrowed projector (thanks, Keith!) we got our pencils out and went for it. Having anticipated that this would be the most difficult part, we were actually pleasantly surprised at how quickly we transferred it.

Once the design was on the wall (and we’d had a cuppa, obviously), we started painting. It was so fun to match the colours, and painting was hard work but really fun. Lots of bits needed a really steady hand, and having never done this before we realised that this was another challenge! Our dear friend Louise also joined us to paint some of it too, and we had a brilliant few days. That time shared together creating this wonderful artwork is something that I’ll never forget.

Seeing the mural in the space just made it complete, and it was a real talking point when people came to the shop. The light in the room was amazing, and the mural really set it all off. It was an inspiring place to be, and I’m grateful for all the time that I had there.

All good things come to an end

When it came to moving out, the mural (very sadly) had to go. A few people have asked why I didn’t leave it there, and the answer to that is that I had to paint over it before moving out for two main reasons. Firstly, I didn’t want to leave the artwork there for future tenants to adapt, and Daria agreed that we didn’t want it to be altered in any way. Secondly, I knew the next tenant would probably redecorate too, and if I had left it underneath I think I would have felt so incredibly sad knowing it was still there. Passing by it to get to the shops would have been hard for me I think. It felt right to paint over it together, just as we had when we first painted it.

The Studio Dariolina mural lives on!

A few weeks before I closed the shop, I had the idea to stitch a fabric version of it. I had the design printed onto some fabric so it’s about 1m wide, and I’m absolutely thrilled with it! It took me about a year to finally start stitching it, mainly due to needing to processing it all really. But now I’m finally stitching it, it feels right and I’m so pleased.

This will be a long-term project for me, something that’s a personal project for me to work around everything else that’s going on. Here are a few photos so far! You can follow along with my stitching on Instagram and Facebook too, as I’ll be posting photos there when I’ve made more progress.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Daria for creating this mural for me. Although things didn’t work out as I’d hoped with my studio and shop, we always have this to treasure and I’m so grateful for your time and your love that you put into this. The design will live on and is still a symbol of so much for us, and I’m so thankful for you!

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Photo credit: Love Embroidery Magazine

It was a pleasure to stitch these fun, textural ice cream hoops for Love Embroidery Magazine! It’s the perfect summer project. And it’s also a really fun way to experiment with a few textures in your stitching too! The ice cream cones are stitched with a satin stitch base, with an open weave stitch over the top. I’m really pleased with how this effect came out. The lollies have a few more textures in there, with felt piecing and sprinkles for the FAB lolly, couching on the Twister and a whole load of French knots for the Nobbly Bobbly!

Ice cream hoops for Love Embroidery: materials

Most of the materials I used here are available in my shop:

• Find all DMC mouline stranded cotton shades here
• Tilda Solid Basics fabrics in sky teal and lilac
• 17cm (5”) embroidery hoops – these have been hand painted in Skye and Yolanda
• Some acrylic or wool felt
• Bondaweb, or similar

It was my first time using Bondaweb, and I honestly don’t know why I haven’t before! So easy to use and brilliant for small pieces like this. It was really good to be able to attach the felt pieces so that they didn’t move around while I was stitching. Initially,  I was worried about ironing it on over the stitches, but it was easy to plump it up again afterwards. If you’re experimenting with this, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions! Ironing it on with a damp piece of fabric over the top was really helpful. Make sure to use DMC thread to do this as it is colourfast.

I hope you love having a go at these textural stitches in the ice lolly hoop!

If you have never couched before, I promise it is easier than it looks There is a handy stitch guide at the back of every issue of Love Embroidery Magazine so you can see how it’s done. Why not sign up to The Happy Stitch Project and learn a few new stitches along the way too!

To get the templates and full instructions for these hoops, get your copy of issue 29 here today! And if you try out the project, don’t forget to share with me – I’m @hellohoorayblog on Instagram

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I am so excited to be part of Mollie Johanson’s Bundle of Joy! Virtual book tour, and what better way to kickstart being back on my blog again?! Mollie’s latest book, Bundle of Joy! was released last week (6th July) by Quarto Creates, and it is jam packed full of amazing cross stitch projects to make for new arrivals. Today I’m going to show you some sneak peeks inside the book, as well as how I adapted one of the projects to make for our Little One (who is now a not-so-small bundle of joy!). Plus, keep reading to find out how to win a copy!

Let’s get cross stitching!

Those of you who have been around for a while will know me as an embroiderer, and I must admit that this is actually only the second time that I have ever cross-stitched anything! So I was a little nervous about doing Mollie’s beautiful designs justice for this virtual book tour, but I absolutely needn’t have been. That’s because Bundle of Joy! is packed full of useful tips for complete beginners, so there’s no need to worry! The tips that helped me the most were the cross stitch techniques, particularly how to get started with the loop method when you first start stitching. This was a completely new thing to me as I usually knot when I’m embroidering. The photos and instructions are so clear – once I had done it a couple of times I was on a roll!

All of the projects in this book are true to Mollie’s style and are so bright and colourful. They are really fun, modern designs for little ones and I love that they can be customised so easily. Particularly useful are the alphabet charts in different lettering styles. Having the different styles is so great for being able to customise a gift for someone – they are super clear and I’ll definitely be experimenting with these in future! Here are some of the lettering projects from the book so that you can get a feel for them:

You can also get an idea of some of the super cute designs and motifs that are included in this book from these photos – aren’t they fabulous?! When it came to stitching a project for the Bundle of Joy! virtual book tour, I decided that as this is still a relatively new thing for me, I’d adapt a little project using some of the cute mini motifs on pages 54-57. Because this book is something that you could definitely use beyond baby gifts too! We love rainbows in our house so I had to choose that! I also love to stitch on clothing, so decided to try out some DMC soluble canvas and create a t-shirt design using the rainbow and two other mini motifs.

Mini motifs t-shirt project for the Bundle of Joy! virtual book tour

So for this project, I used the following supplies:

DMC stranded cotton in shades 351, 352, 743, 742, 211 and 209

DMC 14 count soluble canvas

A kids t-shirt

Small snips

A 7″ embroidery hoop to stitch in

A bowl of hot water to dissolve the canvas once stitching is complete

Getting started

The first step was to work out where I wanted to stitch on the t-shirt so I measured roughly (aka by eye ) where the top of the soluble canvas should be positioned. It says in the instructions to baste in position, but to be honest I felt like the hoop did the same job so I didn’t do this (but feel free to if that helps you!). In terms of the design, I decided to put the rainbow in the centre, with the heart and flowers positioned 5 counts (5 squares) either side of the rainbow. The bottom of the heart is in line with the rainbow too, and the flower is central between the top and bottom of the rainbow (so 1 count in from the top and bottom).

Starting with the rainbow was actually super helpful as a beginner! It’s such a familiar shape, and was easy to count and get in position. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I stitched this, and it came together really nicely! Counting has never been my strong point, but the mini designs were easy to work with – especially with the soluble canvas on a stretchy t-shirt. Once the outer colour was in place, it was so simple to finish the rest.

The next motif I worked on was the heart, which is stitched in one colour. At this point, Little One made the design choice to only have the face on the rainbow (which I think worked perfectly!). It balances nicely with the floral motif on the other side and I think she made an excellent choice! I really got into a groove by this point, so despite the flower having the most colours I stitched this the fastest. Maybe that’s a sign that this should be the start of my cross stitch adventures – who knows?!

The soluble canvas is a new tool for me, but I have used Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy before so I felt confident that it would be similar. I’d highly recommend the DMC 14 count soluble canvas for being able to stitch on clothing and other fabrics – it really was super easy to use, and really easy to wash out! The stitching did feel a bit rough when I first rinsed it out, but once it had been through the washing machine it was beautifully soft again. And Little One is absolutely thrilled with her new tee! She’s already asking for more, as is her little brother who wants a rainbow on his t-shirt too.

Bundle of Joy! is an absolute delight, and you will love stitching Mollie’s beautiful designs. If like me, you’re a novice cross stitcher, it’s a brilliant book for getting started with something colourful and joyful that will enable you to stitch something to treasure. Huge congratulations to Mollie on her latest amazing book!

Join the rest of the Bundle of Joy! virtual book tour this week!

The virtual book tour is continuing this week, so don’t forget to check out the other amazing creatives joining in too:

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I have kindly been sent a PR copy of the Sew Over It Beginner’s Guide to Sewing, and today I’m going to tell you a little bit more about it! It’s a brilliant guide for anyone who wants to start sewing or dressmaking, so I’ll give you a quick tour. Keep reading for a discount code too!

For anyone who doesn’t know, Sew Over It was launched by founder Lisa Comfort in May 2011. Her mission was to pass on her passion for sewing, and she has certainly achieved that over the last 10 years! Sew Over It has become the UK’s leading sewing community, offering stylish digital and print sewing patterns, gorgeous fabrics, easy-to-follow online video classes and lots of support, inspiration and expert advice on their active social media channels. See more at @sewoveritlondon on Instagram!

Sew Over It Beginner’s Guide to Sewing: an overview

So let’s get stuck in! This guide comes as a 59-page digital booklet, and it’s jam packed full of information to get you started. The basics are covered first, so after the introduction you’ll learn about which supplies you need, how to choose fabrics and what you need to do to get ready to sew. It’s beautifully presented and is super clear, so you know exactly what you need to do to get started. Some books and guides can feel a little overwhelming when you first read them, but this really doesn’t feel like that at all. The fabric guide is particularly useful, as choosing dressmaking fabrics can feel like a huge challenge as a beginner! The guide tells you which fabrics work well for which of the six patterns, as well as information about how to wash and care for them too. This is super helpful, because I feel like if you know how to take care for them then they will last longer (and that’s good for the planet!).

Other really helpful features in the guide include:

• Preparing your fabric
• How to thread a sewing machine
• Tips for how to read a pattern piece (invaluable as a beginner!)
• Info about graininess and selvedges
• Cutting out your pattern pieces
• AND a super helpful and clear glossary

With step-by-step instructions and clear diagrams throughout, you’ll be well on your way to stitching up a gorgeous project in no time! Sometimes, diagrams can be a bit confusing (think flat-pack furniture!) but this isn’t the case at all here. So now all you have to do is decide what to make first!

The digital patterns

As mentioned previously, the guide contains six patterns that will take you from a novice to dressmaker. One of the things that can be a challenge when purchasing digital dressmaking patterns is the printing, but the instructions are very clear throughout. The patterns are in PDF format in copy shop size (for printing at full size on large format printers at a local print shop) or A4 and US letter size. There is helpful information about how to print out at home using a standard printer, and you can click through for extra help when you see the Top Tips circles throughout. So don’t panic about the printing, they’ve got you covered!

The projects

All of the projects from Sew Over It Beginner’s Guide to Sewing are really accessible, and things that would be super fun and useful to make. Top of my list are these pyjamas! I honestly can’t remember the last time I made myself something to wear, and I think this would be the perfect project to get me back into it. How comfy do these look?! Here is a sneak preview of the other projects too a drawstring bag and cushions (both projects would be perfect for a little hand embroidery embellishment I think!), a toiletries bag, tote bag and wrap skirt:

Here’s the discount code!

I know you’re going to want to get stuck in straight away like me, so you can purchase a copy here on the Sew Over It website. And I have a 20% discount for my followers with the code ‘BEGINNEREBOOK’ so just enter that at checkout (offer now extended to 31st October 2021!).

Thanks to Sew Over It for sending me a copy!

It has been brilliant to see this new Sew Over It guide, and I’m definitely feeling inspired. For clarity, I received this PR copy in return for an Instagram post. I have written this blog post as I felt like I wanted to show you more than I could on Instagram! All opinions my own. (You should definitely buy it, either for you or for someone you know!)

Post updated 19th September.

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I was really scared about launching my Kickstarter campaign, but it has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who has supported my dream so far – my haberdashery will definitely be opening!

I thought I’d share a quick post about my Kickstarter today as there are 7 days left to pledge to help me open up my dream bricks-and-mortar haberdashery shop at my studio. Currently, 141 people have made a pledge to support it and it’s 844% funded – how amazing is that?! I was honestly so nervous about launching my Kickstarter campaign because I had absolutely no idea what to expect. My initial target was £500 (to be able to buy shelving for the shop) and I planned to add another goal of £500 for wheelchair ramps and some signage. The first target was smashed in 41 minutes!

Kickstarter launch video

When I launched my campaign, I shared this video on YouTube to share a bit more about it. You can see the space and I talk you through what my plans for the shop are. Since filming, I’ve been decorating a bit more (and had a few days off) so I’m planning to do another video soon! With the extra funds already pledged, I’m planning to purchase a till system that works with my website, some new blinds and window vinyls. It’s looking bright and colourful already! Once I’ve received the money from Kickstarter, I’ll be working hard to open towards the end of October (exact date TBC).

Click here to pledge!

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has pledged, shared and liked my campaign. I’ve been speaking to lots of local people recently and it’s lovely to know that people are excited. YAY! It ends at 17:59 on 10th September 2021.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch. Everything in the shop will be available online too, so if you’re not able to visit in person then I’ve still got you covered!

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So today I’m really excited to tell you more about the recent big commission I was working on. It was this Top 50 Stitches booklet with Love Embroidery magazine, and it’s free with Issue 16 in July!

It’s SO hard not being able to share things when you’re working on a commission, especially when it’s this exciting! This free booklet contains so much embroidery goodness. And if you’re joining in with The Happy Stitch Project then you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy! It includes step-by-step photos and instructions to be able to stitch the Top 50 stitches, and if that wasn’t enough there are 3 mini rainbow-themed projects for you to stitch too. Yay! This booklet is sponsored by Anchor thread, and they kindly sent me the thread to be able to stitch this. It’s stitched in an 8″ hoop, and I’ve painted this in one of my favourite shades called ‘Alfie’. You can find the painted hoops here in my haberdashery.

Subscribe to Love Embroidery magazine today!

Subscribe to Love Embroidery by 29^th June to receive my exclusive Top 50 Stitches booklet! Master the art of modern embroidery with this essential 64-page guide, including rainbow-inspired projects, step-by-step tutorials, expert tips, templates and more. This is ONLY available with issue 16 of Love Embroidery magazine, so sign up here today to get yours! By clicking on this link you will receive 6 issues for £9.99 which is a bargain (UK only) I can’t wait for you to read it! I’ll add more to this post once the issue is out in the world.

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Crafty Colour Palette #6 is inspired by David Seaman’s amazing technicolour jerseys from Euro ’96. If you haven’t seen them, they are a sight to behold and they definitely don’t make them as cool as this anymore!

Both images from Classic Football Shirts – top right here and bottom left here.

It’s 25 years since the men’s European football championships were held in England, and the final of the 2020 tournament will take place this year at Wembley. Back in 1996 I was 10 years old, and I can remember the excitement of the tournament. I won a competition at my primary school to go to one of the matches at Elland Road in Leeds, and we saw Spain vs Romania – this was my first ever live match and it was such a brilliant experience!

Crafty Colour Palette #6: the colours

I haven’t made a Crafty Colour Palette for ages, so when Tom suggested Seaman’s goalkeeper jerseys for inspiration I thought it would be really fun. He also had an idea for a hoop that I thought would make a nice design to be able to combine the colours from both of the jerseys. I’ll be stitching this during the tournament and will hopefully get it finished before the end!

This is the first colour palette, which features the following DMC shades:

Yellow 307

Purple 553

Light teal 3851

Dark teal 991

Royal blue 312

Dark navy 3750

Find a DMC to Anchor thread conversion chart here if you need it!

This is the second colour palette, which uses the following DMC shades:

Red 606

Orange 742

Yellow 444

Green 704

Purple 333

Burgundy 815

Dark navy 939

Find a DMC to Anchor thread conversion chart here if you need it!

Euro ’96 jerseys hoop project

The design that I came up with is inspired by both of the jerseys. It will feature a negative space jersey in the centre, and I’ll stitch patterns inspired by the jerseys around the edge. It’s fun to combine the two different designs! It might look a bit crazy in the end But we’ll see! I haven’t decided on exact stitches yet, but you can follow my progress on Instagram.

Download the project templates here!

I’ve used a Sublime Stitching pen and some embroidery transfer paper to transfer the design on to my fabric – both of these can be found in the marking products section of my haberdashery. Please note that the template is just currently the design as I haven’t yet filled in any of the colours! I will edit this post soon to add that in

You may also like…

This colour palette inspired by an IKEA purchase:

Crafty Colour Palette #1

Or this one with an Easter theme!

Crafty Colour Palette #3

This is still one of my favourite colour palettes inspired by stationery:

Crafty Colour Palette #2

This colour palette is inspired by my garden!

Crafty Colour Palette #5

The post Crafty Colour Palette #6 appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

If there’s one phrase that sums up how I currently feel about a lot of stuff it’s this one. Because I’m basically ‘making it up as I go’! It seemed like the perfect quote for this week in The Happy Stitch Project. It has resonated a lot with my Instagram followers too!I’ve been chatting with a friend about what she might want to do in terms of setting up her creative business (she’s a brilliant crafter and has a lot of options!), and it came up then. I think when I was a musician I had more of a clear plan. I worked towards my goals, practiced everyday and ended up in a job that I loved. But when I left that job it all got thrown up in the air. There was no clear plan, I didn’t know where I’d end up and it took me a while to let goof not having that clear map ahead. Now I completely embrace it,  the it has taken a long time to get there! Who knew I’d end up being an embroidery artist?! No me, that’s for sure! I’m definitely making it up as I go.

This week, we’re learning seeding stitch. It’s basically two straight stitches stitched close together, and it’s

Making it up as I go: materials

A 12cm (5″) embroidery hoop – mine is hand painted in the shade ‘Beryl’

A piece of white linen fabric, roughly 20 x 20cm

DMC threads – I have used the colours from my rainbow brights thread pack

An air erasable pen

Needle

Small sharp scissors

Larger pair of fabric scissors

White perle thread to finish the back

Project template – click to download the free pdf!

Watch this week’s tutorial videos

Find the stitch tutorial here:

Watch the full project tutorial here:

I loved stitching this stitch – it’s really relaxing once you get into a groove with it. I used back stitch and French knots for the text, so go back to those tutorials if you need to. You may know seed stitch already, which is where you used single stitches quite close together to fill in a space. It surprises me how much overlap there is in terms of names for stitches, and also how different stitches can have the same name! It’s a bit confusing, but stick to the terms you know if you know them already. Let me know how you get on with this design!

You may also like…

This pumpkin, lemon and poppy seed loaf (a bit unseasonal, but it’s one to save!):

Pumpkin lemon and poppy seed loaf

Make some felt paper chains:

Perpetual paper chains

Stitch Brick and Cross stitch from week 19:

Brick and cross stitch hoop

Find all of the previous projects for The Happy Stitch Project here.

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Brick and cross stitch hoop: materials

A 10cm (4”) Embroidery hoop (I’m using a hand painted hoop in Prince)

A piece of fabric – I’m using a piece of pink linen

Template – click here to download the free pdf!

Some DMC thread (this is shade 3837)

A needle

Small scissors

Some larger scissors

Perle thread to finish the back

Watch this week’s tutorials

You’ll find this week’s stitch tutorial here on YouTube – I’m doing it freestyle here, but I’d recommend tracing the pattern and seeing which method you prefer. Drawing the design onto the fabric definitely makes it neater!

Watch the brick and cross stitch hoop project tutorial here:

Want some more inspiration?

Brick and cross stitch is really versatile, even though it is a set, repeated pattern. If you fancy experimenting a little, why not try one of these projects?!

• Stitch the pattern around the neckline of a top, or maybe add details on the cuffs too
• Create a stitched picture with different patterns (use the Alphabet project from Colourful Fun Embroidery for inspiration
• Make a stitched bookmark
• Stitch on a denim jacket like we did in week 2 with this project

I’d absolutely love to see what you stitch, so don’t forget to share it with me! I’m @hellohoorayblog on Instagram

You may also like…

This post where I have a natter with Hannah from Hannah Hand Makes!

A natter with…Hannah from Hannah Hand Makes

These hot cross buns (which I should have made at Easter but forgot this year!)

Mini chocolate and orange hot cross buns

Make these super fabric covered magazine files:

Fabric covered magazine files

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This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’re learning long and short stitch. It’s a beautiful stitch for shading, so you can achieve an ombre effect with different shades of the same colour, or blend different colours together. Our project this week is long and short stitch lettering, and I’ll show you how to stitch long and short stitch in blocks and around the curves. Yay!

Long and short stitch lettering: materials

A piece of patterned fabric, roughly 22 x 22cm 

A 12cm (5″) embroidery hoop

An aqua trick pen

Templates – click here for the free download!!

DMC thread in shades 3845, 3843 and 3842

A needle

Some small sharp scissors (I use these Fiskars ones and they’re fab!)

Some perle thread to finish the back (although I haven’t finished the back yet )

Watch the long and short stitch letting tutorial

You’ll find the stitch tutorial video here, and I quickly talk you through the basics of the stitch:

The full tutorial is here:

https://youtu.be/ZajU3HOJBYA

It’s a slow stitching video this week, which I haven’t done in a while! So make yourself a cuppa and I’ll talk you through the lettering. Feel free to pause and go back, or stitch along with me! I stitched the first letter before filming so that you can use it as a guide. If you have any questions along the way, do ask in the comments below or get in touch via Instagram or by email.

If you use Anchor thread instead of DMC, no problem! I’ve got a conversion chart right here.

You may also like…

This Crafty Colour Palette for some colour inspiration!

Crafty Colour Palette #4

These fabric covered letters:

Fabric covered letters

Read all about the magic of the to-done list:

The magic of the to-done list

Stitch some alternative lettering with this design from earlier in The Happy Stitch Project:

Do your thing embroidered hoop

The post Long and short stitch lettering appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This week, we’re adding Danish knots to the knot sampler that we started last week in The Happy Stitch Project. They take a little practice, but once you’ve got the knack then you’ll be stitching them in no time!  The Danish knots are triangular in shape, and they’d be great for filling in other shapes or for using in borders. I’ve just stitched them in one colour on my knot sampler, but you can use as many as you like! If you missed last week, we stitched cable stitch around the edges. You’ll find the knot sampler templates in this post if you want to join in. I’m also going to stitch French knots in the smallest circle at the top – this week was super busy so I didn’t get the chance, but that’s okay! Work at your own pace too

Watch the Danish knot videos from week 14

The Danish knot stitch tutorial is here:

And the project tutorial (where I add Danish knots to the knot sampler hoop) is here:

The Hello! Hooray! studio is coming

So this week has been super busy for me, because I finally completed and signed the lease on my new studio space! Yay! I’ve been working on this for several months now, but with the pandemic it has taken slightly longer than I’d hoped. But the solicitors have done their thing and I got the keys yesterday morning (nope, not an April fool!) and I can’t wait. I’ll be writing a separate post about that once I’ve decorated, but keep an eye on Instagram to see decorating progress in the coming week

You may also like…

This teapot kit by Nancy Nicholson was really fun to stitch:

Nancy Nicholson – teapot sew kit review

Make these treats in time for Easter this weekend:

Mini Egg rocky road

Find out more about my book or buy a copy here!

Introducing Colourful Fun Embroidery!

Find all the posts from The Happy Stitch Project and other useful links here.

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This week in The Happy Stitch Project, I’m showing you how to stitch a cable stitch. It’s a bit like stem stitch from week 8, but you alternate the sides of the loops when making the stitches and this gives a slightly thicker effect.  Cable stitch is also known as alternating stem stitch or side-to-side stem stitch, and that makes complete sense! Although it is a bit confusing when stitches have a lot of different names isn’t it?! Just knowing that there are a few different names can help when it comes to identifying them.

The design that we’re working on from this week is something that we’re going to be building on over the next few weeks. I really wanted to learn some knots, because I only know one and that’s the French knot (from week 4). It felt like a good time to learn a few more! I thought it would be fun to stitch them all on one project, and this is a fun way to display them in a sort of sampler. As I said in this week’s project tutorial video, I wanted to come up with a snazzy name for it but I couldn’t – so ‘knot sampler’ it is!

How to stitch a cable stitch: materials list

A 15cm (6″) embroidery hoop

Some white linen fabric, or quilting cotton

An aqua trick marker pen, or another semi-permanent method of design transfer

Some DMC thread – I’m using shade 3810 here

Needle

Sharp scissors

Templates (click here to download)

Watch the tutorial videos

Watch the cable stitch tutorial here:

Watch the video for this week’s hoop here:

Step 1

Trace the design onto your fabric, and then place the fabric in your hoop. Thread a needle with 3 strands of embroidery thread, knot the end and trim the excess.

Step 2

Stitch a cable stitch around the edge of each circle as shown in the video. I have found that smaller stitches work best for curved edges – have a play around and see what works best for you!

What’s next?

So over the next few weeks, we’ll be learning different knots each week and filling in the circles. You could choose one of the circles this week and fill it in with French knots if you like – it doesn’t matter what colour you choose, just pick a circle and get stitching! If you want to see any of the other posts from The Happy Stitch Project, you can find them all here or via my links page.

You may also like…

See how we added French knots to the geo hoop earlier in The Happy Stitch Project:

Adding French knots to the geo hoop

Make your own floral buttonholes:

Make your own floral buttonholes

Or have a go at painting some simple watercolour birthday cards:

Watercolour birthday cards

The post How to stitch a cable stitch appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This week’s hoop design for The Happy Stitch Project is a spring mandala with picot and tulip stitch, stitched in a gorgeous spring-inspired colour palette.  I love the symmetry of mandalas and this is the first one that I’ve ever designed! I knew that picot stitch  and tulip stitch would work really well for this sort of pattern, so once I’d come up with the centre pattern with the tulips I built it up from there. Picot stitch is also known as long tailed link stitch, because like many other stitches it has two names! If you can stitch a link stitch, then you can stitch a picot and a tulip too. Yay!

Spring is my favourite season, and this spring mandala is a lovely way to show off those beautiful tulip stitches. I have stitched this mandala in just one colour (which is unusual for me!) and I think it looks fab. But this design would look amazing in a variety of colours, so use as many as you like!

Spring mandala with picot and tulip stitch: materials list

Some good quality cotton fabric (I’m using some quilting cotton here)

A 10cm (4″) hoop to display and a 12cm (5″) hoop for stitching (or a 15cm/6″ for stitching in if you’re stitching the larger version)

A method of design transfer – I’m using a Sublime Stitching pen and some transfer paper here, but you could use something semi-permanent if you prefer

Templates – click here to download the pdf

Some embroidery thread (this is DMC 3851, which is available here)

Needle

Sharp scissors

Some perle cotton to finish the back

Watch this week’s tutorial videos

You can watch the picot and tulip tutorial video here:

The project video for the spring mandala hoop is here:

Step 1

Transfer the design onto fabric using your preferred method of design transfer. Place the fabric in the larger hoop for stitching. Thread your needle with 2 strands of thread (I’m using 2 strands throughout here).

Step 2

Stitch the tulips in the centre first, being careful not to pull the thread too tightly or it will go out of shape. When complete, stitch the centre circle with small back stitches.

Step 3

Work outwards with your stitching to complete the design (see video to see how I stitch the pattern between the two big circles in the design).

Step 4

Once the stitching is complete, finish the back and it’s ready to display.

I hope you enjoy stitching this spring mandala as much as I did!

I can’t wait to see your creations, so please use the hashtag #TheHappyStitchProject on Instagram and I’ll be able to see it. I’m catching up a bit this week after a tough week, so I’m sorry if you’ve shared something over the past week and I haven’t commented yet. Lockdown life has taken its toll a bit over the last week and the juggle is real! Thanks so much for joining in – it really means the world. Have a good week!

You may also like…

These geometric roll-up blinds:

Geometric painted roll-up blinds

Make a delicious Easter treat with this recipe:

Mini Egg rocky road

Make your own creative family manifesto:

Our creative family manifesto

Treat yourself to some lovely new DMC thread!

DMC mouline stranded cotton

Read all about my first book, Colourful Fun Embroidery!

Introducing Colourful Fun Embroidery!

The post Spring mandala with picot and tulip stitch appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

What a week it has been. Everything feels really heavy at the moment doesn’t it? I said this last week in my newsletter too, but it still applies: it’s okay to take time out and switch off if you need to. Hopefully, this little woven rose bouquet hoop will provide you with the perfect crafty antidote to the world this weekend.

I’ve been juggling so many things this week with an approaching deadline, that I’m only just putting this post together after lunch on Friday when it has normally been live for several hours! I had always planned to try to get ahead with The Happy Stitch Project, but this hasn’t happened yet – I’m hoping that I will be able to at some point but equally trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I still need to add some text to my chain stitch spiral hoop that I made last week, and I’m hoping to do that this weekend too.

I decided to stitch this project in a bright, fresh palette which is perfect for spring. I really love this blue fabric, and the colours really pop on it! I’ll be displaying it in a hoop the same colour, but I didn’t have it painted in time for today. It’s the ‘Azure’ shade of the hand painted hoops in my shop if you fancy it, and the other materials are in my haberdashery too – see below for the details and keep scrolling for a photo of the hoop colour!

Woven rose bouquet hoop: materials list

18x18cm piece of quilting cotton – this is Aero Blue from the Pure Solids range

12cm (5″) wooden embroidery hoop (will be displayed in a hand painted hoop in ‘Azure’)

DMC stranded cotton thread in the following shades: 335 (dark pink), blanc (white), 3839 (cornflower), 3851 (green) and 604 (light pink)

An aqua trick marker, or your preferred method of drawing onto fabric

Needle and small scissors

Some perle thread to finish the back (not shown on the video this week, but you can see it on this tutorial). Shade 793 matches this fabric perfectly!

Flower templates – this design in my hoop is freehand, but you can download a template to create your own here.

Watch the tutorial video for the woven rose bouquet hoop

Find this week’s project tutorial video here:

And if you want to watch the stitch tutorial video first (to see a 7-spoke web being stitched in real time), you’ll find that here:

Step 1

Place your pre-ironed fabric in the embroidery hoop and tighten the screw to secure in position. Take your aqua trick marker (or similar pen) and draw on a bouquet design. If you prefer, you can use the templates to help – see materials list above for the link to download.

Step 2

Thread a needle with 6 strands of 335, the dark pink shade. Using a straight stitch, stitch over the spokes of one of the webs before weaving around the create the rose. Repeat with any remaining roses in your bouquet.

Step 3

Stitch the white daisies with 6 strands of blanc thread for the petals, and add some little French knots in the centre. Use 3 strands of the cornflower blue thread (shade 3839) for the knots.

Step 4

Stitch stem stitch for the stems of the flowers, using 3 strands of shade 3851 (I think I said this is shade 959 in the video, but it’s actually the darker 3831 – sorry!).

Step 5

Use 6 strands of the light pink (shade 604) to tie a ribbon around the bouquet. Stitch a few stitches over the section where the stems overlap so it looks like they have been tied together. Adjust the bow once tied, and add a tie stitch at the end of the loops if you need to secure them in place.

Share your stitching!

Don’t forget to share your makes with me – I’m @hellohoorayblog on Instagram, but you’ll find me on Facebook and Twitter too. Or drop me an email if you prefer! I can’t wait to see your beautiful bouquets this week.

You may also like…

These rose shortbread hearts make a lovely gift:

Rose shortbread hearts

Make a bouquet with real flowers with this simple tutorial!

Tutorial: how to make a floral bouquet

These perpetual paper chains are a brilliant project:

Perpetual paper chains

Or bake your own bread – it’s easier than you think!

Bake your own bread

The post Woven rose bouquet hoop appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

We’re embracing a bit of freestyle design and stitching with this chain stitch spiral hoop! It’s a perfect project for using some of your loose ends (the useable bits of thread left over from other projects) and it’s so relaxing to stitch. It’s week 10 of The Happy Stitch Project – can you believe we’re in double figures?! Thank you so much for all your lovely messages this week It has been brilliant to see so many lovely projects, and to hear that lots of you are feeling more confident in experimenting with new stitches and your own designs. That’s what this project is all about! So this week, I wanted to create something that would allow us all to be free in our approach to the design and not worry about any imperfections (you might find this post interesting if you’re trying to let go of ideas of perfection).

Chain stitch spiral hoop: materials list

10cm (4″) embroidery hoop

18x18cm piece of fabric – I’m using linen here, but a good quality quilting cotton would work well

An air erasable pen

Some of your loose ends threads, or a chosen selection of thread if you prefer

Needle

Small sharp scissors

Watch the tutorial videos here!

If you’d like to watch the stitch tutorial video first, you’ll find it here:

And you can find the chain stitch spiral hoop tutorial here:

In the video I mentioned that I have a thread conversion chart on my blog if you need it, and actually I have two! There’s an Anchor to DMC chart and a DMC to Anchor chart for your reference if you need it.

Step 1

Position your pre-ironed fabric in your hoop, and tighten the screw to make sure it’s firmly in position. Take your air erasable pen, and draw a spiral shape – start in the middle here as it’s easier to see where you’re going that way!

Step 2

Thread a needle with 3 strands of embroidery thread, and trim the excess. Start your chain stitches from the edge and stitch towards the middle. I’ve used the darkest red first, and have worked through the rainbow colours towards the middle.

Step 3

When complete, you can finish the back of your hoop and display it as it is. I am actually going to be stitching some text on the inside of the spiral this week, as I think it will look really nice! I’m planning to use the air erasable pen again to write something out by hand, and I’ll also display it in a hand painted hoop too but I still haven’t decided which colour to use for that yet.

You may also like…

Sticking with the spiral theme, you might enjoy this yummy recipe:

Spiral courgette tart

Make some beautiful heirloom perpetual paper chains:

Perpetual paper chains

Find the previous project here:

Do your thing embroidered hoop

And if you need any of the links to the other posts from The Happy Stitch Project, you’ll find them on my links page.

The post Chain stitch spiral hoop appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

After three weeks of stitching this hoop together, this week I’ll show you how to stitch a star stitch in The Happy Stitch Project so we can finish this lovely, motivational hoop!  I have really enjoyed stitching this piece, and I don’t know about you but I have found it has been lovely to keep coming back to it over the past few weeks. There’s something so nice about being able to put it down and pick it up again – it’s one of my favourite things about hand embroidery. It’s something I talk about a bit in my book, but I feel like my love for this aspect of embroidery has grown even more this month.

Last week (which was week 8) we learnt how to stitch a stem stitch. It has been brilliant seeing you try it out over on Instagram, and I’m so pleased that the loopy technique helped! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll have to watch the tutorial on YouTube. I have definitely got better with practice! Thanks so much for sharing all of your photos – it really does make me so happy to see you enjoying the creative process during these difficult times.

How to stitch a star stitch

Watch the tutorial here:

In the tutorial, you’ll notice that star stitch is kind of two stitches in one! By making the horizontal and vertical lines, you can stitch a stitch that’s known as the St George Cross (which makes complete sense!). We aren’t learning this as a separate stitch in the project, but I thought it was worth mentioning in car you fancy using it at some point.

Watch me add star stitch to the Do Your Thing hoop here:

As you can see, I’ve used white thread on the white fabric to create the star stitch here. I have wanted to try this on something for ages, but as my projects are usually full of colour, I haven’t got around to it before now! I really love the effect of it – it is subtle but the stars still stand out. It was the final colour from the perfect pastels thread pack which I used for the rest of the project, so it was good to make sure it wasn’t left out. I really want to experiment with this more so I’m sure it will pop up in a future design.

Happy stitching!

I’m really looking forward to seeing you try out this stitch this week – don’t forget to tag me @hellohoorayblog on Instagram. And do let me know if you have any questions along the way.

Have you seen the first kit to accompany The Happy Stitch Project?

The Brighter Days Are Coming kit is the perfect way to put all your new stitches into practice! This kit gives you the right combination of freedom and guidance to create your own piece. Use the tutorial videos to help you to stitch your own design

You may also love…

My best-selling Keep Going kit is a lovely kit to work on over time:

https://hellohooray.com/product/keep-going-hand-embroidery-kit/

Or try a slightly smaller version with this design from my book, Colourful Fun Embroidery:

https://hellohooray.com/product/one-step-at-a-time-embroidery-kit/

If you need a thread conversion chart, I’ve got you covered:

DMC to Anchor thread conversion chart

The post How to stitch a star stitch appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’re learning how to stitch a stem stitch. I’m wondering why I haven’t learnt this one before to be honest, as it’s such a lovely stitch! Here it is in red on the sampler designed by Helen from @unicornfactoryuk – you can download it here.I have added it to the edges of the Do Your Thing hoop that we started last week when we learnt arrowhead stitch. I really love the look of the stem stitching around the edges because it makes it pop so much! I have really enjoyed practising it this week, and I have managed to perfect my technique as I’ve gone along. In this week’s tutorial videos, I started by stitching this stitch in a couple of different ways. But as the week went on, I came up with a third one that works much better for me! Rather than changing everything I’ve just added it to the project video, because I want to show you an honest account of how I’m learning these stitches. We get better with practice and that’s a good thing! I’d recommend giving each one a try and seeing which technique works best for you. I’m really happy with my loop technique because I feel like I can get much more even stem stitches by doing it this way.

How to stitch stem stitch: tutorial videos

Watch the stem stitch tutorial video here:

Watch the project video here:

If you missed the first part of this project, you’ll find all the info and free templates here.

Next week, we’ll add some more embellishments around the edges with another new stitch. I’ve decided to put this in a peach hoop (the ‘Peaches’ shade) to match shade 20 from the perfect pastels thread pack that I used in the project, so you’ll get to see that next week too! I hope you’ve enjoyed learning stem stitch this week – don’t forget to share what you’ve been stitching on Instagram by tagging me @hellohoorayblog

You may also like…

Try making these yummy breakfast bars this weekend:

Nigella Lawson’s breakfast bars

Make your own floral buttonholes like we did for our wedding:

Make your own floral buttonholes

Treat yourself to a Keep Going embroidery kit!

https://hellohooray.com/product/keep-going-hand-embroidery-kit/

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