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