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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This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’ll be mastering the bullion knot! I tried these a couple of weeks ago and failed. It was so frustrating, and I thought that I might not ever be able to stitch them! But I’ve actually worked out why that is now (after a big discussion with my friend Louise, who works a few hours for me, yay!), so I can pass on a few tips to you as you give this one a go.

So, I think the first thing to say is that mastering the bullion knot will take a bit of patience. You’ll need good light, and you should try to make sure that you’re not too tired when you start doing them. You’ll need full concentration levels, so a cup of tea and a biscuit may also help! I used 3 strands of thread for my bullion knots, but you might want to try using more if you wish. During my first attempts, I wondered if the number of strands was affecting my ability to stitch them. But I think it was more the stitcher than the stitch that was the problem!

Mastering the bullion knot

You can watch this week’s tutorial video here on YouTube:

It will also be on IGTV later today (I usually post around lunchtime there). The sampler design used in the main photo at the top of this page is the one I use in my IGTV videos – it was designed by Helen from @unicornfactoryuk, who is taking part in The Happy Stitch Project too! Helen kindly put the templates together for a free download, which you can find here. It’s not too late to join in if you fancy getting started.

Adding bullion knots to our knot sampler

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy moving into my studio (more on that in another post). This has meant that I haven’t done additional videos to show me adding stitches to the knot sampler hoop. But I’m mostly set up now, so you’ll be pleased to know that there is a video for bullion knots – yay! You can watch it here:

It has been brilliant seeing your knot sampler hoops so far! I know that some of the knots have proven to be a bit tricky (we’re looking at you, Danish knots!). Please remember that with this project, you don’t have to stitch everything and you don’t have to love all the stitches. I’ve said before that I found that herringbone stitch really didn’t come naturally to me, and I know that this will take practice for me to make it look good. That’s absolutely fine! We all have our favourites and others that we won’t really use once we’ve done it a few times. The most important aspects of The Happy Stitch Project are learning together, learning from our mistakes, and learning to embrace the whole process – even if we don’t get things right the first time. Or even the second, third, or twentieth! Don’t forget that you can find all the posts via my links page, or through the blog section of the drop down menu at the top of each page.

Find my projects in Love Embroidery and Be Creative with Workbox this month!

I don’t think I’ll ever get over the excitement of seeing my work in print, and this month I have projects in two magazines! The first is these wonderful positive pin badges, which I designed for Love Embroidery magazine. This is my first commission for them and I am so excited! I have read craft magazines for YEARS, and to be actually designing for them is really a dream come true. Yay! The retro floral patterns and lovely colours will be a perfect spring project. I also have the little hoops available here in my haberdashery too You can buy a copy here or subscribe here.

My Keep Going hoop is also in issue 199 of Be Creative with Workbox, and it made the cover! So exciting! You’ll find all the info, instructions and template in the magazine. It is also available as a kit here if you prefer. Sadly, this magazine won’t be continuing after issue 200. It’s such a shame – I recently discovered this wonderful magazine, and it’s so sad that there won’t be any more. If you love a magazine then do keep buying it!

You may also like…

This post about how to stitch French knots:

Adding French knots to the geo hoop

This sewing machine cover:

Sewing machine cover

Make a delicious cake this weekend!

Nigella’s chocolate olive oil cake

The post Mastering the bullion knot 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.

The post Adding Danish knots to the knot sampler 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!

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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!.

I picked these words for this week because I’ve been hearing lots of small business friends saying that they’re suffering with the dreaded comparison at the moment. But it’s not just people who run a small business; anyone can feel it, and life in lockdown is making this more difficult. I think because everything is online at the moment, it’s easy to only present the best bits on social media. It’s something I talked about this week in this blog post. So this hoop is designed to be a little reminder to us all to keep doing our own thing. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing; we’re all on our own journey and doing what works for us. Just keep doing you!

Do Your Thing embroidered hoop: materials list

17cm (7″) embroidery hoop

A piece of white cotton or linen fabric, measuring 25 x 25cm (10 x 10″)

Templates (click to download)

A permanent method of design transfer, such as a Sublime Stitching pen and hand embroidery transfer paper

DMC shades from perfect pastels thread pack – next week we’ll also use shade 03 to stitch around the edges of the letters

Needle

Some embroidery scissors

Watch the Do Your Thing embroidered hoop tutorial video

Watch the arrowhead stitch tutorial here first if you want to practice first.

Step 1

Trace the templates (see the materials list for the link to download) onto the fabric using your chosen method. If you’re using a heat pen and transfer paper, check out my tutorial video here. Place your fabric in your hoop.

Step 2

Thread your needle with 3 strands of the first colour of thread. Starting at the bottom of the letter ‘D’, stitch arrowhead stitches moving upwards and around in the direction of the letter. Think about the direction as though you were writing it and follow that! Make sure you don’t stitch over the lines around the edges, as we’ll be adding stem stitches around the edges next week.

Step 3

Repeat with the remaining letters, until all of them are filled in. And that’s it for this week! If you don’t want to add stem stitch, you could always stitch a back stitch around the edges instead this week

You may also like…

See my hand stitched social media icons!

Hand embroidered social media icons

See one of my first ever embroidered banners here:

Embroidered banner

Make some simple decorations for your home with these fabric covered letters:

Fabric covered letters

The post Do your thing embroidered hoop appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

In week 5 of The Happy Stitch Project we’re learning fern stitch. This is the first new stitch that I’ve learnt for the project, and I’ve designed this fern stitch wreath hoop for you to create something simple but beautiful. Add your own text or design in the centre to customise it!

I actually really loved stitching this stitch. It’s simple, but really effective! I can see myself using it in lots of designs, and it even features in my new hand embroidery kit too. Yay! I stitched this up in no time in a 10cm (4″) hoop, but you could easily make this much bigger if you wanted to. The templates for a 12cm (5″) and a 15cm (6″) are included in this week’s newsletter for subscribers. Sign up in the footer if you don’t want to miss out!

Fern stitch wreath hoop: materials list

10cm (4″) embroidery hoop

Some white linen fabric, roughly 18×18 cm (pre-ironed)

Wreath template (click here to download)

An aqua trick marker, or your preferred method of design transfer

Needle and thread (I’m using DMC 701 here)

Small sharp scissors, plus large ones to finish the back

White perle thread

Watch the tutorial video on YouTube!

The full tutorial project for this hoop is available on YouTube – written instructions can be found below. You can also watch the fern stitch tutorial here.

Step 1

Take your template, and secure it to a flat surface with some tape. Place your fabric on top, making sure it is in the centre, and use your aqua trick marker (or similar) to trace over the design.

Step 2

Place the fabric in the hoop and tighten the screw. Thread your needle with some of your thread (I am using 4 strands here), and then starting at the top, stitch a horizontal stitch………….

Step 3

Repeat these fern stitches all the way around the hoop, until the design is completely covered. Add your own design in the centre at this point if you wish – see the ‘Make it your own’ section below for some ideas.

Step 4

Reposition the fabric in the hoop if not quite central, and then tighten the screw at the top. Remove any unwanted pen lines with the water pen.

Step 5

Finish the back of your hoop as desired – the video shows you how I like to do this but you can do it any way you like!

Make it your own

I love to make suggestions for how to make projects your own! Each project in my book, Colourful Fun Embroidery, has a section to do this. Embroidery is a really personal thing, as is any handmade item, and it just makes it personal to you. Here are some suggestions for this hoop:

• Stitch the leaves in a different shade or shades of green – simply thread the different colours through the back (a bit like I did in the link stitch geo hoop with the French knots)
• Stitch a floral design in the middle, or include some flowers in the wreath itself
• Include a quote or a name in the centre – use an air erasable pen for shorter text that can be stitched quickly. You could even use the text from the sprinkles hoop in week 1 (if you print the templates slightly smaller!)

You may also like…

Make your own felt Christmas wreath with this step-by-step tutorial:

Felt Christmas wreath

For a sweet treat, try this Mini Egg rocky road:

Mini Egg rocky road

Or get some colour inspiration with Crafty Colour Palette #3:

Crafty Colour Palette #3

And find out more about my You Tube channel here:

Hello! Hooray! is now on YouTube!

Stitch this beautiful One Step at a Time design from Colourful Fun Embroidery:

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

The post Fern stitch wreath hoop appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This link stitch geometric hoop is the perfect project to practice your link stitches! It is designed to be something to work on over time, and I know you’re going to love seeing the geometric pattern build as you add more stitches.  This design is for week 3 of The Happy Stitch Project, and you just need a few materials to stitch this. I have used perle thread for this hoop, as I prefer to use it for link stitches. Perle thread is mercerised (which is the term that I could not remember when recording the videos!) which means that it doesn’t split like the standard DMC embroidery thread. No 8 perle is the same thickness as 3 strands of standard thread, so it’s great for a project like this. You can use 3 strands of standard thread for this design if you want to – just do whatever works for you! I do have some perle thread in my haberdashery now in case you want to add some to your stash

If you don’t want to use a plain fabric for this, have a look in your stash and see what you already have! You could easily add some link stitches around some dots on a dotty fabric – or be really inventive and add them to another pattern. Don’t forget to share your stitching with me @hellohoorayblog!

Materials

I have used a 15cm (6″) hoop for this project (the one in the video is hand painted in the Alfie colour from my shop)

A 24cm x 24cm piece of white linen fabric or a good quality quilting cotton like this one

A 1cm dotted grid template – I downloaded mine here

A pencil

An Aquatrick marker pen (or another method that has some permanence)

Needles – a couple are useful, one for each colour! You’ll find a variety of them here.

Perle thread – two contrasting colours in No. 8 size (available in my haberdashery). I’m using shades 959 and 793 here. You’ll eventually need some to finish the back of the hoop, but we’ll come to that next week…

Watch the link stitch geometric hoop video

If you’d like to watch the link stitch tutorial video first, click here!

Step 1

Secure the printed dotted grid template to a flat surface. Take the inner ring of your embroidery hoop, place it on top and then draw around the inner edge with a pencil.

Step 2

Place your fabric on top of the template, and then use your Aquatrick marker (or similar) to mark on all the dots that appear inside the circle. Remove the fabric once complete, and place in your embroidery hoop.

Step 3

Thread a needle with some of the first colour of perle. Select a dot as a starting point, and stitch a link stitch up to the next dot along. Secure with a small tie stitch. Repeat a further three times from the starting point, so a cross shape is formed of four stitches in the same colour. Carefully tie off at the back.

Step 4

Thread the other needle with the other colour perle thread, and repeat step 3 but directly next to the cross shape you have already stitched. The ends of the link stitches should touch.

Step 5

Keep stitching alternate colours to build up the pattern (see video). Eventually, the whole hoop will be covered in this pattern.

What’s coming next week?

So if you watched all the way to the end of the video, you’ll know that I am going to be working on completing this hoop over the coming week. We’ll also add a few more little details to it in the form of French knots, which is the stitch we’re learning in week 4 of The Happy Stitch Project – yay! Don’t be afraid of French knots, as once you’ve got the knack you’ll be a pro in no time!

If you’ve enjoyed reading this, you might like these…

Geometric meal planner

Perpetual paper chains

Geometric painted roll-up blinds

And if you missed the first project, here’s where you’ll find the sprinkles hoop.

The post Link stitch geometric hoop appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This customised denim jacket is a project from my book, Colourful Fun Embroidery, and it is the perfect project for week 2 of The Happy Stitch Project!

This week’s stitch is satin stitch. Have I told you how much I love satin stitch?! I guess if you’ve seen lots of my designs then you have probably guessed! It takes a little practice, but once you get it right then there will be no stopping you I love this stitch because you can use it to cover different sized areas really easily, and it’s just so versatile.  And in my tutorial video on YouTube, you’ll be able to follow the process and learn a great technique for satin stitch.

About the customised denim jacket

This project is designed to take your time over, so it isn’t a quick one. It appears in the ‘Pick Me Up’ section of my book, where all of the projects take time to stitch but are things that you will want to keep coming back to. The great thing about this project is that you can stitch a bit and then wear it, even if you plan to add more stitching later. And even better, nobody will have a jacket exactly the same as yours! It’s so easy to do, and this denim jacket customisation will leave you wanting to customise more I’m sure!

You’ll need to do a bit of preparation before you get started with this project. All the instructions are given below, but please note that step 1 is not shown on the video. You could also take the principles of this design and customise another garment, or even make a hoop if you prefer! You’ll find this project on pages 108-111 of Colourful Fun Embroidery too.

Materials

A denim jacket

Lightweight interfacing big enough to cover the back shoulder panel of the jacket

Loose ends of thread (or a selection of your own specific colours)

An air erasable pen

An iron

Instructions

1. Wash, dry and iron your jacket. Then turn it inside out, and cut a piece of lightweight interfacing big enough to cover the back shoulder panel (I just did this by eye). Iron it onto the inside of the jacket, according to manufacturer’s instructions.

2. Turn the jacket the right way out and lay it on a flat surface. Use the air erasable pen to draw the first shape. I drew a small triangle to start. Thread a needle with 3 strands of a colour from your loose ends, and then cover the shape with satin stitch. Don’t worry if you run out of a particular colour half way through stitching a shape – just use another colour as I have done here.

3. Draw a few more shapes around the first one, and then continue to stitch with different colours to build up your design. You could even leave a few shapes unstitched in the middle so that the denim shows through in some places.

4. Although the design and stitching process for this jacket is very free, you might want to think about these tips to help:

• Keep the size of the shapes quite small, as this will help to maintain the right tension of thread as you stitch. If it is too loose, it will just look baggy rather than being neat and tidy.
• Don’t draw too many shapes in advance or the pen marks will disappear. Stick to drawing one or two at a time, drawing over the lines again as you need to.
• As you stitch, don’t leave big gaps between stitches in case you run out of the colour thread you are using. Complete a smaller colour block and switch to another colour if the shape is not covered.
• Using a thread conditioner will really help the stitching process and will also help to maintain the look of the stitching as you wear the jacket.

I decided to stitch a few small areas over the back shoulder panel on my jacket, which I will build up as I continue to work on my design. I haven’t decided whether or not to join them all up yet – that’s a decision I will make later. You could stitch one large area, working from one side of the jacket if you prefer – the beauty of this project is that you can do whatever works for you. Enjoy the freedom of the project and the time that you take to stitch it!

Watch the tutorial video here!

Share your stitching!

I can’t wait to see your satin stitches this week, so don’t forget to share them with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or by good old email. Please just get in touch if you have any comments or questions too!

Important stuff

The customised denim jacket project is taken from Colourful Fun Embroidery © Clare Albans, 2020. All rights reserved. Published by White Owl Books. It is for personal use only and may not be reproduced without permission. Thanks!

The post Customised denim jacket appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This Sprinkles Hoop is the first design for The Happy Stitch Project and I really hope that you enjoy making it to practice the first two stitches, straight stitch and back stitch. I am thrilled with the response to The Happy Stitch Project so far, and we have only just begun! Thank you for all your comments and messages, it’s really brilliant I can’t wait to see what you stitch this year!

The sprinkles hoop for The Happy Stitch Project

Anyway, let’s talk a little bit more about this hoop. The Sprinkles hoop for The Happy Stitch Project was designed as a reminder to hold on to hope as we move into 2021. Last year was so tough, and holding onto hope seemed impossible at times. It still feels hard now, with everything that’s going on in the world doesn’t it? But I’m trying my best to focus on the positives (being creative is one of them) and so the sprinkles here represent the chaos in the world, with the word ‘hope’ standing out in the middle as a reminder that it is still there. We can do this, 2021!

This design brings together the two stitches that we’ve learnt (or revised, if you know them already!) in week 1 – straight stitch and back stitch. It can be stitched in a couple of hours, or you can take your time over it, and please remember that you should stitch at your own pace and do what works for you. There’s no pressure to finish this week, just enjoy the process

Materials list

For this project, you will need the following materials:

• A piece of cotton fabric – I am stitching in a 10cm (4″) hoop and have used an 18x18cm piece, but you can use a larger piece with a larger hoop (see video!)
• A 10cm (4″) embroidery hoop (coming to the haberdashery this week!)
• Needle
• Small pair of sharp scissors (the ones in the video are available here) plus a larger pair to finish later
• A selection of embroidery thread – I have used my loose ends here, but you could use any colours (rainbow or pastel would work well)
• An air erasable pen
• Templates (click to download) if you wish, or just freestyle it!
• Some perle thread to finish the back (this will be in my haberdashery this week too!)

Watch the tutorial video: Sprinkles hoop for The Happy Stitch Project

Full written instructions are below if you prefer, but you can watch the video here:

Step 1

Take the template and place the fabric on top. Using your air erasable pen, trace over the lettering carefully. Then position your fabric in the hoop, making sure that the tension is just right (don’t pull too tightly so it’s out of shape, but don’t leave it too loose either).

Step 2

Thread your needle with 3 strands of embroidery thread (you may find a thread conditioner helpful, as mentioned in the video). Tie a knot in the end, trimming the excess so that it doesn’t accidentally come through the front as you stitch! The, use a small back stitch to stitch the lettering (see my tutorial video for back stitch here).

Step 3

Add the sprinkles by stitching straight stitches in different colours around the edges. You could use your loose ends of thread for this – these are little pieces of thread saved in a jar or a box from previous projects, which minimise waste. You’ll need to use all 6 strands for the sprinkles, to make them stand out.

I started by stitching 3 of each colour sprinkle, and then went back and added more where there were gaps. You can either do this freestyle like I did in the video, or by drawing the lines on first. Just do what works for you!

I personally found that it was best to tie a knot at the end of each sprinkle and trim before repeating the process, as this avoided seeing lines of thread through the front of the fabric. This is around 13:10 on the video if you want to see.

Step 4

When the embroidery is complete, position the fabric so you are happy with how it looks (you could always iron the edges but NOT over the stitching!). Tighten the screw at the top of the hoop, and turn over to the back. With a larger pair of scissors, trim the excess fabric to around 2cm (just under 1″). Thread your needle with a length of perle thread the circumference of the hoop, and tie a not in the end but don’t trim the excess. Stitch a running stitch around the edge of the fabric, pull and tie a knot or two to secure. You’ll find this section from 15:41 on the video if you’d like to watch to see how I did this.

Ta-dah!

A beautifully simple hoop, which will hopefully give you lots of joy to stitch and some comfort during the rest of 2021 and beyond Newsletter subscribers have already received some alternative words to stitch, and with an air erasable pen you can easily make this project your own. I’d really LOVE to see what you stitch, so do share with me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter – or drop me an email if you’d rather.

So what’s next?!

Next week, we’ll be doing my favourite stitch – satin stitch! It’s the only stitch in my Keep Going kit, and I use it in the Sunbeams kit too. It’s so versatile and lovely and I know you’re going to enjoy it! As you can see above, I’ve got the next few weeks mapped out – January will be the rest of the stitches that I know, and then from February we’ll be learning together. And I can’t wait!

As I said before, please let me know if you have any comments or questions. I’d love to hear what you think and how you’re getting on!

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