Crafty Colour Palette #4: Colour list

Pale gold = DMC 726 / Anchor 295

Mid gold = DMC 743 / Anchor 302

Dark gold = DMC 742 / Anchor 303

Orange = DMC 740 / Anchor 316

Dark orange = DMC 947 / Anchor 330

Coral = DMC 3705 / Anchor 35

Hot pink = DMC 600 / Anchor 59

Plum = DMC 917 / Anchor 89

Purple = DMC 3837 / Anchor 100

Violet = DMC 333 / Anchor 119

If you look really carefully, you’ll notice that there’s actually a hint of blue in the Instagram logo in the top left corner. I used a few strands of DMC 792 (Anchor 941) in this logo, but I haven’t included it in this colour palette. One reason is that I wanted an even number of colours! The second is that I love the summer vibe of this colour palette, and preferred it without the blue.

Crafty Colour Palette #4: Eat Sleep Craft Repeat

So to celebrate the beauty of these gorgeous colours, I designed a little hoop to use them to full effect. This quote is a fun way to use an ombre effect, but you could use any quote really. My tip would be to keep it short enough not to be stitching forever, but long enough to be able to use a good range of colours. There are 10 in this project using the colour list earlier in the post.

You will need

The printed templates (click here to download for free!)

15cm (6″) embroidery hoop

20 x 20cm (8 x 8″) piece of white linen fabric

Your preferred method of transferring designs to fabric (a permanent method is ideal)

DMC threads as listed above (I use DMC but have given Anchor numbers in the list above too)

Needle and some small sharp scissors

Optional paint for your hoop

Step 1

Transfer the design on to the fabric and place it in the centre of your hoop. Thread your needle with 3 strands of the colour you want to use at the top of the word ‘eat’ (I used DMC 726 for this).

Bring the needle up at one side of the letter, and make a stitch by pushing it through at the other side of the letter. Keep your stitch nice and level – if you’re using linen, follow the line of the fabric as a guide. Make another stitch, leaving a gap between. Repeat to fill in the stitches until you have a clear band of this colour at the top of the letter.

Now thread your needle with three strands of the second colour, and stitch a band in the middle of the letter. Repeat with the third colour, as shown in the photo:

Step 2

When you have stitched blocks of each colour with gaps in between, fill in with stitches in between to blend the colours. Leave gaps between the stitches so that you can fill in with a lighter or darker shade – like this:

Don’t worry if you have any wonky edges – you can always correct these later!

Step 3

I used a lot of colours here, so stitched the first letters to show the finished effect, then the second with colour blocks so you can see the main colours. The colours are allocated like this:

EAT = shades 726, 743 and 742

SLEEP = shades 742, 740 and 947

CRAFT = shades 947, 3705, 600 and 917

REPEAT = shades 917, 3387 and 333

I put a hint of the darkest orange at the top of ‘craft’ and I think that helps with the ombré effect through the lettering, rather than having yellows and oranges in the top half and pinks and purples in the bottom.

Keep filling in the letters until everything is complete. I actually found it easier to block one colour at a time and then fill in the gaps – I only did it like this at first to be able to check it worked and to take a photo for this post!

Step 4

Once you’ve finished stitching, you’re ready to finish the back of your hoop. If you want to paint it, now is the time! I originally thought I’d put this in a yellow hoop, but it didn’t quite look right for me. The colour I used for my social media hoops gives a really lovely contrast, so I just repainted it. I finished the back by trimming the fabric about 1” from the edge, and then gathering with some white thread.

Ta-dah!

Your hoop is now ready to display.

Do let me know if you have a go at stitching this project!

I would love to see how you interpret this fun project – it would look great in any crafty space. Or if you use this ombre effect on your own project, let me know! Tag me @hellohoorayblog if you share on social media. Happy stitching!

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You will need

If you’d like to stitch your own you’ll need to download the templates from Mollie Makes, and then enlarge it to 150% for a large pineapple. You will also need:

A needle and small sharp scissors

An air erasable pen

White fabric

An 8 x 12″ oval embroidery hoop – I got mine here

Paint and paintbrush (optional)

The thread I used is DMC thread in the following colours (Anchor thread numbers also given), and you’ll need 1 skein of each:

Shade 1 = DMC 3842 / Anchor 164

Shade 2 = DMC 3760 / Anchor 169

Shade 3 = DMC 807 / Anchor 168

Shade 4 = DMC 519 / Anchor 1038

Shade 5 = DMC 828 / Anchor 9159

Shade 6 = DMC 905 / Anchor 257

Shade 7 = DMC 907 / Anchor 255

Shade 8 = DMC 904 / Anchor 258

Shade 9 = DMC 472 / Anchor 254

Shades 1-5 are pinks, and 6-9 are greens (refer to template for shade numbers and placement).

Stitching tips

I’ve really worked hard to improve my satin stitch recently, and I’ve found that doing the stitches with little gaps and filling in works a treat. It’s much neater (for me) than doing the stitches immediately next to each other. I also love to use Thread Heaven conditioner on my thread, as it keeps it together as you stitch. I got mine from Cloud Craft. It’s a lifesaver! It definitely helps to keep the thread together more if you’ve split it up. I generally use 3 strands at a time for satin stitch, as I’ve found that this gives the neatest finish.

When embroidering the leaves, you can either draw a line down the middle of each leaf so that you can work out where you are stitching to, or just do it freehand like I did. Start at the outer edge, and stitch diagonally inwards. I varied the angle on each leaf to give contrast.

This blue pineapple was part of a larger embroidery of three pineapples – the middle, larger pineapple is the original colours, and I also included a pink one too. I love how the colours work so well together, and the bright turquoise hoop compliments it I think. I still used an 8 x 12″ hoop for this design, so these pineapples are a little smaller than my original big pink one. It’s actually nice to stitch smaller, although slightly more fiddly.

Hope you have a great weekend! Have you got any stitching plans?

The post Blue pineapple embroidery appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

I love pineapples and they’re everywhere right now. Sadly, I’m allergic to real pineapples, but that doesn’t stop me from stitching a pink pineapple embroidery! I spotted this project in last month’s Mollie Makes (issue 55), which was designed by Catherine Greenslade, and knew that I’d have to have a go at making it. The original project uses golds and oranges for the pineapple, but having seen pink pineapples on Columbia Road a few weeks ago, I decided to make mine with a twist!

These are the pineapples that were the inspiration for the adaptation of this project. I had wondered about trying to stitch the pink to cream to green shading on the leaves, but to be honest it was just a bit too small to be able to do that, and I like the contrast of the greens and pinks on the final project.

Materials

If you’d like to stitch your own you’ll need to download the templates from Mollie Makes, and then enlarge it to 150%. You will also need:

A needle and small sharp scissors

An air erasable pen

White fabric

An 8 x 12″ oval embroidery hoop – I got mine here

Paint and paintbrush (optional)

The thread I used is Anchor thread in the following colours (EDIT: DMC now also given), and you’ll need 1 skein of each:

Shade 1 = 59 (DMC 3350)

Shade 2 = 57 (DMC 601)

Shade 3 = 54 (DMC 956)

Shade 4 = 52 (DMC 899)

Shade 5 = 50 (DMC 957)

Shade 6 = 257 (DMC 905)

Shade 7 = 255 (DMC 907)

Shade 8 = 258 (DMC 904)

Shade 9 = 254 (DMC 472)

Shades 1-5 are pinks, and 6-9 are greens (refer to template for shade numbers and placement).

Let’s get stitching!

I had to draw over the lines a few times as they kept disappearing faster than I was stitching, but that’s ok! You can outline the satin stitch on the pineapple if you wish (I didn’t bother with that). You’ll need to use 6 strands for the pinks and 3 for the greens, so separate these carefully.

I decided to paint my hoop to add a little colour, and I just picked up a tester pot of the ‘minted’ shade from Wilkinsons. Their tester pots are only £1 so I’m always getting them for new projects! This colour is nice and bright and gives good contrast with the pinks and greens of the stitching.

I’m so pleased with how my pink pineapple embroidery turned out. We’re going to hang it up in our hall This is because the pineapple is the symbol of welcome – that’s why you often see them on top of grand gateposts at the entrance to big country houses! Hope you’ve had a super weekend – have you been working on any craft projects?

Post updated 28th July 2017 and 12th February 2020.

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