Embroidery Artistry

Embroider for Fun and Profit

Embroidery is a fabulous hobby. It's relaxing and fun to do,  can release your inner artist and provides useful treasures and much loved gifts for friends and family.  But it is also to a way to free yourself from a dismal job or career or provide you with extra, work-at-home money on your own terms.

Despite the whirlwind of technology or perhaps because of it, people crave unique, one -of-a-kind creations. If you have ever wanted to take your hobby to the next level, you know it takes more than passion; its takes business know how.

BYOB

If you can image it (and work at it) you can Be Your Own Boss doing what you love.  But don't make the mistake of thinking that the craft business is like any other business.  Crafts are works of art that bring you copyrighting challenges and makes buying an emotional experience.

8 Steps to Profit

1. Perfect you craft

If you have reached the point in your embroidery where you are ready to start selling, this step may be (and hopefully is) a given. Quality matters and if you want to make a business out of a hobby, only the best will do.

2.  Check Out Your Competition

Don't fear a lot of competition! It just means there is a lot of demand for your product. And don't try to copy your competition.  Unique is not a knock off. Study your competitors to learn what you can do differently to make you and your work even more unique.

3.  You, Inc.

Nothing will ever happen until you get serious and that means a business plan, structure, bank account and licensing. Until you set up the business, it is still a hobby. And naming it is so much fun!

4.  Select Your Product

Whether you decide to make pillowcases or framed works of art, get specific. You can always expand later but for starters, start small. Your product will help build your brand and the more focused, the more you can control the business direction.

5.  Find Your Profit

Probably the hardest part of all is figuring out what you are going to charge for your work. Craft fairs and online sites will help you set a competitive price but will not determine your profit. For that you need to find vendors so you can buy supplies at wholesale and time yourself to determine the hourly worth of your work.

6.  Know Your Customer

Often an overlooked component, understanding who your customers are will help you focus your product and marketing in the right direction.  Study demographics on the internet to learn everything you can about the type of person who would buy what you are selling.

7.  Determine Your Marketing Strategy

Learn how to market. If you plan to sell online, check out the auction sites or how to run your own website. If you plan to sell at craft fairs, attend as many as you can and talk to the promoters, your competition and the customers. They all have a different perspective and you want to know them all. Perfect a strategy and expand into other areas.

8.  Ask the Experts

Avoid the mistakes that only a newbie can make by learning from the people that have already make a success out of the craft business.

Before you jump in with both feet, dip a toe or two in to test the waters. Read, study and learn as much as you can and then GO for it and make a profit in your own embroidery (or other craft) business.

Go 3-D with Brazilian Embroidery

Brazilian embroidery is another wonderful three dimensional embroidery style that can add even more artist flare to your designs.  The technique gets its name from the rayon thread it uses, which was largely manufactured in Brazil.

With all that thread being made, there was nothing left to do but stitch and  embroidery patterns began popping up all over the country. Floral designs were a favorite and popular stitches were given a new twist.

Be sure to watch the video at the end of the article. 

Use the Correct Thread

If it isn't done in rayon, it isn't Brazilian embroidery. Rayon thread's sheen and smoothness are what gives the designs and colors used in this style of embroidery their vibrancy.

Rayon was developed as a low cost version to silk thread and, like silk, is finer in  diameter. Using raised stitches was a natural solution to flat designs that this thread produced. Brazilian artwork literally jumps off the fabric and explodes with color from this easy dye thread.

Stitches to Use in Brazilian Embroidery

If you can knot it, you can use it in this technique. The Bullion stitch is the defining stitch used in Brazilian embroidery but any knot will do well. Knowing the couching and leaf stitches are also a must.

The Trick is in the Twist

Originally, the rayon thread that was used in Brazilian embroidery was made by twisting the fibers in a "Z" shape unlike other threads that are made with an "S" twist.  This is not always the case now but it is important to know the difference.

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To get the fiber plies to lay correctly and to prevent untwisting the thread and creating a frazzled mess,  you must wrap the thread around the needle in a counter clockwise direction.

If you notice that your threads appear to be unraveling, it is because of this mis-directed wrap. Breaking the clockwise wrap habit requires some concentration until you get a rhythm going.

Most rayon threads today are made with a "S" twist but if you see the "Z" twist noted on the package or see your threads coming apart, just change the direction of your wrap around the needle.

Use the Right Needle

For knotted stitches, especially ones used in Brazilian embroidery where many wraps can be taken, use a Milliners needle. These needles have a long straight shaft and don't widen at the eye.  This makes them both easier to load a number of wraps as well as allow the needle to be pulled through fabric even with a volume of thread.

Free Brazilian Design Downloads

Don't miss out on the PDF downloads at Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery International Guild.  They are small designs but are fabulous to add to any embroidery piece.  Adding a little dimension to your work can make your treasurers come alive and make you feel like the true artist you are.

Punch Up Your Embroidery with Punchneedle

Punchneedle embroidery also known as Needle Punch and Russian punch embroidery is a exciting twist on the usual needle and thread embroidery. If you have a dormant inner artist, punchneedle will bring it to the surface.

Punchneedle embroidery isn't just a different style, it is an entirely different method. It forms three dimensional designs with loops created by the needle it employs.  Designs are similar in appearance to mini hooked rugs.

Don't miss the video at the end of this article.

  • You can't do punchneedle without, what else but, a punch needle.  The needle look like writing a pen with a sharp tip. These tips create loops and delightful textures all from one easy stitch created by simply punching.
  • Punch needles usually come in packs of 3:
    • Small for 2 or 3 strand floss
    • Middle for 4-6 strand floss
    • Large for yarns and ribbons
  • The needle is threaded using a threader that is inserted into a hollow in the needle and fed through the holder in order to draw up the thread to the tip.  Once the thread is pulled up, it is threaded into a regular needle eye. Leave a very short tail of thread to avoid it getting in the way.
  • A regular lip lock hoop is also requirement for executing the punches.
Embroidery Punch Needle Kit LIVE LAUGH LOVE
Embroidery Punch Needle Kit LIVE LAUGH LOVE
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  • Your design is traced onto the back of the fabric and stitching starts on the backside of the fabric by working a running stitch along the  outline of the design. Use a loose weave fabric such as linen, denim or damask.
  • The punch needle will cause a loop, formed by your running stitch, on the topside of the fabric.
  • The stitch is a simple punch that you take by placing the tip on the outline and punching it through to the holder top. Subsequent stitches are taken by pulling the tip up just far enough to move forward a few threads in your fabric's weave to the next punch.   Pull too far and you will remove the punch stitch so keep the tip on the fabric.
  • Move slowly until you get the hang of making the punch. As you are learning, check the opposite side of the fabric often to ensure you have not missed or pulled out a stitch.
    You can easily remove a line of stitches but it does create holes in your fabric so it's better to just take some fill-in punches at the end of your work.
  • When you complete your outline, start filling in your background with rows.  Check the topside of your fabric to be sure that your rows are just close enough together to cover the fabric. If you see fabric, you are leaving too much space. However, if your stitches or rows are too close together, your fabric won't lay flat.
  • Change thread by placing your finger tip on the last punched stitch and pull about an inch through the needle and clip it off.
  • Using a wire bristle fluff brush will enable you to brush out your loops.
  • Use a good quality craft glue if you trim your fabric or plan on laundering you piece.  The stitches will be secure otherwise.

Punchneedle creates works of art in vivid detail by incorporating a wide range of color threads, yarns types and silk ribbons. Mixing and matching elements is encouraged.

Time Honored Hardanger Embroidery Art

Hardanger-embroidery

Hardanger embroidery, also called Hardangersom, is a beautiful Norwegian white-on-white cutwork traditional style of needlework. This open lace-designed art is popular in Italy and India and pieces from early Egypt and the Renaissance period have been discovered.

It made its way to the U.S., with the influx of Scandinavian immigrates in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Hardanger is unique pattern and texture designs as opposed to pictorial art.

Is Hardanger for You?

Hardanger work is not for the casual embroiderer. Neither is it for the more free-spirited artist as it requires specific counting to ensure the stitches remain secure after cutting out the fabric, which is as much a part of the design as are the stitches.

If you love organization and precision in your craft, you will love Hardanger. But if you are faint of heart, the cut out work required may have you reaching for the smelling salts!

Nevertheless, Hardanger’s artistry is second to none and if you want to create time honored pieces that will be handed down to generations or if you would like to start an embroidery craft business, Hardanger is your calling. The pieces are all one of kind that cannot be duplicated by machine.

The Basics

Hardanger is done on evenweave linen or cotton fabric and rooted in the cross stitch technique of counted stitches. Perfect fabrics for Hardanger work are the cottons: Davosa, Jobelan, Linda evenweave, Oslo and the linens:  Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh and Glenshee as well as Quaker cloth, which is a cotton/linen blend. As with any counted stitch works, accuracy is critical and these fabrics have nice weaves without the larger, obvious holes found in crossstitch fabrics.

The open or cutwork in Hardanger is traditionally diamonds and triangles often edged with satin or cable stitching. Filling is often done in knotted picots and buttonhole and other edging is usually hemstitching woven into the patterns. Historically,  Hardanger was done with white thread on white fabric but color work is now most common.

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Kloster Block

The Kloster block is the basic foundation of Hardanger. It's a number of small blocks that together outline the intended shape, such as a diamond, with each stitch covering the same number of fabric threads. It’s imperative to follow the pattern design in making each stitch as you will be cutting out fabric within the work to form the open design. A missed count in the stitches will cause them to loosen once the fabric is removed.

Kloster blocks are beautiful alone or they can be filled to make lovely lacework designs using the popular buttonhole and hem stitches as wells as dove’s eyes, needleweaving, square filets and many more.

If you're looking for a serious artistic endeavor, give Hardanger a try.

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