Before we explore wool threads any further – comparing different types and discussing their make-up, pros and cons, and so forth – I want to do a little house cleaning so that these articles are easier for you and other visitors to find on Needle ‘n Thread. To that end, here’s an article index of everything I’ve written on wool embroidery threads in this series. As I work through more comparisons, I will add the articles to this list. The article index will be listed under “Tips & Techniques” in the main menu on Needle ‘n Thread. Did you know that, if you’ve received today’s article in you ..read more

Continuing in our explorations of wool embroidery threads, today we’ll talk about Array Wool, which is a wool thread (crewel weight) that’s produced here in the US. The wool comes from sheep raised in the western part of the US, and it is processed and dyed in North Carolina. This thread came to my attention through Zollie, a company that produces basic embroidery kits and counted cross stitch kits using Array Wool. Besides the fact that Array Wool is made in the US, there are other aspects of the wool thread that are somewhat unique. The most obvious is that the wool is put up on cones and s ..read more

Intermittently over the last few months, we’ve been looking at a variety of wool threads to use for embroidery. Over the years, I’ve explored some wool projects here on Needle ‘n Thread. I wrote extensively about my Crewel Rooster project here. And I explored the Mellerstain Firescreen project for a bit here, where I wrote about my love-hate relationship with wool; and here, where I asserted my case for rabbits. (I haven’t finished the firescreen project, but it is on my List.) I’ve embroidered with wool on wool felted mittens, like these mittens and these mittens. And I’ve explored some small ..read more

Time for a little mid-week delve into the history of embroidery by way of a fabulous little book available on Internet Archive for download. The book is called Old English Embroidery: Its Technique & Symbolism, by Frances and Hugh Marshall. If you’ve not come across this book before, and if you have an interest in the history of embroidery – and especially late medieval through 17th century embroidery – then I think you’ll enjoy exploring this little gem. You can find Old English Embroidery here on Internet Archive. Keep in mind that it is an old book. Don’t expect a book brimming over wi ..read more

Hurray!! A beautiful new book on Japanese-style bead embroidery by Margaret Lee is finally out – The Art of Bead Embroidery 2. I’ve been looking forward to this book, because there’s a project in it that I want to make! If you’ve been waiting for the book as well, you can find The Art of Bead Embroidery 2 available here in my shop, in stock and ready to ship. Let’s look at the book up close, and I’ll tell you what you can expect from it. This is the second book by Margaret Lee on Japanese-style bead embroidery. I reviewed the first book – The Art of Bead Embroidery – here, if you’d like to ta ..read more

Well, well, well, here we are, at the very last step of Purple Posy, our latest Stitch Snippet stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread. If you’re just coming across this stitch-along project, you can find all the previous lessons for the stitch-along in the Purple Posy project index here. You’ll learn, step-by-step, how to create a beautiful covered tape measure for your needlework toolbox. If you’re just joining in and you’d like to create your own covered tape measure, you’ll find a complete materials kit available here, with all the components you need to embroidery and build your own covered ..read more

I’m a little late to the game here, wishing you a belated Happy Easter! I took a much-needed short break starting mid-week last week, and by this coming Friday, I should be back to regular scheduled work. If you have placed any orders in the shop this past week, they will ship by this Friday. In the spirit of utter unoriginality, I’m sharing one of my favorite Easter pictures again. Not the greatest photo in the world, mind you, but oh, what a cutie! The embroidered cloth in the background is a free hand embroidery pattern here on Needle ‘n Thread. You can find it here. The same design can be ..read more

I’m afraid today is going to be a big photo and information dump, as we assemble and then work the decorative edge on Purple Posy, our current stitch-along project. I intended to divide this in two parts, with the first part posting this past Friday. Unfortunately, I’ve been under the weather with whatever virus / cold / flu / etc I’ve picked up again. Third time since January! Anyway, I’m working on recuperating. And that brings me to this point: I need to recuperate on many levels at this point, so after today’s post, I’m taking some time off. We still have the fob to finish on this project ..read more

The last time we looked at wool embroidery threads, we were comparing four different brands of crewel wool, stitched in lines using stem stitch. We were able to see their twist, how heavy a line they made, and we talked a bit about the stitching experience with them: which ones were a little more fuzzy, more bouncy, and so forth. Today, we’ll look at the same four threads, this time in filling stitches, specifically satin stitch and “soft shading” or long and short stitch. My samples here are quite small, so I’ve enlarged them so that you can see the details of the thread. Here, we have all f ..read more

Moving along in our Purple Posy Stitch Snippet stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread, today we’re going to transform the embroidered design parts of Purple Posy into the pieces of the tape measure cover. I’ll give you the list of supplies I used for finishing – gather all your supplies before you start and read through the instructions! – and then I’ll take you step-by-step through making up the pieces of the cover. For those who are just joining in, you will find all the previous articles for this stitch-along available here in the Purple Posy Project Index. If you are a member on Patreon, yo ..read more