Tutorial Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

This week's tutorial is one of my favorite's so far! I found these awesome embroidery frame pins on etsy and knew they would be great to feature as a tutorial. I seem to be leaning toward smaller stitches, lately, but I just love the way these smaller designs are turning out, especially when they are wearable.

 

If you would like to make this embroidered pin/brooch, here is what you'll need:

-pin/brooch mounting (available here)

-embroidery floss (I used DMC No.8 floss)

-scissors

-small piece of felt

-embroidery pattern

-paper

-water soluble transfer pen or pencil

-muslin or cotton fabric

 

I took an embroidery design from Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching book. She has a wonderful collection in this book and they come on a disc, which make it easy to adjust the size prior to printing. 

The pin mounting frame comes in three pieces, the front frame, the backing, and the pin back.

Let's get started!

Step One: Determine the sizing of your pattern according to the frame of the pin mounting. I traced the pin mounting using the inside line of the front frame as a guide, then sized the pattern accordingly. On my computer, scaling the image down to 13% was the perfect fit for this pin mounting, but you may have to play around with sizing to get the right one for you.

Step Two: Once the pattern was the size I needed, I transferred it to the fabric by taping it on the window and using the daylight as a backlight. 

Step Three: Place your fabric with the transferred pattern into a hoop and stitch. I apologize for not taking a picture at this stage, I was too excited to see the pin finished, that I moved to the next step sans photo.

Step Four: Once your stitches are complete, turn your design over and place the frame of the pin mounting over your stitches. Center the design and draw a circle about half an inch around the outside of the frame and cut along that line.

Step five: Using the front frame of the pin mounting piece again, trace the frame onto a piece of felt. This will go behind your stitches in the frame to give it stability and create a firm fit in the mounting.

Step Six: Take the pin backing, and align the felt and your stitched piece over it so that the stitches are centered.

Carefully, turn these three pieces over and using a sewing needle with coordinating thread, make a running stitch along the edge of the fabric with your stitches on it. Pull it snug in order to encase the felt and the pin backing behind your stitched piece of fabric. The tighter you pull this running stitch, the smoother your stitched piece will appear once it is in the frame. Knot the thread when you get it snug enough to your liking and everything is centered in the frame.

Step Seven: Once you have your stitched piece in a place that you like, fit it into the front frame piece. Clip any extra threads and such. Place the pin backing over the back, making sure to place the pin in the right place so it won't look crooked when you pin it to your blouse or jacket. Once it's all aligned, bend the prongs from the front frame over the back. This will cover your running stitch and make the pin clean and neat. I was able to use my fingers to bend the prongs, but you might want to use jewelry pliers. 

Step eight: Pin the embroidered piece to your blouse, or jacket, or hat, or wherever you like, and enjoy!

This is a great way to enjoy some of those smaller embroidery pieces. I hope you get to give this a try. 

Hope you have a happy Tuesday!