I've gotten lots of questions and comments about the hand stitching that I've done on a lot of my projects recently so I thought I'd do a post all about hand stitching!
Until recently I've done all my hand stitching on my own, without a template. I'd draw a simple shape with a pencil prepoke my holes and then stitch away. This is how I did the stitching on this layout:
For this layout I used a die cut as a template. I prepoked the holes around the die cut and then stitched.
On this project I used a stitching template from
American Crafts. These are one of the more expensive tools that I have on hand but I must say they are worth every penny. They make hand stitching so fun and so EASY.
Aren't those leaves adorable? They're a little more than I wanted to draw so I used a template.
And last but not least remember that you can always draw or write what you'd like to hand stitch. All you have to do is write on your piece of paper lightly with a pencil, then poke the holes and then erase the pencil marks before you stitch. Poke holes closer together to make a curve and further apart when you're making a straight line.
Here are a few tips to make your hand stitching successful:
- Always prepoke your holes (use either a needle or a paper piercer).
- Split a strand of embroidery floss in half (so you'll be using 3 threads). If you use all 6 threads at once it may tear the paper.
- When you start stitching tape the thread to the back of your page to hold it in place, tape the end of the thread when you finish as well.
Do you hand stitch on your projects? or do you prefer to just use your sewing machine?
