Sunny Days Ahead Embroidery Project
Blooming buds and sunny days are upon us! Here’s an adorable, floral craft from Celeste Johnston’s Sunny Stitches just in time for spring! Embroider this sweet design on a pair of jeans that need a little flair, over that stubborn stain you can’t get out of your favorite t-shirt, or leave it in your embroidery hoop for a sunny display in your home!
When we plant a garden, we put our hope into knowing the sun will shine on it, sustain it, and make it bloom. Just the same, as we persevere through challenging moments and days, we know a sunny day can be just around the corner. As you stitch this, I want you to remember that whatever hard days or season you're in the thick of, take good care of yourself, hang in there, and keep looking forward. Are you ready to try something new? You’ve picked the right project! You’ll notice that this design uses colored pencils to add a quick wash of color to the banner. You can use any color you like, and any old colored pencils will do for this technique (I borrowed mine from my kids’ craft basket!). Do you love all things botanical and creating botanical embroidery? Then you'll want to master the stem stitch, fern stitch, and leaf stitch, all three of which are introduced in this project. I think you’ll find all these techniques useful for any plant and flower embroidery you’ll do inside and outside this book.
Stitches Used:
Backstitch
French knot
Satin stitch
Stem stitch
Whipped backstitch
Leaf stitch
Fern stitch
Supplies:
5" embroidery hoop
8" x 8" piece of your chosen fabric
1 skein each of black, dark-brown, coral, salmon, orange, yellow, yellow-green, and bright-green floss
Salmon colored pencil
Embroidery scissors
Embroidery needle
Let’s get started!
STEP 1: Prepare your materials. Transfer your pattern, set your hoop, and separate your floss. Thread your needle with two strands of black floss. Choose a salmon or pink colored pencil.
STEP 2: Color the banner. Color in the banner with the colored pencil. Use steady, gentle strokes to give the banner an even, colorful fill.
STEP 3: Start outlining the banner. Using two strands of black floss, outline the banner with backstitch.
STEP 4: Finish outlining the banner. Now it’s time to complete the whipped backstitch. Using two strands of black floss, bring your needle to the front of the fabric at the bottom left corner of the banner. Guide the needle under the thread of the first backstitch. Bring your needle over the first backstitch and guide it under the second backstitch. Repeat, pulling the floss gently as you wrap it around each backstitch you made in step 3. When you reach a corner, bring your needle to the back of the fabric to secure the thread, and start again on the next straight edge. Continue until you have stitched along the entire outline, then bring your needle to the back of the fabric at the starting point.
STEP 5: Stitch the text. Using two strands of black floss, outline the letters in backstitch. Keep your stitches uniform in length and make them short so you can closely follow the letters' contours.
STEP 6: Stitch the flower stems. Using three strands of bright-green floss, outline the flower stems in stem stitch. Make a 1/4" stitch along a stem line, but don’t pull the thread all the way through. Instead, gently hold the thread to the side, making a small arch. Bring your needle up between the ends of the arch. Now pull the thread taut, making the arch flat. Make another straight stitch, holding the thread to the side to make a small arch. Bring your needle up between the ends of the arch, using the same hole as the end of the arch from the first stitch.
STEP 7: Stitch the leaves. Using four strands of bright-green floss, fill in the leaves with leaf stitch. Start with one straight stitch down the center of the leaf. Make it from the leaf's tip to about three quarters of the way to the base. Start the second stitch by bringing the needle out on the top left side of the first stitch at the edge of the leaf. Cross over the first stitch, ending just to its right in the middle of the leaf. Repeat on the opposite side of the leaf. Continue stitching to the base of the leaf, keeping your stitches parallel to one another on each side.
STEP 8: Stitch the flower petals. Using four strands of yellow floss, fill in a flower with satin stitch. Start at the tip of each petal and end at the flower’s center, keeping the stitches compact and equal in length. Repeat with the coral and orange floss to fill the remaining flowers.
STEP 9: Stitch the flower centers. Using six strands of dark-brown floss, fill the flower centers with compact French knots (about ten per flower center). Wrap the floss around your needle one to two times for each knot.
STEP 10: Stitch the flower branches. Using three strands of yellow-green floss, outline the branches with fern stitch. Backstitch along the main branch, then add short straight stitches for the twigs where the backstitches meet.
STEP 11: Stitch the flower buds. Using six strands of salmon floss, make a French knot at the end of each twig. Wrap the floss around your needle one to two times to make small, tidy flower buds. Finally, add a French knot wherever a dot is shown on the pattern.
STEP 12: Finish. Finish your hoop and remove any transfer pen marks as needed.
Project by Celeste Johnston from the book, Sunny Stitches
Blog by Jules Hostetter