Table of contents for October/November 2022 in Stitch

Christmas always comes early in the world of Stitch! We are only in our October/November issue, but in order to ensure you have enough time to get cracking with needle and thread before December, we’ve included several festive projects to start now. There are plenty of options for decking the halls this year with your own creations. Our stunning cover project, Jenni Davis’ sequins wreath (page 7), ingeniously embraces warm winter colours using variegated threads and sequin flowers. It makes for an original twist on a traditional wreath and is one that can be brought out year after year. For more beautiful decorations to make, I’m sure you’ll fall in love, as I have done, with our needle felted robin and dove from new contributor Catriona Patience, on page 25.…

FIND THE TEMPLATES FOR THIS PROJECT ON PAGE 59 When it comes to Christmas, I’m always drawn to beautiful festive floral wreaths, but I think it’s such a shame other people get to enjoy them more, with them hanging outside on the front door! I really wanted to create a beautiful wreath that would look perfect displayed inside around all through the festivities and winter. I’ve combined an embroidered base design with 3D sequin flowers. When all the sequins catch the light and just sparkle away, to me there is nothing more Christmassy than that! YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Fabric: Cream cotton: fat quarter (I’ve used Kona Cotton, Ivory)• Stranded cotton, DMC 105, Variegated brown• Felt for backing, 19 x 19cm• Cotton thread (For backing) • Seed beads: -…

Have a wee wander outside, if you get a chance before starting this festive project, and watch how the birds you see move and express their characters. No two birds are identical, and this goes for needle-felted birds too! I’ve provided the step-by-step instructions here, but feel free to make the birds your own and adapt the colours – and remember that old adage – no-one else can make the bird that you can make! YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS FOR THE DOVE • Felting wool (I use carded Corriedale Slivers) in the following colours:- White- Black- Green• Green ribbon (I got mine from Rustic Wrap on Etsy)• White beeswax (available from Mum’s Makery or Myriad) EQUIPMENT FOR BOTH BIRDS • Needles: - Felting x3 (I used Heidi Feather’s triangular felting…

The Alhambra Palace in Spain is a treasure trove of patterns. They are based on geometric and biomorphic patterns that can be drawn using a compass and a ruler. I’ve been learning these traditional patterns for over two years now and I am obsessed! This pattern is an adaptation of one of the Court of Lion rosettes and is based on a traditional 8-fold curvilinear knot pattern. YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Fabric: - Calico, 30 x 30cm- Background fabric: Moda Grunge, colour Bison (416), 30 x 30cm- Cork fabric with gold flecks, 8 x 11cm- Felt, Tan or Yellow (any colour would do), 10 x 12cm • Threads: - Pearl purl 1mm, Dark gold (EM4), 6m- Gutermann Sew All:- 417, 1 reel- 215, 1 reel- 6-ply metallic twists similar…

Find details of this issue’s competitions at: bit.ly/stitch-win The closing date is Wednesday 23 November 2022. Prizes, gifts, or give-aways offered in competitions might be substituted with ones of similar value. Unless otherwise stated, all competitions, free samplings, discounts and offers are only available to readers in the United Kingdom. Winners are picked at random; the Editor’s decision is final. You’ll need to register if you’ve not already done so. Please state when entering if you do NOT wish Warner’s Group Publications plc to contact you regarding their products or services that may be of interest. Or for your details to be shared with reputable third party companies. Full terms and conditions are available on our website at warnersgroup.co.uk/competition-terms/ Joinus: facebook.com/stitchmag Follow us: instagram.com/stitch_magazine Email us: stitcheditor@warnersgroup.co.uk Visit us: www.stitchmag.co.uk…

Autumn is always a season of joy to me. As I am feasting my eyes on beautiful leaves and fruits on the trees, I designed this smiley fox so that you could join me in celebrating this wonderful time of year. He’s worked using long and short stitch and the decorative acorns and leaves add texture and contrast with an element of appliqué and dimensional stitches. YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Fabric: - Linen (background), Dark green: 25 x 25cm- Linen (leaves), Olive green, 10 x 10cm- Lightweight calico: 25 x 25cm- Beige felt: 8 x 8cm- Backing fabric, cotton (plain or print of your choice): 25 x 25cm • Threads: - DMC stranded cotton:(leaves) 832, (orange on fox): 3853, 3854, 920, 976, 400. (grey on fox): 3021, 453, 645, 646,…

THIS MONTH! Stitch ENJOY 10% with FREE UK delivery! RRP £16.99 £15.29 Crewel Animal Portraits is a celebration of Hazel Blomkamp’s signature techniques: a wide variety of surface/crewel stitches, some of which are brand new, and many with a different take, or different ways of combining stitches to make them more interesting. For embroiderers looking for something different and new to stitch, and for those keen to challenge themselves with more complex embroidery techniques, this book is a must-have. RRP £19.99 £17.99 Prolific and popular felt artist, Moy Mackay, shows you how to find inspiration for your own felt painting creations. Delve into the catalogue of Moy’s beautiful, colourful sketchbooks and photographs and learn about her own design process and influences, through which your own artistic abilities can be explored. This…

Colbert Embroidery is something I came across in my collection of vintage embroidery books. It is produced by creating an outline using vivid colours and then a background is worked in paler colours over counted threads. I believe a great deal of the historical designs that were used for this technique of embroidery were inspired by Japanese design motifs. This design is a mixture of counted work, back, stem and satin stitches. If you are short of time, I suggest you work a slightly smaller design. You can of course make the design into a cushion if you prefer. YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Fabric: - Evenweave fabric, 40 x 40cm, or allow a bit extra for framing (I used a 35 count Edinburgh Linen in white)- Calico, 40 x…

YOU WILL NEED MATERIALS • Soluble fleece pieces: - 15cm square x 4- 18cm square x 2- 22cm square x 2 • Embroidery thread: - DMC 4045, Green Variations• Covered wire; gauge 26, 10 X 30cm lengths• Selection of sequins; 4-6mm EQUIPMENT • Needles; hand embroidery• Scissors; embroidery• Gel pen or pencil• Embroidery hoops; 5in (2cm), 6in (18cm), 8in (20cm)• Wire snips and small pliers• Warm water and clean dry cloth• LED candle STITCHES & TECHNIQUES Tracing, Buttonhole Stitch, Covered Running Thread, Running Thread with Sequin, Slip Knot See Stitch Guide for full stitch formation details. Finished size; 7 x 12cm (excluding loop) IMPORTANT! To prevent any risk of a fire hazard your Christmas tree lantern is suitable for an LED light only! FORM YOUR TREE BASE Top Section 1…

LEARN NEW WAYS WITH STITCHES! PERFECT PRESENTS Alex Law shows how to use crewelwork to make unique gift bags for friends and family. WINTER STAG Upcycle old denim to make Debbie Harding’s blackwork cushion. FESTIVE POINSETTIAS Choose from a red or white brooch made with free-motion embroidered fabric layers. SNOWDROP JOY Herald in the new year with Tanya Haines’ exquisite ribbonwork sewing accessories. PLUS! ✶ Penguin Parade: Maggie Gee’s cute appliqué hot water bottle cover ✶ Winter Tree Card: Try Gini Armitage’s clever Dorset Wheel design ✶ Japanese Stumpwork & Goldwork: Stitch a stunning Slate Butterfly IN SHOPS THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2022 DIGITAL & SUBSCRIPTION COPIES AVAILABLE THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2022* FOR OFFERS VISIT WWW.STITCHMAG.CO.UK STITCHING KNOW-HOW • NEW TECHNIQUES • ALL THE STEPS • EVERY ISSUE Contents may be…

IN YOUR NEXT MONTH’S E-NEWSLETTER: ✓ ‘MEET’ INCITEFUL ARTISANS WHO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND EXPERTISE.✓ CONTINUE TO DELVE INTO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF EMBROIDERY WITH TUTORIALS… Plus, much more! SIGN UP TODAY: BIT.LY/STCHSIGNUP FREE DOWNLOAD…

RECORD, MAP & CAPTURE IN TEXTILE ART By: Jordan Cunliffe Publisher: Batsford ISBN: 978-1-849947190 RRP: £22.95 3 COPIES TO GIVE AWAY A current trend of transforming data into textile art is growing more popular. This book shows how to take the leap from recording raw data and personal experience and turn it into a textile art piece. The bulk of the book showcases artists’ works, with examples including morse code messages secretly woven into a scarf and algorithms used to determine stitch patterns, plus the author gives all the information needed to try this type of work for yourself. JAPANESE MOTIFS IN STUMPWORK & GOLDWORK By: Jane Nicholas Publisher: Search Press ISBN: 978-1-78221-6797 RRP: £25 3 COPIES TO GIVE AWAY The author presents 12 designs created with various combinations of…

How long has the group been running? We were inaugurated in 1999 as the Market Harborough Branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild – so our planned 21st anniversary celebration and exhibition was interrupted by Covid. Now as Aspects of Stitch we are planning to make our exhibition in September as big and representative as possible. Our membership as of today is 25, with several possible newcomers joining soon. Where do you meet and how often? We meet at Roman Way Day Care Centre on Roman Way in Market Harborough. We meet once a month on the 4th Thursday of each month at 7pm for a 7.15pm start. What are typical group activities? The current programme includes a transfer print and stitch mini workshop, a talk by a Bollywood costume designer, a…

We love your Christmas roses centrepiece in this issue – what did you enjoy the most about creating it? I enjoyed creating a lacy flower that was shaped and yet hadn’t been made using wire or fishing line to pull it into shape. I wanted to keep it simple so that people would be inspired to have a go and if they wanted to make several of them, wouldn’t be put off by the process. I love the texture in the holly leaves and the dusky colours of the whole centrepiece. The crystals and sequins will be be so pretty when they catch the light as well. You used to work creating headdresses and accessories – tell us about your journey to becoming a textile/embroidery artist… My journey started when…

Tell us a little about your background and how you would describe your work… A fascination with embroidery first caught my imagination as a child. I have a vivid memory of an aunt opening a drawer bursting with haberdashery; my eyes were entranced by embroidery threads, beads and trimmings! Growing up in the countryside inspired a love of nature, and nurtured my artistic career which was shaped by fine art studies in the late 1960s. A passion for fashion was sparked during my childhood: dressing-up days and catching glimpses of my mother’s glittering dance dresses. My embroidery creations have always intertwined references from the romance of fashion’s history with the inspiring delights of nature’s world. Styling stitch decoration as a wearable art has always been a key element of my…

Autumn Friend Page 13 Scale: 100% A WORD ON COPYRIGHT Sharing may be encouraged in many aspects of life, but when it comes to original material, you have to be wary of copyright. By all means, copy the project or demonstration for your OWN PLEASURE, but no part of this magazine may be published, reproduced, copied, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. Even where permission is gained, it’s still courteous to credit the original source and designer. Any activity used to benefit commercially from the magazine is not permitted. By respecting copyright, you ensure that we, as publishers, can continue to provide you with the content you want. For more on how you can navigate this tricky area, visit hobbies-and-crafts.co.uk/information/copyright. For…