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| No beads added to the centers yet! |
Since I was seduced by beads and bead embroidery so many years ago, I have somewhat neglected my thread embroidery skills, if I ever really had any. Part of my new year's resolutions was to try something new, so I dug out an old book I'd purchased but never used, and put my needle to work: The Art of Dimensional Embroidery
by Maria A. Freitas.If you are proficient at thread embroidery, you'll see all kinds of imperfections and irregularities in my stitches. I just want you to know that I got better as I went along! My next step is to fill in the centers, with beads of course.
Added later: Here is the finished piece
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| Pistol stitch flowers |
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| Bullion and loop stitch flowers |
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| Knotted chain, bullion, cast-on, and pistol stitches |
The book features what is called the Brazilian style of embroidery, which is a raised form that usually features rayon threads. I used some rayon, but mostly stuck with the cottons, silks, and blends that I already own. I highly recommend Maria's book (all the stitches are shown as black and white drawings...very easy to follow), but if you'd like to see a few of the easier stitches online first before you decide, here are a few resources:
Loretta's Custom Stitchery
Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery
Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
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Comments
By the way, did you see the button dress from CHA?
Thanks for sharing that button dress...that's amazing!