Making embroidered necklaces for my booth at a local shop in my city is one of my favorite things. I recently found these super fun wooden necklace bezels on Amazon and they make the coolest landscape style, hand embroidered necklaces. They are lightweight and reasonably priced. They come in a pack of 10, so you can make a bunch on necklaces and the cords come already attached.
When I make my necklaces, I embroider the scenes first onto a piece of hooped fabric. Then I cut out the stitched circles, with enough of an edge to do a running stitch around. I cut out a small circular piece of cardboard to insert into the bezel. You can also use a button. Next, stitch a running stitch around the outside of your fabric circle and cinch it closed around the back of the cardboard or button.
Add a dab of glue to the inside of the bezel and glue your embroidered landscape to the inside of your bezel. My favorite glue is E6000 clear odorless glue .
I use clothes pins to hold the embroidery in place for 12-24 hours until the glue has set completely.
I get most of my embroidery supplies on Amazon. Here are some of my favorites:
For quite some time, I have been wanting to try out watercolor with embroidery and I decided that Easter was the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I bought an inexpensive set of watercolors at Hobby Lobby, but after testing them out, I realized that the colors I wanted were not in the palette. So I experimented with adding water to acrylic paint, and I have to say that I am very pleased with the results. Just a small quirt of acrylic paint mixed with water worked brilliantly.
My first attempt was a bust. I painted my fabric too close to the edge of the eggs and bunnies and it bled over quite a bit. With just a few tweaks, I found a good system. I embroidered the outline using a back stitch first. Then I added the watercolor, starting in the center of the egg or bunny and worked my way toward the outer edge, being careful to wait to see how far the watercolors spread. As I got closer to the edge, I made sure the brush was less saturated and dabbed very gently.
After letting the watercolors dry completely, I stitched the floral designs inside of the eggs and bunnies. I used a heat erasable fabric pen to trace out the pattern before adding the watercolors, and because the colors were pastels, it was easy to see the pattern inside of the bunnies and eggs, even after painting.
If you love embroidery or are interested in learning, here is what you will need to make these beautiful pastel Easter Patterns:
If you purchase my pattern, you will also get access to a full video tutorial for the egg pattern on my new YouTube Channel “thistles and rainbows,” as well as a tutorial on how to do the woven wheel rose stitch so that you can complete the bunny pattern.
Embroidery has become one of my favorite hobbies. I find it to be a relaxing way to get quiet in the midst of the noise and business of life. The pattern possibilities are endless and I have several more in the works right now. Keep checking my Etsy Shop for fun new embroidery patterns and more.
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and you may be thinking about what you have in your closet with a pop of green so that you don’t get pinched. Well look no further! Add a whimsical touch of green to any outfit with a gorgeous hand embroidered shamrock necklace, now available in my Etsy Shop.
If you are familiar with embroidery, and want to make your own, I’ll include links to all of the products I used. You can also find tips on how to make embroidered necklaces in my previous post Vintage Style Embroidered Floral Necklaces.
Embroidering a shamrock is easier than I thought. I always use a heat erasable pen or a water soluble marker when drawing patterns on fabric. I just picked up this set by Pilot and they work really well for small details like these tiny shamrocks. For the leaves of the shamrock, I used a fly stitch, and for the stem I used a straight stitch. #commissionsearned
You can find these beautiful square gold bezels here and the gold chains here. They are both high quality and look amazing! I use E 6000 plus glue and white cotton fabric that you can find at your local fabric store. Any green embroidery floss will work for your tiny shamrocks. Just pick a color that you love and stitch away. #commissionsearned
I made a small collection of these necklaces, so here is what my little shamrocks looked like before I made them into necklaces.
And here’s the finished product! You can purchase one of these tiny clover necklaces in my Etsy Shop.
If you’ve been following my blog, then you know that embroidery has become one of my passions. I love learning new stitches and creating beautiful things, and these vintage style necklaces have become some of my favorites. They may look complicated, but they are actually easier than you would expect.
You can find countless tutorials on youtube on how to do various embroidery stitches, but one of my goals for 2024 is to create my own channel to teach people how to do embroidery. Stay tuned for more information about that. If you are wanting to learn how to make similar necklaces or keychains, here is what you will need.
cardboard for bezel inserts (I cut mine on my Cricut Maker 3, but you can use scissors and an empty cereal box)
#commissionsearned
Space out your embroidery so that you can easily cut around each one. I like to use a water soluble fabric marker to draw little circles in the same size as the bezel so that each one fits inside of the circle. I also use the fabric marker to trace around the fabric before I cut it. Leave enough of an edge to fit around the cardboard circle insert.
Optional tip: I like to cut a small circle of felt (the same size as the cardboard insert) to place in between the fabric and the cardboard circle to make the fabric and embroidery puff up a bit.
Cut a small circle out of cardboard to fit inside of the bezel. Some bezels come with glass or metal inserts so you don’t have to make your own. Use a running stitch around the excess fabric and cinch it to tighten around the back. Then use the rest of the thread in a criss cross pattern to tighten the folds in place so that the fabric lays as flat as possible against the cardboard.
Use a generous glob of E6000 crystal clear glue inside of the bezel. You should have a thin layer around the inside of the metal, but not so much that it will squeeze out over the edge when you press the embroidery on it. Place the fabric/embroidery inside of the bezel and hold in place with 2-3 clothes pins. Let them dry for 24 hours and then remove the clothes pins and gently fluff up any indents with your fingers. Add a chain and your necklaces are ready to wear. If you are making keychains, then attach the keychain holders instead of adding a necklace chain.
I’ve included a picture of my most recent craft fair so that you can see how I display my necklaces and keychains. I used my Cricut Maker 3 to create the necklace holders out of card stock. #commissionsearned I do currently have a small collection of St. Patrick’d Day embroidered necklaces in my Etsy Shop if you are looking to purchase one.
My favorite thing about making these necklaces and keychains is that each one is unique and there are so many variations you can create. Embroidery is a lost art, but it is making a come back. If you are interested in learning more about embroidery, follow along with me on my blog. I have a lot of fun projects and tutorials planned for the new year!
When I was in middle school, I took a home economics class and we spent some time learning how to do embroidery. It’s something that I dabbled in a bit over the years, but recently, I have fallen in love with it in a new way. I have been working on a collection of embroidered pieces to sell locally, and am now branching out to create my own embroidery patterns for my new Etsy Shop, Thistles and Rainbows. This is the first full pattern that I created from scratch and I’m super proud of myself!
I was standing in line at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and I saw a display of candles in this color pallet. I snapped a quick picture and decided that I had to create something featuring this beautiful array. With Christmas just around the corner, I set out to make my floral Christmas tree embroidery design.
Recently, I had the privilege of spending the weekend in a cozy cabin in the woods with my daughter and her orchestra class for a music retreat. I knew I would be sitting for hours, listening to middle schoolers practice, so I brought my traced out tree pattern, needles, and embroidery thread. I stitched out every flower, leaf, twig, and holly berry to the sound of stringed instruments. They even played a medley of Christmas songs, so it could not have made for a better setting to indulge in one of my favorite past times. I am affectionately calling this pattern “cabin tree.”
If you love embroidery as much as I do, and are looking for a new pattern to add to your holiday collection, or if you have always wanted to try embroidery, but haven’t known where to start, this is the perfect pattern. You can find the PDF printable instant download for “cabin tree” in my Etsy shop. I have included the printable pattern in two different sizes, as well as a detailed set of instructions, tutorials, and tips for making this a great project for beginners, and yes, seasoned creatives will enjoy it just as much!
If you are new to embroidery and need some supplies to get started, here’s a great list:
And if you have come to this blog post because you purchased my Floral Christmas Tree pattern on Etsy, first of all, thank you for supporting my small business. In addition to the PDF pattern and instructions you purchased, I’ve included some short video tutorials to help you with the various stitches.
I hope that these short tutorials made it easy to learn some of the most commonly used embroidery stitches. Follow my Etsy Shop for other PDF patterns and printables and have a wonderful Christmas!
kerricreates 