I’ve really been inspired by people who’ve put themselves on the line for the sake of building a better world. I’ve been looking for ways to contribute, if only small ways. This is one of those small ways. It’s a pattern for a hand embroidered atarah, a neckpiece for a tallit prayer shawl. The design … Continue reading
Here’s a quick way to make a whole field of embroidered flowers: the lazy daisy stitch. It’s another variation on that versatile chain stitch. Instead of the loops forming a line, they radiate out in a circle from a center point like flower petals. Five or six loops make a full flower, depending on how … Continue reading
The chain stitch is one of the most widely-used embroidery stitches in folk needle crafts, especially Jewish folk needle crafts. It’s also one of the most versatile. Most of the time the chain stitch is used to make a continuous line of linked loops, like the outlines of the fish and the letters in the … Continue reading
To embroider curved lines, the stem stitch makes a fabulous choice. It turns along curved lines beautifully, and you can vary the thickness of your embroidered line by varying the angle of the needle as you make the stitch. These stitch diagrams illustrate the how-to, and I’ve posted a little hamsa for you to practice … Continue reading
This Sukkot I got the chance to lead a workshop for the Beacon Sukkah Project, a Sukkot-long program of arts and lectures organized by the Beacon Hebrew Alliance and Beacon Arts in Beacon, New York. To fit this year’s theme, “Open to the Sky,” I led an introduction to drawn thread embroidery, and thought I’d … Continue reading
The backstitch is a simple stitch for embroidering lines, and with just a little practice you’ll master a stitch that will take you far. The little dove and olive branch in the design above are embroidered using the backstitch. How to Embroider the Backstitch Bring the needle up through the fabric one stitch away from … Continue reading
