A Joyful Abode has an easy to follow tutorial on how to embroider shisha mirrors.  What are shisha mirrors you ask?   They are little mirrors that are used to embellish clothing, textiles and home accessories – most commonly found in east Indian textiles.  Go check it out!

image source

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useful links – how to embroider shisha mirrors

For the sake of clarity, I’m going to be using left & right to designate which side of the fabric I’m working on.  Here’s a step-by-step how-to:

Thread your needle and knot the end.  Bring the needle up from the wrong side of the left piece of fabric.

Now take the needle and bring it over the left side and push it through the right piece of fabric, from underneath.

Bring the thread up over the right piece of fabric.

Once again, the needle goes over top of the right piece of fabric and underneath the left side of fabric.  Keep on repeating the process of go over one piece of fabric and underneath the other half of the fabric.

Here’s what the finished stitch looks like:

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stitch of the day – baseball stitch

Of course, when I’m not able to check my email or write, I do have a chance to play with techniques in my studio

I finally picked up an embroidery hoop (actually I got three) and have been working on a little igolochkoy (Russian punch needle) Christmas tree ornament.   Here’s what the front looks like so far:

The needle creates a little tuft of thread as you push it through the back.  I’ll post a more detailed look at how the needles work tomorrow.

Here’s what the back looks like:

Keep in mind, I haven’t done any igolochkoy for a good ten years, so it’s a little sloppier than I’d like

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playing with igolochkoy

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Crochet Stitches

My name is Cathy and I am thrilled to be writing for the Tangled Thread!  We are going to explore all kinds of needle craft from crochet to needlepoint, knitting, crewel embroidery and much more.

If there is anything you want to talk about please post a comment.  I’d like this to be an interactive blog where crafters feel free to talk about what they like, what they don’t like, and to ask questions.

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Introduction

I hadn’t been doing as much stitching, as it was making my eyes hurt. But now I have new lenses in my glasses, and the mad rush of many houseguests has calmed a bit. That means over the last couple of days I have had time to work on my needlecase! yay!

I realized in the reading of my chart last evening that I need to backstitch around the flowers in the center motif with gold metallic. I’d thought I was done with that one (except for beads & crystals, which I’m going to add last so I don’t catch my floss on them while stitching). *sigh*

This second motif I’m working on is going really quickly. I have to do some more leaves and vines, a couple butterflies, and the filling stitches on the hardanger blocks. I’d better get the whole needlecase done soon, because I have started a bad habit of sticking my needle into the leg of my pants and then forgetting it is there.

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A Needlecase Update!

I started filling the petals on the rosebud with split stitch, and the leaves with satin stitch. So far I like the effect it has.

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Rose Pillowcase WIP

Stitching Tips & Techniques: this site has a page covering basic cross stitch information, as well as a page devoted to the specialty stitches (which they refer to as Palette stitches). They also have a page on stitches in Ribbon Embroidery. What I like about this site, is that they show the stitch on both Aida and Linen (evenweave).

Rissa’s Pieces Stitch Dictionary: this site is an excellent needlework tutorial, covering a plethora of stitches used in various forms of needlework. Especially of interest are all of the examples that show the stitch worked with beads. This site does not show the stitches on a grid, so it may be more useful for someone who already has a good grasp of what their stitching grid is. However, I have found the illustrations to be clear and the directions concise.

Avvio uncinetto: this specific page illustrates the basic cross stitch. (much of the site is in English, Hungarian and Italian. A few pages seem to be only in English and Hungarian.) What I like about the cross stitch page is that it shows actual needle and floss in actual cloth. (Not to mention the irreverent concept of which direction one works the stitches! My kind of stitcher!)

Lorelei-City Crafts also has a stitch information page, which illustrates cross stitch, back stitch, and three-quarter stitch. The illustrations are self-explanatory (which is helpful for those who do not read/speak Bulgarian). And the method/direction of forming the stitch non-standard (which is nice, because I get more than a bit irritated with “rules” about how one Must Stitch).

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Stitching Tutorials

I have an ongoing interest in all things Egyptian, and for the stitcher there are many patterns available. My impetus for keeping focused on stitching “Frederick the Literate” is the promise and lure of Teresa Wentzler’s “Egyptian Sampler” (which is whispering to me from my stash).

For one wanting a less ambitious (short-term reward, satisfaction of a project completion), perhaps one of Permin’s small kits would be just the thing.

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theme: Egypt