MATERIALS
Fabric: 35x35cm
Stranded cotton: see Notes Transfer pen or pencil
Embroidery hoop: 13cm diameter Basic embroidery kit
STITCHES USED
French Knots, Long and Short Stitch, Satin Stitch, Split Stitch, Straight Stitch
NOTES
Find the template on p59. DMC stranded cotton, 1 skein of each: 310 (black), 783 (gold), 791 (dark purple-blue), 792 (light purple-blue), 796 (dark blue), 797 (medium blue), 798 (light blue), 898 (brown), 996 (bright blue), 3866 (cream).
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Before you begin, make sure your fabric is stretched tightly in the hoop. Keeping it taut will not only ensure your design transfers correctly and without distortion, but it will also help you keep your stitches neat and prevent any warping of the fabric.
Transfer the design from the template using your preferred method. Emillie traced hers using a sharp pencil and a lightbox.
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BRANCHES
Work the branches in Split Stitch using two strands of brown, working small stitches to make the curves smoother. Follow the line of the branch, but don’t embroider all the way to the tips of the branch at this point. Work the tips in one strand of brown to give the illusion of the branch becoming thinner at the HQG ZKHUH LW PHHWV WKH RZHU EORVVRPV
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Work the daisy petals using one strand of cream in a mixture of Straight Stitch and Long and Short Stitch. Use three strands of gold to work the French Knots in the centre of the daisy, wrapping the thread twice. )RU WKH RZHU EORVVRPV RQ WKH EUDQFKHV use three strands of gold to work the )UHQFK .QRWV WR OO WKH DUHDV DW WKH WLS RI the branches. Don’t worry too much about the placement, and make the blossoms as big or small as you like. You can also scatter WKH )UHQFK .QRWV DURXQG WKH EXWWHU \ WR represent loose blossoms.
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Work the sun and stars using one strand of gold: work Split Stitch for the body of the sun, and overlapping Straight Stitches for the sun rays and the stars.
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DAISY AND BLOSSOM SUN AND STARS BUTTERFLY BODY
Outline the body and work the antennae
in Split Stitch using one strand of brown. Overlap a few more stitches at the very top tips of the antennae to make them appear thicker. Fill the body in Satin Stitch using one strand of brown. Work the stitches horizontally, placing the needle just outside the Split Stitch outline to help keep the edges QHDW DQG GH QHG
Use one strand of black to begin working the Long and Short Stitch on the upper part of both wings. Use one strand of brown WR FRQWLQXH OOLQJ WKHVH XSSHU DUHDV RI both wings with Long and Short Stitch.
Keep the stitches small and close together for working round the curves neatly. Using one strand of cream, work Long and Short 6WLWFK WR OO LQ WKH VPDOO VSDFHV LQ WKH EURZQ stitched area.
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All areas of the wings are worked using one strand of stranded cotton. Work the veins on both wings in Split Stitch using dark blue. Don’t worry about being too neat as these are guidelines which will mostly be covered by subsequent stitching. 6WLOO XVLQJ GDUN EOXH OO D VHFWLRQ RI WKH left-hand side of the wing with Long and
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BUTTERFLY WINGS
Short Stitch as pictured. This is a good way of SUDFWLVLQJ IRU OOLQJ WKH ZLQJ VHJPHQWV 8VH EULJKW EOXH WKHQ OLJKW EOXH WR OO the area of the right wing with Long and 6KRUW 6WLWFK 7KLV SDUW RI WKH EXWWHU \ ZLOO add a beautiful iridescent effect, which is the VWULNLQJ IHDWXUH RI EOXH PRUSKR EXWWHU LHV Now work the lower right wing. Use medium blue, then dark blue, continuing to blend Long and Short Stitch outwards. These subtle transitions in colour add the illusion of realism to the embroidery. At this point you can go over the veins of the EXWWHU \ LQ WKLV DUHD LQ 6SOLW 6WLWFK XVLQJ GDUN blue, to make the veins more prominent.
Work the upper right wing in the same way, transitioning from light colours in the centre to dark colours on the outer edges. Fill the upper left and right wings with purpley-blue shades, and the lower left and right wings with only blue shades. Fill the whole area as pictured on the upper right wing with light purple-blue Long and Short Stitch.
Complete the upper right wing with dark purple-blue Long and Short Stitch adding bright blue at the edges. When the Long and Short Stitch is complete, work over
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TIPS & TRICKS
Remember to keep referring back to the Embroidery guide as you are stitching to make sure you work the correct stitch and colour in each area.
Once all your stitching is complete, gently wash your fabric if you need to remove any marks. If not, then simply press it on the wrong side. When the fabric is dry, mount it back into the hoop, making sure it’s positioned correctly and with the fabric taut. Trim the excess fabric, leaving 5cm all around. Spread glue around the top edge of the inside hoop, pegging the fabric down as you go. When the glue is dry, remove the pegs.