Bohemian style
EMBELLISH A COLOURFUL CUSHION COVER WITH HANDMADE TASSELS AND A STATEMENT DIAMOND EMBROIDERED IN COUCHING STITCH
Laura Strutt
MATERIALS
Cushion cover: 45x45cm Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of blue, green, orange, turquoise; 5 skeins of pink
Erasable marker or dressmaker’s carbon paper
Basic embroidery kit
STITCHES USED
Couching Stitch, Fern Stitch, Straight Stitch
NOTES
Find the template on p64. If you’re using a water or air erasable marker for transferring, 1"01 &1 /01 ,+ 1%" 0" * )),4 + " to make sure it can be removed.
Transfer the design from the template onto the centre of the cushion front using your preferred method.
The whole design is worked using six strands of stranded cotton. Set aside four skeins of pink to make the tassels with later.
Create the outer diamond shape by working one long Straight Stitch for each side in blue. Repeat working over the same stitches to create two base threads running on each side of the diamond.
Couching Stitches are worked over these base threads to hold them in place. To do this, work two small Straight Stitches in turquoise at the diamond points and small evenly spaced stitches over the base threads. Create the inner diamond shape in the same way as the outer diamond using green thread for the long Straight Stitches. Hold these stitches in place using orange thread for the Couching Stitches, in the same way as the outer diamond.
Work a long blue Straight Stitch at each point between the two motifs. Add the outer accents by working four long Straight Stitches on each side in pink and orange.
Work one single Fern Stitch in pink in the centre of each diamond side.
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Alternating between green and orange, create the remaining single Fern
Stitches along each side of the diamond.
Work four single Fern Stitches in blue at the centre of the design. Create two larger ones horizontally and two smaller ones vertically. To make a tassel, take one whole skein of pink stranded cotton. Fold it in half and cut through the loops at one end. Fold this in half and use one of the lengths of thread to secure at the top with a knot to make the hanging threads. Wrap another length around the top of the fold to secure. Thread the hanging threads though one corner of the cushion and knot together. Repeat to make and attach the other three tassels.
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Designer/maker Laura lives in Colchester with her husband, two children and !,$ ))"! )" 2/ has written a number of / ,,(0 &+ )2!&+$ Modern Embroidery, published by CICO.