Deerly beloved
Combine appliqué with embroidery for this cute design
YOU WILL NEED
■ Fusible webbing, such as Bondaweb ■ Fawn- coloured felt: approx. 12cm
square
■ White or cream coloured felt:
approx. 30cm square
■ Mid weight cotton or linen fabric:
approx. 30cm square
■ Stranded cotton in your choice
of colours
■ Embroidery hoops: 18cm for
framing plus one larger for working ■ Air or water soluble fabric pen
■ Embroidery needle
■ Acrylic or craft paint ( optional)
■ Fine- grade sandpaper ( optional)
■ PVA glue
NOTES
■ Turn to p156- 157 for the templates
and stitch guide
Introduce a little folk art into your space – or gift it as a birth or wedding sampler – with this super- cute fawn design that uses seven stitches – satin, straight, French knot, split, whipped backstitch, lazy daisy and backstitch. To personalise your work, add a name and date in backstitch in the space next to the fawn’s head. You could also take a couple of the flower and leaf motifs and stitch them onto a gift tag, or maybe a child’s pocket. Use two strands of thread for all of the stitching, and make sure you work in a large embroidery hoop to keep your work neat and even.
HOW TO MAKE THE FOLK ART HOOP
Step one Trace the three deer templates ( body, head and face) onto fusible webbing. Roughly cut out, leaving a narrow border around the edge of each piece. Iron the body and face pieces onto fawn- coloured felt, and the head onto white.
Step two Cut out the three felt pieces, trimming neatly all around the drawn outlines. Step three Peel off the paper backing, leaving you with felt pieces ready to assemble. 1
Step four Iron into place on your background fabric – the body section first, then the head and finally the face. 2
Step five Using the template as a guide, draw on facial details using a soluble pen. Fill in the eyes and nose with black satin stitch, adding a tiny white stitch in the centre of each one to create a ‘ catchlight’ effect. Use whipped backstitch for the ear details, and random straight stitches to add texture to the centre of the face. 3
Step six Trace the antlers, mountain background and flower border onto the fabric with a soluble pen. You may have to freehand draw the parts that cross over the deer, if the felt is too thick. 4
Step seven Stretch your fabric into a hoop, ready to add the stitched details. It’s a good idea to work in a larger 20cm or 23cm hoop for this, as the flower border would sit too close to the edges of an 18cm hoop ( which is the size you’ll eventually use for framing). Stitch the leaf- like antlers into place to finish off the deer. Make a row of backstitches along the centre of each one, and then add a lazy daisy stitch to make each leaf. 5
Step eight Begin sewing the flower and toadstool borders into place, using the stitch guide to help, or working your own favourite embroidery stitches instead. 6
Step nine When the flowers are complete, stitch the trees and mountains using a mixture of straight stitch, backstitch and whipped backstitch. Pick thread colours that blend with your background and are a little more muted than those in the flower border. 7
Step ten If you’d like a colourful frame, brush a
layer of acrylic paint onto the 18cm embroidery hoop. Leave to dry, then rub gently with sandpaper to smooth the surface. Repeat twice more. 8
Step eleven Dampen your fabric to remove any soluble marker lines that are still visible, then iron it flat. Carefully stretch into the painted hoop and tighten the screw. Trim away excess fabric to leave a border 2- 3cm ( 1- 1 ” ) wide all the way around. Sew a line of large running stitches around the edge, pull tight to gather and then knot to secure. 9
Step twelve Cut out a 17cm circle of white felt. Brush a strip of PVA glue, 1- 2cm wide, around the outer edges. Press down over the back of the hoop to hide your stitching and the gathered edges. 10