I Taught Myself Embroidery in One Day (For Capsule Wardrobe Purposes)

You know those SMART goals your supervisor at work is always bugging you. to fill in on the monthly one-on-one form? You can use that evil thing for the power of good.
In other words, I bought an $8 kit from Michaels so I can figure out what I'm doing for the next step of my ongoing Capsule Wardrobe project...
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Michael's - www.michaels.com/
Loops and Threads Beaded Bee - www.michaels.com/product/bumb...
Ottlite chest magnifier
DMC Embroidery Floss - amzn.to/3xXbcHD
Anchor Embroidery Floss - amzn.to/3VR0DOh
Floss Organizer(s) - amzn.to/3WdUnR9
Music courtesy Epidemic Sound. My subscription covers my KZbin channel, Twitch, and Instagram. If you're interested in Epidemic and their awesome licensed music, you can check them out at this affiliate link (it helps out the channel): www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
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[@mercywalschek2695]

Ah yes. The obligatory pettings of the cat before you are finally are aloud to stitch.

[@MaireColclough]

Oh, you're still not allowed to stitch. Obviously you must keep petting the cat 🤣

[@mandylavida]

Cats are nothing compared to two boxer dogs demanding attention. Cats weigh, what, a couple of kilos? Try pushing away a total of 80 kilos of dim dogs with a needle in your hand (literally doing just that this morning)

[@fikanera838]

This came up directly after Bernardette's video about the embroidered waistcoat. Perfect for people whose appetite for embroidery has been whetted! I love your bee.🐝

[@MaireColclough]

Yay! Thank you Algorithm 😉 (the waistcoat is fabulous...simply fabulous)

[@fikanera838]

@@MaireColclough Too true! Seeing it on Heathcliff was quite mesmerising with the little spangles flickering.

[@ThePrairierider]

Same here!🙂

[@patriciakellyadams134]

Embroidery is my jam. My best advice is embroider all the boring or dull areas first, then do the pretty, fun ones. Completely not modest here, but what I can do with a needle and thread is amazing. There are an amazing array of brands of floss. 19. I have 19 embroidery bins with floss sorted by color and type. Plus one larger bin that I keep my current floss needs. And the ziploc bags to hold WIP's are a brilliant idea.

[@DAYBROK3]

i wish i had the space for that many bins

[@patriciakellyadams134]

@DAYBROK3 Luckily, I have a sewing room. It was one of my kids' rooms, but I changed it to my sewing room after my daughter got married.

[@MaireColclough]

Your floss stash sounds impressive! I took a field trip to Michael's and was dazzled by the array of colours (but they were missing 3000 - 3012, which was frustrating when looking for 3011) 🤣

[@margaretkaraba8161]

I learned to embroider in an art class when I was 8 - at school. My mum didn't embroider (she occasionally knitted and I learned the basics from her, but I thought it was boring (go figure - I picked it back up when I was 40) and we were too far from any other relative. I learned stem stitch, chain stitch, french knots, satin stitch and some others in that class. I still (50 years laater) have skeins left over from then (I now mainly do tapestry work and cross stich.)

[@MaireColclough]

OooOo! Tapestry work! I've always been intrigued by tapestry work (but never done it). One more thing to put on the list 😃

[@Nessi-dances]

You explained SMART goals way better than any meeting I was in for the 4 years I worked in an office 😮‍💨. Your little bee is so cute! I haven't done embroidery since high school (other than some visible mending type things). Maybe I'll find a little kit I like 😄. One reason that you used more thread than you expected is that you were doing top-to-bottom the whole way (essentially making it double sided), if you don't what that: do *top-to-bottom, over a thread, bottom-to-top, over a thread, repeat from *. Also, play around with how many threads you use at once. I've found that doing 1 or 2 for a quick outline and then going back in with 3+ helpful. 💜

[@MaireColclough]

I can happily apply office skills to crafts, but applying office skills to an office is still a challenge 🤣 Brilliant advice on the stitchwork! Thank you! I hope you find a small kit you like (or even a big one, if that's more your jam!)

[@kristalpower292]

This sounds like something I’d do. Figure out how to do something because I have an idea. Side note how awesome to see a video so close to its upload. Often I’m watching hours later because of time difference and being on the other side of the world. For reference it was about 10pm on Saturday 6th July. So hello from Australia.

[@MaireColclough]

Hello Australia! 😉 I'm trying to upload a bit earlier in the morning for folks on the East Coast and parts elswhere - glad it found you earlier than usual! 😃

[@AModNamedMel]

A very good bee and a very good start into embroidery! Trust me, embroidering your clothes is addicting and very fun (you can also cross stitch on them using waste canvas which is double the fun!)

[@MaireColclough]

I love the look of embroidered embellishments, so that's a real danger for me 😂

[@velvetvert9431]

Nice work! Your cat going into attack mode on the canvas was hilarious. Good thing you got it all finished and hung up where she can't try to eat it.

[@MaireColclough]

Coraline woke up that morning and chose violence 😁

[@velvetvert9431]

@@MaireColclough Oh also I meant to say that the reference to telephone sanitizers made me laugh out loud

[@MaireColclough]

@@velvetvert9431 I'm glad someone caught the reference! 😁

[@nixhixx]

Granny Weatherwax approves.

[@MaireColclough]

That's a relief! 😁

[@nixhixx]

@@MaireColclough I mean, Yeah. You CERTAINLY don't want her disapproval!

[@lisahodges8299]

Blessings on your house. Birdy

[@nixhixx]

@@lisahodges8299 or hosue

[@joannemcmillan9201]

My mom taught me to sew, crochet, and embroidery. I found I wasn’t fond of embroidery but in the 80s I really got into cross stitch. I’ve done other stitches to complete a cross stitch panel but I have avoided embroidery for years. Which is sad because I do love the look of be it.

[@MaireColclough]

I love the look of it too...I'm trying to untangle a bunch of old hangups about crafts I haven't yet committed to memory 😁

[@esthermcafee5293]

Ma’am, I came here to recover from the trauma of having to make up some BS for my first mid-year PA with my new leader. It’s a good thing the cat is cute or I’d have fled from the discussion of SMART goals. 😂

[@MaireColclough]

🤣 My sympathies...

[@KnitzyKitzy]

I am a very basic embroiderer (a multi crafter and master of none) and my 7 year old embroidered a very basic thing for their Dad this Father’s Day. I let them try anything they want and give them my scraps to mess with much to my mother’s annoyance. My child is the wrong gender, according to her, for sewing and crafting. Never mind that tailors are usually male and fishermen often knitted warm jumpers when the weather was not suitable to go out to sea. Crafting, making, baking, sewing on a button etc should be fun and are life skills all people need. I love your bee 🐝

[@MaireColclough]

For all I know, Mum planned to embroider it herself, and I got in the way 😁

[@TealCheetah]

What a cute, snuggly lil menace!

[@MaireColclough]

She's definitely a menace ... 😁

[@SheilaRyanTX]

That's a good bee! I call it "pro-craftinating" - needing to learn an entirely new technique before I can actually get back to the thing that needs to actually be done!

[@MaireColclough]

lol...I just call it "learning" 😉

[@ecummins8650]

You did fantastic for a beginner! Satin stitch is HARD to get right and yours was perfect. Kudos to you!

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you! 😃

[@theoriginalnik]

“Excuse me young lady” has the same vibe as me going “Sir!” At my dogs 😂 i feel it in my pet mom soul I love this a lot tbh, tiny critters are my favorite genre of embroidery.

[@MaireColclough]

💕

[@theresaanndiaz3179]

I like to embroider but haven't done it in ages. I enjoy your stories about your mom and her methods. They make me think about my own mom and learning handicrafts. My mother did museum quality embroidery, she was learned from Spanish nuns in the 30s. Seriously, she embroidered a tablecloth in the 3rd grade. Anyway, she taught me the "correct way" to do it. She also taught me to crochet and knit but not to sew. I don't remember when I learned to do them.

[@MaireColclough]

Some things we just pick up on your own. I'm glad you had a mother who could teach you so many wonderful things!

[@DAYBROK3]

im impressed at how much floss you have from your mom. im not a cross sticher but i am happiest with a needle and thread (of any sort). as i have mentioned in the past, i think, that i am a student at AUarts (alberta university of the arts) in the craft and emerging arts as a fiber major. so fuzzy and threadish things are MY thing.

[@MaireColclough]

Ours was a collective floss stash. Before I moved out and shacked up with the Husbeast, we were both avid cross-stitchers. So there's a lot! My brother attended AUarts when it was still ACAD. I'm glad they have a craft/emerging arts speciality, because I remember looking for something along those lines a few years ago and didn't see anything. Fantastic! I hope your end-of-year show(s) go well 😃

[@DAYBROK3]

@@MaireColclough so far i manage to miss getting in most shows

[@MaireColclough]

@@DAYBROK3 Hopefully that changes! (unless, of course, you prefer to fly under the radar, in which case, well done!) 😉

[@DAYBROK3]

@@MaireColclough i managed to acquire long covid, so i tire so quickly and suddenly

[@linr8260]

Your little bee is so cute! For satin stitch that looks denser (and also more 3D if you ever want that effect) you also have the option to lay some stitches perpendicularly first to create a thin layer of thread to lay the final ones over. Although honestly yours looked great as is. Also I'm looking forward to that embroidered yoke 👀

[@MaireColclough]

Thanks for the tip! The yoke is proceeding apace 😃

[@KaliTragus]

This makes me want to take a look for one of those kits! A pair of my work pants has a hole from my keys and I'm thinking a flower or two would be nice to cover it up, but I want some practice first.

[@MaireColclough]

I found mine in the small hand-stitching area of Michaels, just off one side of the yarn section. Hope you find a pattern that suits you! 😃

[@stitchwithbritt5922]

You’re bee is so cute🥰 Embroidery is something I want to do more of myself.

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you! It was really quite simple - which made me a very happy camper! 😃

[@nblmqst1167]

"Hello World" pseudo-code completed...ready for the next step.... 😵‍💫. It turned out great!!!

[@MaireColclough]

I'm happy with it! 😃

[@canucknancy4257]

That is bee-autiful. 🐝Kittens really do think they are helping. I have an Nightmare Before Christmas embroidery kit that I picked up last year. This has inspiired me to see what I can do with it. I hope you have a cool spot to hang for the upcoming heatwave. Thanks for sharing your creative adventures. They are so much fun. Take care.

[@MaireColclough]

ooOOoo Nightmare Before Christmas! Would love to see that! I'm hanging in my basement studio. With as few lights as possible... 😁

[@Ane_Rikke]

zip-lock bags for the win!!!

[@aliciacharline]

I recently decided to make a punk aesthetic bag based on a character from a D&D show that I watch, this requires learning embroidery. While I don't have much faith in my potential skill for embroidery the final product is likely to be very forgiving. I am terrified.

[@MaireColclough]

You can do this. It's just fabric and thread. Tips: Buy more fabric than you need, just in case. Explore your options for transferring your pattern. If you're using disappearing ink like frixion, test it on a scrap to see if the fabric reacts negatively to the ink. Take your time, and take it easy on yourself. It's really quite relaxing once you get into it!

[@draughtoflethe]

"a punk aesthetic bag based on a character from a D&D show that I watch" Ashton Greymoore? ^_^ Either way, good luck with the project! The nice thing about the punk aesthetic is that rough and improvised-looking is authentic, so you don't need to worry as much about making everything look polished and perfect.

[@aliciacharline]

@@draughtoflethe That's the one :D Saw the pattern on a rockabilly page and I need a new bag anyway and the gears locked into place, I already have the fabric

[@karengoldie6801]

How nice of you to get kitty a new toy!

[@MaireColclough]

😂

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

It looks wonderful. I’ve dabbled with embroidery. The little kits are fun without overwhelming. It’s a perfect decoration!

[@MaireColclough]

They really are. I'm keeping my eyes open for other cute patterns 😃

[@jeannegreeneyes1319]

That turned out very nicely and makes a fitting piece of wall art

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you so much!

[@winterkoeniginwinternacht2882]

Your bee turned out really pretty, now I want to make one! 😊 Beside my own cross stitch floss stash and a stash given to me by a friend I inherited my grandmother's stash. She did collect the whole Anchor colour palette and several DMC colours (multiple skeins of each). And believe it or not I still had to buy some additional colours for a project 😂. Btw I never wind my skeins, if the thread is pulled out gently the skein will keep intact until the end

[@MaireColclough]

I've tried the "pull and cut" method...sometimes it works for me, but I often end up with a tangled mess, so the bobbins were very useful in our household. I know the pain of sifting through the skeins and still having to buy colours. Thankfully my recent purchases were very affordable. 😁

[@kaytiej8311]

Pick your own goal. Yeah, so appreciate the reminder. Good on you for being courageous and giving this a go. I have utterly wholesome habits too! 😊

[@michellecornum5856]

Green linen project: absolutely.

[@MaireColclough]

I'll put it on the list!

[@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="727">12:07</a> Hahahahahaha omg there is shed cat hair EVERYWHERE.

[@MaireColclough]

Mission Accomplished 😉

[@lenabreijer1311]

I did a lot of cross stitch when i was younger and had to travel for work. I would rather spend the evenings in my hotel room stitching then hang out in a bar in a strange town. I did a lot of petit point because iit was small enough to go in my purse or briefcase. I tried embroidery and did make a blouse but it really wasn't my thing. I like rhythmic things, so cross stitch worked better for me. Your bee is cute and very well done, i look forward to the shirt.

[@MaireColclough]

It's amazing what we find meditative, eh? I'm rediscovering a lot of old cross stitch resources in Mum's shelves that I'd forgotten about. The shirt is going to be a lot. A Lot. Wish me luck 😁

[@jayneterry8701]

It came out looking great! You need to sign the back. 😊

[@MaireColclough]

I may do so! 😃

[@Mommamacnz]

I have four or five larger floss organizers where my flosses (Mostly DMC) are sorted by number. Then I've got a smaller organizer box that holds the flosses for the project I'm working on plus a pair of scissors and a highlighter marker and maybe the chart for the project. The flosses in the smaller organizer are also arranged by number so it's easy for me to find the next floss I need. If my project is small enough, it is also in the floss organizer box. Sadly I've not touched that craft for several years. Maybe one day I will get back to it - the idea of ornamenting my clothing hadn't really occurred to me and I think it'd be fun to do to boring shirts and things.

[@MaireColclough]

It definitely adds a flair to clothing!

[@lesleyharris525]

Turned out really good, embroidery is a patient and practice rabbit hole, but it's calming too. Well it's calming if it's going well but i put mine down because mistakes and it's been sat for many years. 😅 must fix, ❤

[@MaireColclough]

I've been finding it very calming indeed 😃

[@Kahtini]

Like button booped!

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you!

[@armedvsokord]

I like the idea of embroidery on my clothes but I don't think I could choose something I'd like for years. I have shirts that are 10+ years old and they are pretty plain so as my style has changed they've survived many closet clean outs. I have doubt I'd choose something that I'd like for that long. Maybe if I go the closet hostess route and make it a broach so I can take it off if I'm not feeling it. 😊

[@MaireColclough]

A brooch is a fantastic idea. You could also try making a kind of patch by giving your design a border, then stitching the patch onto the garment - which would also make it removable and transferable 🧐 (can you tell I've been considering this??)

[@armedvsokord]

@@MaireColclough I'm glad you think through your projects. It's helpful to not jump straight in all the time. Less regrets, hopefully. 😆

[@MaireColclough]

@@armedvsokord oh, I'm often an agent of chaos...I also like to preserve handwork 😁

[@armedvsokord]

@@MaireColclough oh how our two selves war with each other. Chaos and the love of delicate pretty things... Will they fight forever? Toon in next week for Chaos or Creation, Staring Maire, guest stars The Kittens! 😁

[@MaireColclough]

@@armedvsokord It's the kittens' world...they just let us life in it 😁

[@CatDeMeow]

How cool!

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you!

[@nataliestanchevski4628]

People can be weird about their fibre stash. My sister has a huge stash of beautiful yarn but hasn't knit in 15 years. When I asked if I could have a sweater's worth of yarn she said "sure" and handed me a bag of ugly acrylic blend. 😂

[@MaireColclough]

I'm sorry...I might have made the same decision. I get really possessive about my yarn (and I usually have something in mind when I purchase it). I wonder where I get that tendency from? 😉

[@caragarcia2307]

I don't think simple embroidery stitches are that hard. I wouldn't allow a small child unsupervised around needles and adult scissors though. It's a lot easier that everything is on KZbin now. I wouldn't want to try and figure it out from a diagram.

[@Wekia]

pretty sure your mom put embroidery on a pedestal that seemed impossible to master/be good at and she would have told anyone embroidery will be too hard for them to learn lol my mom is the same with some stuff. gets too scared or overwhelmed by something and then tries to stop me from doing it. if I go and do it anyways, she will be so silent because she doesn't believe what she is seeing lol

[@MaireColclough]

I think it just boils down to embroidery taking too long and being too "painterly". Mum liked straightforward projects, and I think cross stitch scratched that itch. 😃

[@Wekia]

@@MaireColclough haha that's fair!

[@problame2249]

Sounds like maybe your mom didn’t like embroidery lol.

[@MaireColclough]

I'm kinda getting that impression 😁

[@alteredreality8767]

Adorable! And you've reminded me of an embroidered top my Mom made for wee me. I loved that thing and wore it for years (Mom made it a bit large to allow for growth and I well, didn't, or not much anyway). I watched this right after Bernadette's video and while I appreciate the work done there (stunning), it's more than a bit intimidating. In contrast, your attitude and example reminds me of what I could do, so thanks for the confidence boost.

[@MaireColclough]

I'm glad you had some extra time to enjoy such a personal gift from your Mom! And yes, the level of craftsmanship displayed in Bernadette's video seems intimidating, but that's on a grand scale. Most handcrafts are much more attainable 😃