When I first saw the Shippo-tsunagi Sashiko pattern I thought: Ofcourse, trust the Japanese to turn something simple into something that looks complicated. Sashiko has at its base the easiest of all hand embroidery stitches – the running stitch. But here, this full circle lattice pattern with interlocked circles looked anything but simple. For me, … Read more
The ric-rac trim is a zigzag braid trim that is usually added on fabric edges on kids wear and home decor. It is usually reversible and can be used on hems, pockets, necklines, cuffs and hems of all kinds of clothes. It can be stitched along the fabric edges or on top of the fabric. … Read more
Do you know that it is easy to spot a brand by looking at the zipper. Most branded luxury houses uses brand name embossed zippers on their clothes and accessories. Just check a Gucci product and you will see “GUCCI” engraved on the back of the zipper pull. Balenciaga products have an imposing B on … Read more
The yankee puzzle patchwork block is a quilt classic- a staple of American quilting (which you must have guessed from the name). And it is one of the basic and most easiest of patch work blocks. You can easily make it with small 4 inch (or even smaller) fabric scraps and use it to decorate … Read more
Let me tell you a secret – I use sewing machine thread on my embroidery machine a lot of the time. The embroidery purists would disown me – And there is a reason. Sewing thread may not always hold up to the high speed and tension of the embroidery machine and it doesnot have the … Read more
When I started doing embroidery I learned about a lot of straight stitches used to make outlines, but never one as straight as the split stitch. It is a wonderful outline stitch. You literally split the thread as you stitch – can’t go straighter than that. From a distance it is a perfect outline stitch … Read more