During this time of quarantine I have been diligently working on my embroidery. The wonderful thing about embroidery (or at least mine) is that it is mobile. I can pack it in my bag if I decide I want to spend the afternoon outside, or I can walk away from it when my eyes have had enough.

I have been working with a lovely group of people (remotely) in my area to improve my embroidery skills, introduce me to techniques I was not familiar with, and become aware of period methods and their relation to modern methods. It truly has been a fun learning experience. We have been working with cotton or linen fabric and DMC for thread. We will address other materials as we progress in the class, but for now as I learn, these are the materials available and easy to mess-up with!

I started by learning the basics (stem stitch, chain stitch, split stitch, running stitch, double running stitch, and back stitch). The easiest way to learn these stitches was remotely, through video chat, YouTube and great book recommendations. Our first goal was to create a reference swatch where we practiced each stitch. This would give us something to look back on to either see how a stitch should look, or (if we are planning an new project) give us reference for shape, texture, etc. We would then share with the group (for help and critique) and improve over the next month until the next class. I really struggled the first month being a hands-on learner, but by the second month of review I got the hang of the basics.

Just before the quarantine, I started a few projects; one being my Haus’ badge, stitched and then backed. The second project was making EK hankies sporting our lovely Blue Tyger. I had made a few hankies in the past but really had no confidence or direction in my creations because I had never formally learned any stitches. My hope was these classes would change this outlook and hone skills so that I could go on to make even more lovely creations.

Up to this point the only things that I had ever embroidered were done with satin stitch. I had made a few little gifts for friends and didn’t know anything else about stitching. The Haus badge started off completely satin stitched, with back stitch outlines. After convening with a few individuals, and starting my embroider classes, I ripped it all out and used stem stitch as the filler and back stitch as the outline. Though it was not the easiest for me to do, I agreed with my mentors that an item that is to be used so often and is out in the open world will snag and pull less if it has a more sturdy stitch. I carried this method over to the hankies, as the past hankies I had made were also satin stitch. I took to the materials and away I went! 15 hankies later I figured out how to work tight curves, and embroider certain areas to stand out from the rest (like a leg in the background that should appear to have a different texture than the fore body).

Though I still have a long way to go, I have really enjoyed this learning process. Embroidery is something that I have been interested in for a few years, but really had no idea where to start. I am sure that we have all had that past-time looming over us that we so desperately want to try but are very intimidated by how to get started. I want to say thank you so all of those individuals who listed to and answered my questions, reached out to me on social media, and are still active in my learning process: Lady Ciarnait ni’Bhroin of Lochleven, Lady Ástríðr Sægeirsdottir, and Mistress Camille de Jardins.