Our mischievous bird in the On Pins and Needles project from Playful Free-Form Embroidery owes his fancy attire to a simple embroidery stitch combination. From tail to the wing to crest, it’s this decorative stitch combination that makes him a pretty bird.

Today’s Stitch Tip: Combine the Lazy Daisy and Straight Stitches

Your first step is to make a lazy daisy stitch with a relaxed, open loop. You need this space for the second step.

Once all your lazy daisy stitches are in place, choose a different thread color and make a straight stitch inside the daisy loop to fill in the loop. This simple stitch combination is an easy way to add a decorative finish to your hand embroidery.

A favorite accessory for my rotary cutter is the pinking blade. Each slice through fabric yields a jaunty embellished edge.

This pinked fabric edge with its crazy peaks and valleys is perfect for a favorite embroidery stitch, the fly stitch.

Today’s Stitch Tip: Fly the Pink!

Why the fly stitch? The fly stitch fits neatly around the pinked edge. It’s as if the pinked fabric and the fly stitch were destined to be together. Even the ladybugs in The Nut House project from Playful Free-Form Embroidery like the combo. Here you see them crawling up the bumpy pinked edge on their way to the tire swing.

So next time you have a pinked fabric edge add a fly stitch to the edge. Fly your pink!