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!

One challenge when making textile designs is how to finish the edges. Quiltmakers use different binding methods to add that final touch to a piece of artwork. But how do you finish the border on a free-form embroidery piece?

Today’s Stitch Tip: Try a Simple Border Finish

This project, Natural Gardening, from Playful Free-Form Embroidery is made on 1 piece of black wool. The wool is firm enough to hold a flat shape but is easily embroidered. When it came time to finish the edge of the design I weighed my options. Should I put another piece of fabric behind it and stitch the edges of the black wool to the backing fabric? Should I place strips of fabric on top of the black wool to add a frame?

Here’s what I came up with- a simple line of chain stitches around the edge of the black fabric. The red thread repeats the color of the poppy flowers and adds a formal finish to the design. I like this border on a free-form embroidery and will use it again. Sometimes simple is best.