Hand Embroidery designs

1. Hand embroidery is any type of needlework that is done without a machine. It can be embroidery or cross stitch. Hand embroidered pieces are usually made on a piece of material with a pattern outlined on it. Some people may embroider freestyle, using material that does not have a printed pattern.Any type of fabric can be embroidered, from silk to canvas. For beginners, small, woven cotton pieces, such as handkerchiefs or dish towels, are the best .....

Assisi Work on Needle and Thread

2. Assisi embroidery is a counted thread embroidery technique. In Assisi embroidery, the work is done on even weave linen, and the background of the design is filled with long armed cross stitch or regular cross stitch, while the focal image of the design is left voided (or empty). An outline is stitched around the various elements of the design. This outline can be worked in backstitch or even in outline stitches such as stem stitch or outline stit .....

Jacobean Embroidery on Needle and Thread

3. Jacobean embroidery is a style of embroidery design, rather than an embroidery technique. The style includes elaborate stylized flowers, vines, plants, animals, and birds. The name Jacobean comes from James I of England (Latin Jacobus), under whose reign this style of decor became popular.Jacobean embroidery is often confused with crewel work, which is surface embroidery worked in wool. While Jacobean designs were sometimes worked in wool, they w .....

Blackwork on Needle and Thread

4. Traditionally, blackwork was used on clothing. The focus of blackwork is generally the variety of filling patterns used within the elements of the design. Looking at blackwork from the 16th century, a design could include vines, leaves, and flowers stitched with a heavy outline, but the inside of the leaves and flowers would be intricately filled with lacy, usually geometric, patterns.In earlier centuries, blackwork was worked normally on white o .....

Brazilian Embroidery on Needle and Thread

5. Brazilian Embroidery is a highly textured, dimensional embroidery that uses a variety of stitches to create floral and floral related designs.What really sets Brazilian Embroidery apart from other types of surface embroidery is the use of specific threads. Brazilian Embroidery is always done with rayon embroidery floss, which is a z twisted floss with a very high sheen.Stitches commonly used in Brazilian Embroidery include bullion knots, French k .....

Canvas Work Needlepoint on Needle and Thread

6. Canvas work, known in the US as needlepoint, is worked on canvas, rather than fabric. Canvas work is done on two types of canvas, either mono canvas or Penelope canvas, and all types of threads can be used, including wool, silk, cotton, blends, and synthetic threads with interesting textures. As for stitches, there are myriad needlepoint stitches to choose from, though the most common stitch for filled and shaded pictures in needlepoint is tent s .....

Chicken scratch on Needle and Thread

7. Chicken scratch, worked on gingham, is generally considered a more rustic embroidery technique. The squares of the gingham provide the grid upon which chicken scratch is worked, with the stitches producing a lacy pattern on the gingham. Chicken scratch is a simple technique it employs only a few stitches, and therefore, it is great for children. But do not be fooled! By combining stitches and thread weights and varying stitch types, intricate pat .....

Colbert Embroidery on Needle and Thread

8. Colbert embroidery is not a widely known style of embroidery. It falls in the realm of counted work, and is similar to Assisi work, in that it employs a patterned background with the focal part of the design often voided. The design elements are outlined in heavier stitches, such as stem stitch and chain stitch.Unlike Assisi work, Colbert embroidery utilizes intricately patterned backgrounds in multiple colors and types of thread. The patterned b .....

Counted Cross Stitch on Needle and Thread

9. Counted cross stitch is an embroidery technique that uses cross stitches to create the picture being stitched. It is worked on even weave fabric. The even weave of the fabric corresponds to the gridded pattern that determines the placement of the stitches.In the US, counted cross stitch has enjoyed unparalleled popularity when compared to most other types of needlework. Most needlework shops in this country cater primarily to counted cross stitch .....

Crazy Quilting on Needle and Thread

10. Crazy quilting can look to the Victorian era for its popular beginnings, and today, crazy quilting is certainly equally or more popular than it was 150 years ago. Crazy quilting sprang from a cross between necessity and the desire for beautifully embellished items of necessity. Irregular scraps of fabric were salvaged and re made into quilts that were used for warmth, and to beautify the irregularity of the quilts made from scraps, the seams and .....

Crewel Embroidery on Needle and Thread

11. In the historical sense, crewel embroidery is simply embroidery done with wool threads. Crewel work has a rich history, stretching at least as far back as the early Medieval period, with one of the most extant historical examples being the Bayeux Tapestry.Crewel work enjoyed popularity in the Jacobean area, with elaborate designs of stylized flowers, birds, and beasts being worked in wool on household goods and even clothing. Crewel work, however .....

Cutwork on Needle and Thread

12. Cutwork is a needlework technique that features embroidered designs with spaces cut completely out of the fabric. Cutwork is normally worked on linen, although it can be worked with equal success on cotton or cotton / linen blends. Normally, white threads are used to outline the focal part of the design. Between the focal elements of the design, bars are stitched independent of the fabric background, connecting the various elements of the design. .....

Drawn Thread Embroidery on Needle and Thread

13. Drawn thread embroidery is a technique worked normally on linen, with horizontal or vertical threads in the linen removed from the fabric and decorative stitches worked over the remaining threads. Drawn thread work often creates a lacy effect, although it can also be a very rustic looking needlework technique, depending on the type of linen and thread used.Drawn thread embroidery is often used in combination with other surface embroidery, especia .....

Goldwork on Needle and Thread

14. Goldwork is the most regal and luxurious of embroidery techniques. Once accessible only to the wealthy, goldwork embroidery was used historically to adorn ecclesiastical textiles, military uniforms, and clothing and textiles for the nobility.Today, goldwork is more accessible than it used to be, and is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity as a popular needlework technique.Goldwork differs from other surface embroidery techniques especial .....

Mountmellick Embroidery on Needle and Thread

15. Mountmellick embroidery originated in Mountmellick, Ireland. It is a whitework technique, traditionally worked on cotton sateen (which has a sheen) with matte cotton threads (no sheen). The contrast between the fabric and the thread is part of the look of Mountmellick embroidery.The stitches used in Mountmellick are various, and most of them create a highly textured surface on the fabric. The motifs typical of Mountmellick embroidery are generall .....

Needle Lace

16. Needle lace is not always an embroidery technique, although embroidery stitches are used on most types of needle lace. Lace can be made a number of ways with bobbins, tapes, crochet hooks, and with regular needles. Needle lace is lace made with needle and thread, normally on a fabric ground and often with parts of the fabric cut away. Some types of needle lace are not worked on fabric, but rather on paper or tissue, and once removed from the tis .....

Needlepainting on Needle and Thread

17. Needlepainting goes by several other names, including thread painting, long and short stitch shading, and silk shading. Needlepainting is a technique used for filling areas realistically and for painting images with needle and thread.The stitch commonly used in needlepainting is long and short stitch, although other stitches are sometimes employed to achieve a realistic look to the image.Needlepainting can achieve very fine, artistic detail. The .....

Schwalm Embroidery on Needle and Thread

18. Schwalm embroidery is a whitework technique that originated in Germany, in the Schwalm region. It apparently developed in imitation of Dresden lace, which was much more expensive, worked by professional embroiderers and sold to the wealthy. Schwalm is the folk version of Dresden lace, worked by peasant women in their homes to decorate their household goods and clothing.Schwalm embroidery combines drawn thread work, pulled thread work, and whitewo .....

Silk Ribbon Embroidery on Needle and Thread

19. Silk ribbon embroidery is embroidery worked with silk ribbon. This luxurious needlework can range from fine, detailed work to bold, vivid, and abundant.The motifs featured in silk ribbon embroidery are almost always floral.Silk ribbon embroidery (commonly called SRE) can be used to embellish lots of things household items like decorative pillows, book covers, clothing, and even greeting cards. .....

Stumpwork on Needle and Thread

20. Stumpwork is a dimensional embroidery technique that originated in the mid 1600 is in England. This type of embroidery uses attached, pre stitched pieces of embroidery, raised stitches, and even stuffed areas to create impressive and realistic floral designs as well as stylized scenic pictures that sometimes include animals, flora, people garbed in elaborate clothing, and even buildings (castles, tents, etc.)The stitches used in stumpwork range f .....

Surface Free Style Hand Embroidery on Needle and Thread

21. Surface embroidery or free style hand embroidery is a general category that encompasses most surface embroidery techniques, but here, I am using it as a category for all the surface embroidery that is done today that does not fall in any specific technique category.Surface embroidery is the embellishment of fabric (and other mediums paper, leather, etc.) with embroidery stitches. Any type of design may be used in surface embroidery the stitcher .....