The Art of Floral Embroidery: Beautiful Floral Project

1. Introduction: Hi, everyone, and welcome to Beyond the basics Mastering floral embroidery. I'm Shanas your instructor, and I'm so excited to take you on this creative journey. I love to combine my passion for embroidery with my love for exploring the outdoors. Embroidery is more than just a hobby. It's a journey of self expression, a source of relaxation and a way to tap into your inner creativity. And who knows? Maybe you'll even discover a new way to share your passion and earn money doing what you love. We'll start by learning how to transfer our design onto fabric and then dive right into stitching each element of our arrangement. I'll guide you step by step through each stitch, offering tips and tricks along the way. I'm excited to start this journey with you. Let's explore our first lesson. 2. Preparing for the Design: We're going to create this stunning floral design together. It's the perfect way to put all those amazing stitches you've learned to good use. We'll delve into advanced techniques like Bullion naughts, cast on stitch variations, and more while building a beautiful embroidered floral arrangement. This course is perfect for those who have a basic understanding of embroidery and are ready to tackle more intricate projects. First things first, download and print the pattern. I'll put a link to it below this video. Now, I've already got my fabric fixed in my eight inch hoop. But before I transferred the design, I did something sneaky at the back. See this? I stitched a running stitch all around the edge of the fabric. This helps to really secure the fabric and keep it from moving around while I'm stitching. Plus, it gives the back of my hoop a nice neat finish. For this project, I've chosen this lovely maroon cotton linen fabric. I love the rich color and the slight texture of the linen, but you can choose any kind of cotton fabric you like. Linen, quilting cotton, even canvas, it's totally up to you, and of course, feel free to choose any color that inspires you. I'm just giving it a little tug here to make sure everything is nice and tight. See how that pulls the fabric in and makes it super secure. Okay, now that our fabric is extra secure, I've transferred the pattern onto the front. Now, I've got my fabric nice and snug in my eight inch hoop. Remember, no wrinkles. I'm using a dark fabric today, so I'm using my LED tracing pad to transfer the design. If you've chosen a light colored fabric, you can skip the tracing pad and draw right onto the fabric or use your window and the sunlight to help you see the lines. I used a heat erasable pen. It's like magic. You draw your design onto the fabric, and then when you're finished stitching, you just use an iron to make the lines disappear. Poof. See how easy that is. The light shines through, and I can just trace the lines onto my fabric. These pens come in all sorts of colors, white, black, red, blue, so you can choose one that shows up well on your fabric. Just remember to test it on a scrap piece first to make sure it erases properly. Now, when you're threading your needle, remember not to pull out a super long piece of floss. It's easy to get tangled up that way. I usually recommend about 12 to 20 ", maybe about the length of your arm. Alright, let's get stitching. I've chosen some beautiful floss colors to match my fabric, pink, beige, orange and green. Now, before I start stitching, let me show you how I separate my floss. I'm using this beautiful pink color for the first flower. See how I'm gently pulling one strand at a time. It's important to do this carefully so you don't tangle your floss. I'm going to use four strands for these petals. For these lazy daisy petals, I'm going to use one of my thinner embroidery needles. This will help me make nice neat stitches. And of course, I've already separated my floss and threaded my needle. Don't forget to secure the end with a knot. Now we're ready to create those lovely loops. All right, our design is all traced and ready to go. Think about what colors you want to use for your project. In the next lesson, we'll dive right into stitching those beautiful lazy daisy petals for our first flower. Get your threads and needles ready, and I'll see you there. 3. Flower One - Lazy Daisy and French Knots: Let's begin stitching our design. To make a lazy daisy stitch, you first bring your needle up through the fabric. Then you take a small stitch, but don't pull the thread all the way through. Instead, you leave a loop like you're making a chain stitch. Now, bring your needle up through the fabric at the end of your petal shape, making sure the thread goes around your needle. This creates the loop of your petal. Finally, to secure the loop, take a tiny stitch over the thread that connects the loop to the fabric. See how it forms a teardrop shape? That's what gives it that lovely flowy feel. This stitch is like the magic wand of embroidery. It creates these beautiful delicate loops that look like flower petals or little leaves. Now, as I'm stitching these lazy daisy petals, I want you to notice something. I'm using my left hand to hold the needle, but if you're more comfortable using your right hand, that's totally fine. Embroidery is all about finding what works best for you. Looks like I'm running out of thread. No worries. This happens all the time. I'm just going to finish this stitch, then pop my needle to the back of the fabric and secure my thread with a knot. You might notice that I'm using a hoop stand to hold my hoop while I stitch. This isn't absolutely necessary, but I find it really helpful. It frees up both of my hands so I can focus on my stitching. Now I'll thread my needle with a fresh length of floss and we'll pick up right where we left off. But if you don't have a hoop stand, don't worry. You can absolutely hold your hoop in your hands while you stitch. And remember to hold your needle lightly. No need to grip it too tightly. Relax your hands and enjoy the process. Now for the center of this flower, I'm using some white floss to add some French knots. To make a French knot, bring your needle up through the fabric. Then wrap the thread around the needle once or twice, depending on how big you want your knot to be. Hold the thread taut with one hand and with the other hand, bring the needle back down into the fabric very close to where it came up. As you pull the needle through, keep that thread nice and taut so your knot stays neat and tidy. H. And speaking of comfort, make sure you're sitting in a position that allows you to relax and enjoy the process. Keep your back straight, your shoulders relaxed, and your hands comfortable. Take breaks if you need to and don't be afraid to stretch or move around a bit. These little guys are like the sprinkles on a cupcake. They just add that extra bit of sweetness and texture. And there we have it. Our first flower is complete. Look at those lovely lazy daisy petals and the delicate French knots in the center. Now, take your time and practice these stitches until you feel comfortable with them. In the next lesson, we'll move on to our second flower, which features those fabulous bullion knots and cast on stitch variations. I can't wait to see what you create. 4. Flower Two - Bullion Knots and Cast-on Stitch Variations: Let's move on to our second flower, which has a slightly different look and uses some new stitches. See how I'm using a longer needle for this. It's called a milliner's needle, and it makes it much easier to wrap the flows for boolean knots. To make these boolean knots, I'm bringing the needle up through the fabric and then wrapping the flows around the needle. I'm doing about 18 to 20 wraps. It seems like a lot, but it creates a really lovely textured knot. Now, here's the tricky part. Hold the wrapped floss with your fingers and gently pull the needle through. See how it forms that beautiful elongated knot. This flower has a more whimsical feel and we'll be using those fun bullion knots and cast on stitches to create it. This creates the pistol, which is the center part of the flower. Since this is a side view of the flower, having the bullion knots stacked like this gives it a really interesting dimension. Now that we have our Billion knots in place, it's time to add some petals around them. For this, I'm using the cast on stitch and this lovely light beige floss. To make these cast on stitches, I'm bringing the needle up right next to the Billion knot. Then I'm wrapping the floss around the needle about 18 times for these petals. And here's the key. A bigger gap usually means you need to wrap more times to keep the petal looking balanced and full. Insert the needle back into the fabric near the base of the loop to secure the stitch. Now, pay close attention to this part. The distance between where your needle goes back down and comes up, that's going to determine the length of your petal. A bigger gap means a longer petal. So play around with it. Try making some stitches with a smaller gap and fewer wraps and then try some with a bigger gap and more wraps. See how it changes the look of your petals. See how those cast on stitches create these beautiful rounded petals. It's like magic. I'm making three of these smaller petals close to the Bullion knots. Now, to add some extra flair to this flower, I'm going to add four bigger petals, and for this, I have a little trick up my sleeve. A. I'm going to show you a little trick here. I'm using a plastic straw to wrap my thread around for these cast on stitches. It helps me create bigger, fuller petals. I've threaded my needle with this vibrant orange floss, and now I'm going to insert the straw onto the needle just like this. Now, I'll make my cast on stitch just like we did before. But this time I'm wrapping the floss around the straw instead of just the needle. It You can use any kind of straw you have on hand, or even get creative and try other things like a small piece of rolled up paper. See how that works. It gives us a much bigger loop. I'm adding four of these larger petals, spacing them evenly around the smaller ones. It creates such a beautiful layered effect, don't you think? And there you have it a stunning flower with a combination of bullion knots and cast on stitches in different sizes. It's all about playing with textures and techniques to create something truly unique. See how that works. It's all about combining different stitches and colors to add variety and interest to your embroidery. Now take a moment to admire your work and make sure all your stitches are nice and secure. In the next lesson, we'll move on to our third and final flower, which features those beautiful large cast on stitch petals. 5. Flower Three - Cast-on Stitch and French Knots: Alright, let's move on to our third and final flower. This one is going to be a showstopper with those big, beautiful petals. I'm using this beautiful beige floss for this flower. It's going to give us a soft elegant look. Now, let's get those petals started. Remember how we used the straw to create those larger petals in the last flower? We'll be doing the same thing here, but this time we'll create all the petals with that technique. Now, here are a few tips for stitching these fluffy cast on petals. First, I'm using all six strands of floss. This gives the petals a heavier, more substantial look. If you want a more delicate look, you can use fewer strands. And most importantly, be patient. These cast on stitches with the straw can take a little practice, but trust me, the results are worth it. You'll end up with these gorgeous three dimensional petals that add so much texture and interest to your embroidery. And there we have it. Our third flower is complete. I love how those large cast on stitch petals create such a dramatic effect. Now take a moment to admire your work and make sure all your stitches are nice and secure. In the next lesson, we'll move on to the leaves and vines, which will add the finishing touches to our floral masterpiece. 6. Leaves and Vines - Fly Stitch and Twisted Chain Stitch: Now we're going to add the finishing touches to our floral masterpiece, the leaves and vines. These delicate elements will bring our design to life and add a touch of nature. Now, let's start stitching the leaves. We're going to use the fly stitch, which is a simple yet elegant stitch that creates a feather like effect. I'm using a beautiful green flows. You can choose any color you like, but I find that green really complements the colors of the flowers. Try to keep your stitches even and consistent, but don't worry if they're not perfect. And feel free to vary the length of your fly stitches to create different leaf shapes and sizes. Embroidery should be a relaxing and enjoyable experience. So make sure you're taking care of yourself while you stitch. And remember, there's no right or wrong way to hold your needle or position your hands as long as it feels comfortable for you. So find your groove and enjoy the rhythm of stitching. I'm going to add some straight stitches here to fill the leaf. Now, as you're stitching, it's really important to follow each step carefully, keep a close eye on where the needle goes down and comes up. This will help you create the stitch correctly and keep your tension even. Now, let's add the vinees. For the vinees we're going to use the twisted chain stitch. This stitch creates a delicate flowing line that adds a beautiful touch to the design. Experiment with different colors and sizes of leaves and vines to create your own unique designs. Try to keep your stitches close together for a smooth continuous vine, and don't forget to keep that tension even so your vinee doesn't get too loose or too tight. Remember all the tips and tricks we've learned throughout this course. Take your time, have fun, and don't be afraid to experiment. I can't wait to see your finished projects. If you're ever unsure, don't hesitate to rewind the video and watch the demonstration again. You can also pause the video at each step to make sure you're following along correctly. I hope you enjoyed this course and learned a lot. Keep practicing and you'll become a master of embroidery in no time. Now it's time to show off your skills. Take a photo of your finished embroidery and share it in the project gallery. I can't wait to see your beautiful creations. Congratulations on completing this intermediate embroidery course.