Embroider a Drawing

I loved embroidery as a girl and it is seeing a comeback with my son learning at school this year.  We decided to take the non-fiction book How to Survive as a Firefly (informative and very funny) for inspiration, but you could go out into nature or draw from something in your imagination as well! 

Here is where you can purchase the book:

Canadians

•  Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/How-Survive-Firefly-Kristen-Foote/dp/1943147329/

• Chapters/Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/how-to-survive-as-a/9781943147328-item.html?
  

Americans:

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Survive-Firefly-Kristen-Foote/dp/1943147329/
  

*Disclaimer:  We received a copy of the book for review as we love so many books from The Innovation Press (http://www.theinnovationpress.com/)  This is not a sponsored post and nor do we use affiliate links.*

Materials

• Embroidery material (We used Aida cloth)
• Embroidery floss
• Embroidery hoop
• Pencil/ paper
• Thick fabric
• Stuffing/ Fibre fill/ Wool
• Tape
• Fabric scissors
• Sewing machine (To be used with/ by an adult) *Optional, you could also hand sew

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Whether you read a book, go out into nature or tap into your imagination, lay down your embroidery hoop onto a piece of paper and sketch your idea in the centre of the hoop.  Be sure to make it large and simple for your first design.

• We then put our design up to the window and taped the Aida cloth on top and traced over the design with a pencil.  We would recommend ironing your fabric prior to as this makes working on fabric easier, but someone got a bit excited to get going!

• We then outlined our design with black embroidery floss.  (We would recommend adding those beads at the end as they are bit tricky to work around, but again, someone was a bit excited about his idea and wanted to see it!)

• We then filled in the design with various colours of embroidery floss.

• Cut two pieces of identical fabric to form your pillow casing.  (You could also purchase a pre-made case and sew your design on).  We would recommend using a more discrete colour for your thread, but for the purpose of the photograph, we used black.

• Sew your design onto one of the pieces.

• Flip your design so that it is facing the inside of the pillow and line it up with the second piece and sew around the perimeter of the pillow, using the foot of your sewing machine to create your border.  (Have an adult do this or with direct adult supervision/assistance or hand-sew it if you like).    Be sure to leave a space to insert your stuffing that is approximately 5 cm/ 2 inches or larger.  We usually cut off the excess fabric on the corners.  Now turn your design right side out through the hole carefully.  This process will create nice seams.  If you find that you are having trouble making the corners nice and sharp, a chopstick or similar item often does the trick in pushing them out.

• Insert your stuffing/ fibre fill.  Depending on how full you want it, use a chopstick to reach the corners.

• Sew up the remaining hole and display your work.

Purpose

• Working with various materials to create with.
• Developing one’s fine motor skills.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors, a needle and sewing machine with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.