Embroidery – Page 2 – Becka Rahn, artist

8 September, 2012

Embroidery 1 Class

beckarahn2012-09-08T15:48:11-05:00Classes & Teaching, Embroidery|2 Comments

In just about 10 days I am teaching a beginning embroidery class at one of my very favorite yarn/fabric shops, Darn Knit Anyway in Stillwater MN. This is our sample project for the 5 stitches we will learn in class. I thought it would be fun to do a “cheater” crazy quilt block. The block is 8 inches square and is Spoonflower printed fabric. I printed tiny white dots right on the design so that you can basically “connect the dots” with the various stitches and the dots will help you keep everything evenly spaced and remember where to put your needle. I made 3 different colorways (because why not?!) and the embroidery 2 class will have matching blocks with 5 new stitches to learn. For this block we will do running stitch (and some variations), chain stitch & lazy daisy, back stitch, chinese knots and cross stitch. Embroidery 2 is couching, satin stitch, blanket/buttonhole, fly stitch and feather stitch.

I stitched some polkadotted batik fabric around the edge of my sample and it’s now ready to be a pillow […]

18 April, 2012

Embroidery, &Stitches and more

beckarahn2012-04-18T07:43:26-05:00Book Reports, Embroidery, Tutorials|1 Comment

The latest issue of &Stitches zine is available and I am a contributor! This issue is all about books: embroidery books themselves, book themed patterns, fun contributors (like Aimee Ray and Cate Anevski) and a couple of tutorials for some really neat stitches (Turkey stitch). It’s a fantastic issue once again.

My project & article is all about teaching embroidery to kids. I picked one of my favorite projects, “Poetry Pockets” that we have done with several groups of 1st and 2nd graders at the Textile Center and gave some tips for ways to teach embroidery to kids, like picking the right needle and thread.

Threading needles is always the biggest hurdle in teaching kids (or adults) to embroider, so I have a bonus tip for you, which I always show in my beginning embroidery classes: Making your Own Needle Threader.

You can get “needle threaders”, which look like a little bit of metal with a wire loop on the end. You pass the loop through the eye of the needle, put the thread through the wire loop and them pull it back so the thread goes through the eye. Great idea, but […]

7 February, 2012

Tiny Needlepoint

beckarahn2012-02-13T19:33:47-06:00Embroidery, Everything Else|1 Comment

I made a few of these over the weekend. I realized that I hadn’t really done any completely new pieces for my etsy shop in a while, so I wanted to think of something new. This is 18 count aida (18 stitches to the inch). It is pretty thick fabric, so it took some careful sanding to get it to fit in the tiny hoops. A full “x” of cross stitch was just too much so I did a half cross or “tent” stitch on these with a little bit of backstitching.

31 January, 2012

A Free Pattern: Downton

beckarahn2012-01-31T18:00:16-06:00Embroidery, Freebies & Patterns|Comments Off on A Free Pattern: Downton

My twitter stream and Google reader are both abuzz with comments about Downton Abbey. I am completely in love with this show and those that know me will be un-surprised to hear that I am captivated by the costumes. So, for all of you that love it as much as I do, here is a set of free embroidery patterns just for you, inspired by the costumes of Downton. “Mary” is inspired by a black beaded choker. It would make a nice edging embroidered on something with french knots for those beaded chains. “Anna” is a detail from the edge of a tiny lace collar. “Dowager Countess” comes from a green and purple ensemble with ribbon embroidery. “Sybil” is inspired by the embroidered bodice of the infamous “harem pants” outfit. “Edith” is from a detail on the sleeve of a black and gold evening dress. These aren’t exact replicas, but my take on the design. Click the image above to download a full sized .pdf you can print and use.

16 November, 2011

Simple but effective

beckarahn2011-11-16T07:36:29-06:00Embroidery|1 Comment

I had a request a day or two ago to make a tiny embroidery hoop with a candy cane in it. Since my stitching area in these is about 3/4 inch, whatever I stitch has to be pretty simple.

This candy cane is done with a whipped back stitch, which I think fits the bill perfectly. I love how this stitch ends up looking a bit like a raised cord on the surface of the fabric. (If you click that link you will find some instructions on how to do it.) I think a row of tiny stitched candy canes would be really charming along the edge of some holiday napkins or something like that.

12 November, 2011

Eye Spy

beckarahn2011-11-12T00:04:28-06:00Embroidery, Gallery Exhibitions, Out & About, Sewing & Design, Spoonflower & Fabric Design|1 Comment

“Eye Spy”, digitally printed fabric and hand embroidery. Cotton fabric, rayon & silk thread. 8″ x 8″.

I made this piece to donate to a fundraiser for the art center in the city where I grew up. They have an anonymous auction every year where artists donate pieces but you don’t know which artist belongs to which piece until the end. So I had to wait until after the event to show this off. The owl is one of the education owls for the U of MN Raptor Center program. He was very photogenic. The “eyes” design I drew digitally and the “feathers” are a pencil sketch that I scanned. Printed at Spoonflower. I then went in and embroidered feathers on top in shiny silk and rayon threads, so it has a little depth and shimmer. You may recognize the design from a skirt I made a while back; I liked it so well I decided to play around with using it in other formats.