Come Stitching With Me!

I am often asked "do I use a hoop"....well the answer is "no, I do not"........now that doesn't tell you much does it? No.......well I thought I would take you through the final stages of the project I finished to-day to tell you what I do. It's in the mail to Handmade for publication, so I can't show you everything, but I can give you a sneak peek of how I got my finishing result.

I used pretty glass beads for some embellishment....just love them!

Generally, when the design is drawn and I have ironed the wadding onto the back of the front, I use a stitchery backing on the back. This prevents the migration of wadding to the front of the work. I always baste my layers together like this;

and; I fold the surplus of the backing over the edges and baste them down too. This prevents the edges from fraying while you are working on the stitchery;

I roll the surplus part of the unit up to meet where I want to stitch then; using my fingers, I apply upward pressure from the back to minimise creases;

Once hand stitching is completed and the final backing is sandwhiched to the unit, I prepare the binding then create a pocket at the start. The pocket will accommodate the final end of the binding for a neat finish. I only pin the start, then I hold the binding in place all the way around with my fingers to keep it firm;

When I arrive at the first corner, I stop 0.25in inwards from the approaching edge. Then; I sew directly across the angle to the corner; to set up the mitre;

I fold the binding back on itself in line with the previous stitching to the corner.

Then; I fold the binding downwards along the next edge to be stitched. I start sewing again 0.25in from the edges;

I continue sewing until I return to the starting point. Then; I trim the end of the binding and slip it into the pocket;

Once the binding is settled into the pocket, I complete the seam;

This is how the finished corners look on the right side.

Well; this is what I finished making to-day.....what did you finish? I would love to hear.