Dahlias at the window: a joyous hand embroidery for late summer
What's included in the kit?
- A gorgeous jug of dahlias to capture in hand embroidery, with scope to add your own embroidered or appliquéd touches.
- A generously sized piece of antique French linen hand printed with the design.
- A thread card packed with threads in an array of brilliant colours.
- A folded 6-panel card enclosing the kit, printed with full instructions and inspiring illustrations.
- Not included is the patchwork curtain — see below for more information about different ways to tackle the curtain.
"My favourite of Caroline's kits. I have stitched it twice now."
Price range: £38.00 through £48.00
Additional Information
The lovely flower paintings by Sarah Blomfield inspired this embroidery kit. I love dahlias for their last hurrah of colour before the first frosts. It uses a range of stitches, and is worked in delicious threads, including some of my favourite hand-dyed threads. Like all of my kits, this can be tackled by beginners or more experienced stitchers.
I think every stitcher likes to bring a bit of themselves to an embroidery kit, and in this one the curtain and tablecloth offer a chance to experiment with different techniques, all of which are explained and illustrated in the kit. I have been hoarding antique quilt scraps for years and fancied creating a patchwork curtain, which you might also like to do. You could also use whitework or lace, or embroider the curtain like the tablecloth and perhaps paint the latter instead.
The finished design is roughly 20cm square, and is printed on a piece of antique French linen roughly 30 cm x 30 cm. The kit contains a thread card with all the threads you will need.
You can download My Favourite Stitches, illustrated stitch cards for the stitches used in the design. There is also the wonderful online resource of the RSN Stitch Bank. The painting is optional. You can also download my guide to painting on linen from the Free Downloads section of the Shop.
To complete the kit you will need a 9″ embroidery hoop, a selection of embroidery needles (sizes 7-8), a couple of fine, long, milliners’ needles for the bullion knots, and a pair of small, sharp embroidery scissors.
