The Washing Line, an evocative image to hand-embroider
What's in the kit?
- A nostalgic look at wash day to recreate with hand embroidery. Our most enduringly popular embroidery kit.
- A generously-sized piece of antique French linen, hand-printed in the UK by Caroline with the design.
- A thread card: depending on the option you select (see below) this will either be empty, ready for you to fill, or loaded with all the threads you will need to complete the kit (twenty colours).
- A beautifully-styled card folder printed with clear instructions.
- An A4 sheet with a full colour print of the completed embroidery and an actual size copy of the printed design, annotated with the colours Caroline has used.
Price range: £32.00 through £45.00
Additional Information
This embroidery kit is possibly our most popular, probably because so many of us hold dear memories of helping our mothers hang out the laundry. It was inspired by this poem by Susan Hatt.
By Design
Between the garage and the ash tree’s trunk the line sags. Patiently pegging, she shapes
her washing, fixing a shirt by its tails, a dress by
its hem — its blue gingham squares
nudged by a small, golden, smocked dress, sharing
a peg and a smile with a little boy’s jumper — machine-knitted, faded pink — colours
complement. The large white sheets struggle
then fold across the line. Next, the prop.
It’s makeshift, but has form. A crooked nail anchors the rigging and with a practised
heave, the washing is launched — sheets clapping.
the shirt stands upright, dances with the dress;
the little girl and boy flutter in the gusts.
This kit is quite simple to stitch, it just takes some time. The painting is not difficult, even if you have never held a paintbrush before, you will quickly find yourself addicted to painting on linen and can enjoy incorporating it in your embroidery. A comprehensive introductory guide to painting on linen is available in the Free Downloads section of this site, where you will also find guides to my favourite embroidery stitches.
