Love Embroidery

Move over, spring: summer is officially here! Flowers are unfurling, bees are bumbling, and the sun has (finally) come out to play. This issue, we’re welcoming in the new season with a variety of nature-inspired designs. From a drawstring pouch covered in monochrome corals to a set of miniature embroidered landscapes… oh, and Georgie Emery’s beautiful butterfly design (shown here) – our hearts are all a flutter with the promise of what lies ahead. Plus, we’ve got some lovely ways for you to give your wardrobe a seasonal refresh: think t-shirts scattered with peonies and jacket buttons blooming with sunflower motifs!…

Isn’t our hobby just the best? When you need it to be, embroidery can be quiet, private and contemplative, and at other times it can be super-social, political, or even say something about you… especially when you wear out in the wild! Like this month’s floral cover star by Lucy Freeman (p16). Sure, you could stitch this perfect posy of peonies straight into a hoop ready for display, or onto plain cotton homewares for an easy makeover, but we are loving how it transforms our fave summer tees into statement pieces, and even more so how it feels when we wear them. ‘Yep, I stitched that’ is such a powerful sentiment, and one that is echoed deeply in Bianca Springer’s inspiring profile on p22. We dare you to try it…

We’re all about making a statement and, as it turns out, lettering artist, banner maker and activist Alice Gabb is too. For anyone wishing to follow in her footsteps, Hand & Lock School for Embroidery & Creative Arts is hosting a two-day workshop with Alice, to give you all the tools and experience you’ll need to make your very own statement piece. Sure, it’s not strictly embroidery, but prior sewing knowledge is wholly encouraged. Covering everything from the history of banners to what tools to use and plenty of practical sewing techniques too, it’s sure to be a must-see masterclass.  www.handembroideryshop.com…

Cover gift Templates for digital readers on p84 Beach please ADD A PERSONAL TOUCH TO HOLIDAY ESSENTIALS WITH TROPICAL-THEMED MOTIFS Travel writer CREATE A BESPOKE NOTEBOOK TO JOT DOWN YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY MEMORIES IN MATILDA SMITH When our Art Editor Matilda isn’t lovingly designing the pages of Love Embroidery she’s an illustrator and keen dabbler in all kinds of crafts. Her recent illustrations have focused on the beauty of the tiny overlooked weeds in her local area of Bristol. She loves putting unexpected colour combinations together and relishes working with fabric and thread, having studied textiles at university. Creating the holiday-themed designs for this issue’s transfers was a fun exercise in translating pencil to stitch. Palm beach towel MATERIALS Your gift – Holiday-themed embroidery transfers Towel: blue and white stripes…

MATERIALS Cotton t-shirt: lilac DMC Stranded cotton: 1 skein each of 602 (dark pink), 740 (orange), 746 (cream), 758 (light terracotta), 760 (salmon), 819 (light pink), 890 (dark green), 906 (green), 972 (yellow), 3341(apricot), 3713 (pink), 3808 (teal), 3816 (turquoise), 3819 (lime) Embroidery hoop: 18cm diameter Medium-weight fusible interfacing: 20x15cm, 25x25cm Iron-on adhesive: 20x15cm Craft knife and cutting mat Basic embroidery kit STITCHES USED Backstitch, Full Knot Stitch, Satin Stitch, Split Stitch, Straight Stitch NOTES Find the template on p71. Lilac Cotton Top – available from Superdry. Flowering in late spring to early summer, the season of the peony might be fleeting, but its beauty is revered and anticipated by plant-lovers around the world. And now you can capture its exquisiteness in thread – forever! – with Lucy Freeman’s stunning…

Self-proclaimed omni-crafter Bianca Springer understands the power of making. “We can fill the void and creatively chip away at the system that chooses to ignore and invalidate us”, says the Texas-based author and sewist who uses needle and thread to not only make and teach, but to challenge the status quo, AND celebrate diversity through the work she creates. While she’d always been creative, motherhood was a real turning point for Bianca. “I was raised in a family of makers, but it was always very utilitarian in my mind. I didn’t necessarily see it as a way to express myself creatively until my daughter came along.” Sewing became a creative outlet that fitted around full time, stay-at-home-mum life, and Bianca loved making dresses for herself and her daughter. “I started…