Free Embroidery Designs

I have lots of scrapbook paper but i am out of ideas of things to do with them. I need some good cute ideas more than origami though. And instructions would be nice too 🙂
I also have lots of embroidery floss too, any ideas of what i could do with that too…need instructions for those too 🙂

thanks for the help

here are a few ideas where you can use both together.

you could make greeting cards & bookmarks & dust-covers for books.
and use the floss to decorate.
you could also make beautiful filigree patterns with the floss on the card. just punch tiny holes [with thick needle] all along the border of your design. then using floss, weave it through these holes to get a beautiful filigree pattern. if you make a simple circle, you can insert a photo or picture within, & the filigree border will act as a frame.

or just glue the floss on the card paper to make colorful designs/ patterns or landscapes. for texture, [eg. for grass] you could apply glue to the designated area & cut & drop tiny pieces of green floss over it. press gently with cloth & leave to dry.

make a "paper quilt" to use as place mats, wall decoration, table-runner, coasters, etc. Here, make ‘blocks’ out of paper just as you would with fabric. decorate each block with floss or any other material. then glue all the blocks together on a large sheet. also use floss for borders, etc. Finally, get it laminated or framed for durability, utility, longevity.

make Xmas tree decorations/ornaments using both materials. plenty of sites & ideas on the web.
www.papercraftcentral.com – step-by-step instructions with pictures for lots of free paper craft projects
www.dltk-kids.com/world/japan/mor…
Try these 3-d snowflakes with white, or any color construction paper
www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-S…
www.creativity-portal.com/howto

make beads & create your own jewelery
http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/kdpaperb….
www.ehow.com/how_4443089_make-jew…

hope these inspire you
all the very best & have fun.

I have two beautiful 3 feet by 4 feet fabric panels that have a very pretty horse design on them I want to make my first quilt out of it. I thought I would take a matching colored solid fabric and use that for the edges and the back. I just would like to know what kind of batting to use and where the best place to purchase it is. Thanks! 🙂

Sorry to make it even more complicated, but loft isn’t the only consideration. You also need to decide if you want to use polyester batting, natural fiber batting (cotton and bamboo are the most readily available, but there are wool and silk as well), or a cotton/poly blend. Once you decide that, you may eliminate the loft question entirely.

I prefer cotton batting because I like a flat quilt, and I like that it is an all season batting. Natural fibers allow air to pass through (referred to by quilters as "breathing"), while polyester traps the the air under the quilt. This means polyester is a very warm batting, and is best used in a winter quilt. I also like the drape of cotton batting, although there are some higher end polyester battings that are made to mimic the look of cotton batting. They are very thin and drapey.

Another thing to consider is how you are going to fasten the layers together. There are two methods – sewing (either by hand or machine) and tying. You can sew straight lines through all of the layers (or get adventurous and do free motion quilting using a darning foot). For a quilt the size you’re talking about, straight line quilting would not be difficult. Tying is when you use a large needle and embroidery floss or pearl cotton (don’t do yarn – it’s just too difficult) and stitch down and up in the same location, then tie a square knot. (Look up the proper way to tie a square knot – most people do what’s called a granny knot, and it isn’t as secure). You can tie the knots on either the front or the back depending on where you want the tails to be visible. Cut the tails to about 1/2" – 1" after the knots are secure. Repeat this every few inches.

Your decision to tie or sew affects the batting you choose. Most importantly, check the batting instructions to find out how closely you need to quilt it. Some batting must be quilted every 2", while others are only every 10". If it has to be quilted every 2", that’s an awful lot of tying. Also check how easy it is to "needle" – that means how difficult it is to hand sew through. If you are going to tie your quilt and you want it to be very puffy, then you need a high loft batting. If you want it to be thinner, a lower loft is good, and natural fibers are also very good.

As for where to buy it, if you have a JoAnn Fabrics they can help you out. You can also find prepackaged batting online, including
JoAnn Fabrics
http://www.joann.com/joann/search/search_results.jsp;jsessionid=UZ1AU2TIVD5JCP4SY5KVAFR50LD3OUPU?CATID=cat1110&keywords=batting&_requestid=1733926

Hancock’s of Paducah
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/ItemList–Batting–m-20

and even Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1246280047/ref=sr_nr_n_0?ie=UTF8&rs=1055398&keywords=batting&bbn=1063498&rnid=1063498&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abatting%2Ci%3Agarden%2Cn%3A1055398%2Cn%3A!1063498%2Cn%3A12890711

Here’s an excellent page that explains batting in greater detail:
http://www.quiltersbee.com/qbfabtip.htm

i love to make the embroidery floss friendship bracelets and i just recently learned how to make the word ones, i was using the website billybear4kids.com to get the patterns for the letters but i noticed that the words usually come out kinda skinny, is there any website that has the patterns for word bracelets with different fonts that is free?

I love this website, and the ones you’re looking for should be under "alpha" 🙂
http://friendship-bracelets.net/index.php

Shadow embroidery is a technique that creates mysterious shadow effect on the stitched cloth. It is also known as a Whitework technique. Shadow embroidery is done on dress accessories, childrens clothes, lingerie and household linens.

The procedure of making shadow embroidery may sound confusing for the first time, but actually it is extremely easy-to-make. The stitch is worked on sheer, transparent or firmly woven threads. For the ground fabric you may choose whatever you like: viole, batiste, fine linen or muslin, synthetic or sheer silk and so on. Ready made clothes can also be embroidered with the shadow effect stitches. There are few things you have to learn about shadow embroidery. Work double back stitch on the right side of the fabric.

On the reverse side of the cloth will be gradually formed a herringbone stitch. These herringbone stitches make for the shadow effect. Another thing is closeness of the stitches. If the stitches are close to one another, a deeper shadow is produced. If they are not so close together, a lacy effect appears on the right side. Tiny separate stitches follow the lace as an outline. Best for producing shadow effect are silk or cotton yarns. You can also use one ply of embroidery floss, and a number 7 or less crewel needle with a hoop. Colours can be stronger if you add extra plies to the fibers. Here are two examples of using shadow embroidery to create something beautiful.

1) How to embroider a flower using shadow stitches Stems are made with fine back chain stitches on the right side of the fabric. To create the centre of the flower, around which the petals are, use French knot clusters on the right side. Petals and leaves should have an outline, filled up with shadow stitches. Use green for the colours of stems and leaves. Petals can have any colour. You can add white floss on the white canvas for some details and gain fantastic results. When choosing a design, use transfer patterns or make up something yours. Stitch on the wrong side of sheer material and examine the effects of shadow embroidery on the right side.

2) How can you make a small pillow or a cushion using shadow embroidery To create a pillow you need the following materials: number 7 or finer crewel needle, two 9 inch squares of sheer fabric, plain muslin, embroidery hoop, embroidery floss, dressmakers carbon paper or hot iron transfer pencil, one yard ruffled lace, matching thread, and small quantity of polyester fiberfill.

The design you want to embroider has to be transferred on the wrong side of the pillow top with the usage of hot iron transfer pencil. Then it is time to put fabric in the embroidery hoop. If, for example, you want to embroider a flower, follow the Number 1 suggestions, using French knot for the centre and shadow stitching for the petals. Close herringbone stitch is just perfect for making flowers. The ruffled lace should be stitched around the perimeter of pillow top. With a seam you should stitch together pillow top and bottom sides. Make sure you leave one side unseamed for the pillow filler to place inside. Trim the three sides and the corners. The muslin and polyester fiberfill can serve as fillers. Sachets of potpourri can also be put inside before seaming the fourth side of the pillow.

Before trying onto larger areas, practice shadow embroidery on smaller surfaces, such as pockets, belts, hats and so on. Be careful when using the iron for covering up minor creases on collars, belts and other smaller areas. It may ruin the shadow embroidery.

With a computer, a printer and the internet you have access to a popular source and massive range of free printable counted cross stitch patterns.

DMC, which is one of the most recognizable brands of cotton and linen embroidery floss, offers several free cross stitch designs that are easy to download and print. There are several alphabet patterns, floral designs, animal items and other novelty patterns. It has ideas for the novice crafter and those with more developed skills.

Michaels craft store carries over 100 cross stitch patterns and the store uses free printable cross stitch patterns as an enticement to come to their website. Some of Michaels’ patterns are solely cross stitch and others combine cross stitch with other craft projects. Michaels’ gives away free patterns from their store and they do use these on the website, but they also get free patterns from various cross stitch supply companies.

Another website, DLTK, includes a selection of free printable counted cross stitch patterns for children. One nice feature of these children’s patterns is the inclusion of step-by-step instructions for the stitching and also information on what fabric to choose There are a variety of patterns that include florals and animals and also seasonal and holiday patterns. Because of the ease of use, these patterns can be useful for beginning cross stitchers as well as children.

To find these free printable counted cross stitch patterns you can use your favourite search engine or look for blog sites where other hobbyists share their designs. Websites even exist solely to list the cross stitch freebies offered on the net. If, however, you cannot find the design you need, there are sites that provide blank graph paper so that you can create your own patterns.

There are many large web sites that offer free patterns. Visit the following and you won’t be disappointed: about.com, which includes free graphs and links to other sites, allfreecrafts.com, freepatterns.com, stitchingthenightaway.com and far too many others, too numerous to mention. Most of these sites ask you to first “sign-up” and become a member before they give you access to their free counted cross stitch patterns that are printable. Believe me, the sheer amount of patterns available make it worth while to complete the registration.

The Internet is a great source of free printable counted cross stitch patterns for both the beginner and the advanced cross stitch fan. Free patterns are a great way to save a little money, and what’s more, by using the Internet you can gain access to far more patterns than “bricks and mortar” shopping will allow.