Kiriki Embroidery Stitch Sampler Kit User Manual
- June 3, 2024
- Kiriki
Table of Contents
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Kiriki Embroidery Stitch Sampler Kit
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TIPS & TRICKS**
EMBROIDERY HOOP
Center the fabric over the inner hoop and press the outer hoop down over
fabric. Carefully pull the fabric taut without distorting the pattern. Tighten
the nut.
EMBROIDERY FLOSS
DMC embroidery floss comes in six strands. This pattern requires only one to two strands of thread to be used at a time. Gently separate the number of strands needed before threading the needles by gently pulling apart from the top. Set aside the remaining strands.
FLOSS LENGTH
The floss in this kit comes pre-cut to 20” in length. When cutting your own floss lengths from a skein, 16-22” is ideal because lengths that are too long will tangle, while at the same time, you don’t want your floss to be too short or else you will constantly have to re-thread your needle.
THREADING NEEDLE
Once
you’ve separated the number of strands you need from the six strands, thread
the needle, leaving a 3” to 4” tail on one end and knot the longer end.
STARTING A STITCH
The back of an embroidery is just as important as the front! A back side
filled with knots and tangled threads makes it very difficult to produce neat
and beautiful stitches. For this reason, I recommend starting and stopping
stitches without leaving knots. There are several ways to achieve this:
Waste Knot
The Waste Knot works best when you are stitching a line and there are no
previous stitches on which to anchor your thread. To begin, take the needle
from the front to the back about 1” from your starting point, leaving a knot
on the front side of your fabric. Take the needle through the starting point
and stitch towards the knot, ensuring that each stitch helps to secure the
thread on the back. Snip the knot with scissors just before reaching
it.
Away
Knot
The Away Knot is a good choice when you are stitching detached stitches and
there are no previous stitches on which to anchor your thread. To begin, take
the needle a few inches from the starting point, leaving a knot on the front
side of your fabric. When you finish stitch-ing with your thread snip the
knot. Turn over your hoop and re-thread the needle with the loose piece of
thread, weaving it through stitch-
Anchor Stitch
If you are stitching over an area that will be filled (i.e. with Satin Stitch)
you can make a Straight Stitch, then a perpendicular stitch into it, securing
it in place (in the shape of a ‘T’).
Knot & Weave
Once there are stitches to which you can secure a new thread, you can commence
a new stitch with a far shorter version of the Away Knot, placed 1/4” inch
away from the anchoring stitches and close to your starting point. Weave into
the back of these stitches and snip the knot away once the thread is secure.
Begin your new stitch.
ENDING A THREAD
When you are getting close to the end of your thread leave enough so that it is easy to secure by weaving through several stitches on the back side of the embroidery. If you are halfway through a stitch do not attempt to tie on a new thread and continue stitching. Treat it as a finished stitch and commence anew with a new thread using one of the methods described in the previous section.
PRACTICE STITCHES:
USE 1 STRAND OF FLOSS FOR SATIN AND LONG&SHORT, 2 FOR OTHERS
Whipped Fern Stitch
Start by making a regular fern stitch: a line comprised of segments made up of
three straight stitches that radiate from a central point. To begin, make a
straight stitch from bottom (a) to top (b). Exit to the left (c) and re-insert
your needle at (a). Exit to the right (d) and re-insert your needle at (a).
Repeat until your line is complete.
Using a
different colour floss (or the same, as in this pattern), come up with your
needle at the top of the fern stitch. Do not go through the fabric, just slip
the needle under of the middle segments towards the bottom and re-enter the
fabric once you reach the final segment.
Satin Stitch
Mastering the Satin Stitch is essential. It is one of the most straight
forward stitches – straight stitches parallel to one another – yet possibly
the most difficult to perfect. Generally, I recommend to use a Split Stitch
padding under a Satin Stitch, but based on this embroidery pattern, padding is
not necessary.
Here are a few rules to live by:
- Use only 1 strand of floss at a time. It will take longer to cover the area, but will result in the smooth texture and sheen that give the stitch its name
- Use the fabric’s woven texture as your guide. Move through the fabric one thread at a time – this will keep the stitches perfectly parallel.
- Start from the widest point of a pattern and work to one end, before going back and working the stitch towards the opposite end
The satin stitch requires patience, finesse, and an observant eye, but once
you perfect this stitch the quality look of your embroideries will increase
exponentially.
Seed
Stitches
The Straight Stitch is made of single, isolated stitches, with Seed Stitches
being a variation. Small Straight Stitches that run in different direction to
fill an area are known as Seed Stitches.
Outline
Stitch
The Outline Stitch creates a twisted rope effect, perfect for filling in
straight or curved lines. It can be used to fill an area by stitching parallel
lines very close to one another. To begin, come out at your starting point(a).
Bring the needle out a stitch length’s away (b), keeping the working thread
above the needle (you can use your thumb to hold the thread up). Come out
halfway between (a) and (b) at (c). Repeat these steps along the path you are
stitching.
Note: if you are familiar with the Stem Stitch, this will be very familiar as
it is the same technique but the working thread is kept above rather than
below, changing the slant of the stitches.
Long & Short Stitch
The “needle painting” stitch, the Long & Short creates gradients and colour
blends. It is particularly useful to fill in areas that require realistic
shading, and often used for flower petals and leaves, or to create
naturalistic animal fur.
Begin by creating a set of “directional” long stitches which follow the
contour of the area you need to fill in. Similar to a Satin Stitch, lay
additional stitches parallel to the directional stitches, filling the area
without leaving any fabric showing through.
Stagger these stitches and alternate between shorter and longer stitches at
random.
Turkey
Work
Turkey Work allows you to make a fluffy pile on the surface of your design.
This is achieved by creating a series of loops that are locked in by a series
of straight stitches. Try to keep the length between stitches to about 1/8”.
To begin,
DO NOT knot the end of your embroidery floss. Rather, go into your fabric at
(a), leaving a small piece of the tail end (slightly longer than you want your
pile). Emerge half a stitch length back at (b) and go into (c). Come up at
(d), splitting through the straight stitch. Go into (e), leaving a loop
(slightly longer than you want your pile), and lock the loop in by making a
straight stitch from (f) to (g). Continue in this fashion until you finish
your row. Finish a row by coming up through the last straight stitch. Stagger
parallel rows of Turkey Work stitches until the area you want is filled. At
this point snip all the loops, trim to your desired length and use your needle
or a closed pair of embroidery scissors to fluff out the pile.
NOW PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!
EMBROIDER THE ELEMENTS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
- WING OUTLINES
- ANTENNAE
- LOWER WINGS
- UPPER WINGS
- CIRCULAR SPOTS
- BODY
COLOURS:
- Orange*: 921
- Burgundy: 902
- Dark Brown: 3371
- Ecru: ECRU
- Taupe: 3863
- Yellow: 19
- Black: 310
Sampler Club Bonus Print!
If you are part of the Sampler Club you will have received this screen printed
pattern along with the Berries sampler.
Any stitches not found on this instruction guide can be found in the Stitch
Library
Note: Stitch the needleweaving before the outlines
TIP:
Keep all three colours of floss workable (through the front of the fabric, to
the side of the shape) until the entire needleweaving is finished in case
there are any errors that need to be corrected
STITCHING THE BROOCH
- Finish the acorn following the diagram on the previous page (image of needlework in progress – note the working thread ).
- Divide the backing piece along the cut line.
- Draw a line 1/8” from one edge and pin right-sides together along the straight edge, keeping a 0.75” gap. Use a backstitch and sew from the outside of the gap and stop just before the edge of the design.
- Press the seam of the backing piece and remove the front from the hoop. Place both pieces together, right-side to right-side and put back in the hoop to keep taut. Use a light source to make sure they are lined up correctly.
- Sew around the entire shape using a backstitch, cut it out, clipping and notching where necessary
- Turn right-side out (use a sturdy straw and paintbrush handle if you’re having trouble turning it). Sew closed using a ladder stitch.
- Make a square knot with your thread around the center hole of the brooch.
- Sew the brooch pin bar onto the back of the design
