This embroidered pouch is perfect for daily use. Fill it with makeup, colored pencils, or anything else you want to keep neatly organized. The embroidery design on the front is fun, warm and easy to do even for beginners. Grab the kit and a pair of scissors and let’s get started!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Hints and Tips:
- The pouch is semi-finished, and the inside of the bottom is not sewn in order to make it easier to embroider. Have fun embroidering with the pouch held in your hand!
- All embroidery is done with 2 threads, except for the specific stitches called out in the diagram.
- All embroidery is done with a needle #8, except for the specific stitches called out in the diagram.
- + #8 with 1 thread
- * #5/The amount of thread depends on each description
Stitching the Pouch:
1. Referencing the diagram, start in the upper left hand corner to begin your embroidery. The diagram lays out the color and embroidery stitch for each section.
Throughout this project, you’ll run across more than a dozen embroidery stitches to help you develop your skills:
Straight stitch (running stitch): a simple embroidery stitch made by creating a straight stitch that can be any length, but it must be straight.
Spiderweb Rose Stitch: For the foundation, we need five spikes that start in one center and end on the edge of a circle shape. Please remember that you need five spikes because if they are in an even number, the trick won't work. Bring the needle up through the fabric next to the center of the flower and right by one of the spikes. Then, skip one spike and slide the needle underneath the next one. Once again, skip one spike and slide the needle underneath the other one. And so you continue working the rose. Basically, the thread goes over one spike and goes under the next one, then again over one and under the next one.
Stem Stitch: To make a stem stitch, you’ll overlap backstitches to form a pattern that resembles the twist of a rope.
Lazy Daisy Stitch: Bring the needle up from the back through the fabric. Take the needle down through the same point, but don’t bring it down completely. Leave a roomy loop behind to make the petal of the flower. After making a loop of desirable size, push up the needle from the top of the petal, on the inner edge. Pull out the thread gently, but tightly. Poke down your needlepoint on the outside of the top edge of the petal, keeping it close to the perforation point of step 3. Now bring your needle up through the starting point of the petal and repeat steps 1 to 4 for making another petal of the daisy.
French Knot Stitch: First, you need to mark the spots where you want to make your French knots. String your embroidery needle with the thread of your chosen color. Make a tiny knot at its end to prevent the thread from running through the fabric you are working on. Pull the needle through the point where you want to make the French knot. The thread should be long enough for you to be able to point the needle back at the thread. Then hold the needle in your left hand (right hand in case you are left-hander) at the back of the thread and use your other hand to wrap the thread tightly around the needle. Next, poke the needle back through the fabric, close to the spot you pulled it through earlier. Make sure to keep a firm hold on the thread with your finger. Pull the needle all the way through at the back of the fabric, gently releasing the hold on the thread. Once the thread passes through to the back of the fabric, you will be left with a basic French knot on the right side of the embroidery.
Chain Stitch: Use a pencil to mark the places you want to make your chain stitches on. This makes it easier for you to keep your stitches in an even line. Use an embroidery ring to fasten the part of the fabric you will be working on. Now, pull the needle through the point where you want to begin your chain. Spread out the thread and take the needle back through the fabric, at around the same spot where you pulled it through earlier. Bring your needle back up on the line traced earlier, about 1.5 millimeters away from the point where you took it down. Gently pull the thread up to create a single loop on the right side of the fabric. You have now made your first chain stitch. Now to make the next chain, insert your needle through the point where you brought it up in the last step. Make sure to pull the needle from within the last stitch to create a neat chain (as shown in the diagram above), bringing it up a little way along the marked line as you did before. Pull the thread all the way to make your second stitch. Repeat the process until you complete working the whole marked line to finish your embroidery.
Whipped Circle: Whipped wheel creates a ribbed disk that can be worked on an even or uneven number of spokes. You should have a circle which has five ‘spokes’ to form the foundation. Bring your thread up at the centre of the wheel. From this point onwards your needle does not go through the fabric so use a blunt tapestry needle to avoid splitting the foundation stitches. Slide the needle under two threads and pull your thread through. Move back one stitch and once again slide the needle under two threads. Pull the thread through and you have whipped the first spoke. This process is best described as making a spiral of back stitches over the spokes. Repeat this action, whipping each spoke as you progress around the wheel until the circle is filled.
Buttonhole Bar Stitch: Begin by making the foundation of straight stitches. Now, bring the needle out from underneath one end of the straight stitch. Take the needle from under the straight stitches without plucking the fabric underneath. Loop the thread around the needle as we would for the blanket stitch. Pull the needle out. We get our first blanket stitch over the bars of straight stitches. Now, continue with the process for the entire length of the straight stitch. Keep nudging the finished stitches to keep them close to each other.
Couching Stitch: For this stitch, you will work with two different needles and two threads of different sizes. Fixing the finer thread to the thicker one, work short stitches at regular intervals. Bringing the needle with thicker thread to the front at the center of the stitch, bring the needle with finer thread to the front of the stitch. Take the needle directly parallel to the other side of the thicker thread and repeat the process until the circle is filled.
Fly Stitch: The fly stitch is an embroidery technique with a characteristic V-shape, which can be worked singularly (detached) or in rows. Each stitch is worked in a V-shape, with the needle/thread emerging at the top left arm of the V and then being inserted at the top of the right arm.The needle/thread then emerges at the base of the V and is pulled through the cloth over the working thread. The loop formed is tied down with a small stitch worked just below the point of the V. This tying (‘tacking’) stitch may vary in length to produce different effects.
Backstitch: Bring the needle up through the fabric at a point. Decide on a stitch length and push the needle down through a point that is of one stitch length above the first point. You have one stitch on your fabric now. Now poke the needle up through a point that is one stitch length below the last stitch. Take the needle down through the lowermost point of the last stitch. Now, you have a couple of stitches. Repeat the desired number of times.
Satin Stitch: Bring the needle up from the corner of any one of the edges of your shape. Take your needle down through the exactly opposite point on the facing edge. Bring the needle up through a point very close to the first point of emergence of the needle. Pull up the thread completely ensuring that the floss sits flat on the fabric. Repeat the process until the shape is completely filled. Take care to place the consecutive stitches close to each other and within the drawn guidelines to prevent unwanted gaps in the middle.
Buttonhole Wheels Stitch: Using a pencil, mark a circle and make a dot in the middle on your fabric. Bring your thread from the back of your fabric on the outer line. Insert the needle in the middle of the circle and bring the needle’s point out on the outer line. Loop the thread under the needle’s point. Pull the needle through the fabric to form the first spoke of the wheel. Repeat this process around the disk.
2. After the embroidery is finished, it is necessary to close the inside of the bottom with small stitches. We recommend a ladder stitch as being suitable for such a job. Start by pulling your thread through the edge of the opening on the right side of the bag. Then, take a stitch on one side of the fabric parallel to the edge and continue across the seam with stitches that resemble a ladder. After working your way across the entire bottom of the pouch, tie a knot and cut any remaining thread.
