Negative Space Embroidery Clasp Purse

January 12, 2018 · 3 Comments

Negative Space Embroidery Clasp Purse

Negative space embroidery is a fun way to create letters and other simple shapes. Instead of embroidering the letter or the shape, you embroider the space around it.

You can do this on all kinds of things (I’ve seen lovely embroidery hoop art things on Pinterest). I chose to do this to a little purse. I used the first letter of my name, but you could do anything, as long as it’s a simple shape!

French knots are great for negative space embroidery.

There’s something very satisfying about sewing French knots. Once you get the hang of it, they’re easy to do. The trick is to pull the thread tight around the needle, then poke the needle through the fabric next to where you started the stitch, not in the same place or your French knot will disappear!

To make it up into a purse, I used the same method as I did for this embroidered clasp purse. Here’s a tutorial if you want to make one yourself! And you might be interested to know that I have these little purses as kits for sale here on Etsy.

Negative Space Embroidery: Clasp Purse Tutorial

I have included some affiliate links.

You Will Need

Fabric for the outer and the lining, a purse clasp, interfacing (optional), embroidery thread and a needle, Google Docs or similar and a printer, a pencil, usual sewing supplies. An embroidery hoop is also useful.

Before You Start

1. The purse clasp I used was approximately 9 cm x 6 cm (3.5 inches x 2.5 inches), and if you’re using one the same size, you can download the pattern pieces here.

Otherwise you will need to make the pattern piece, and the instructions for doing this can be found in this tutorial here.

2. Once you’ve got your pattern piece sorted out, you can decide how big you need your letter to be. The easiest thing to do is to find a font you like on Google docs, type the letter and print it out. You will need to check that it will be the correct size, and don’t forget that your purse piece will include a seam allowance!

For my letter, I used a font called Alice, in size 200.

3. If you haven’t sewn French knots before, it’s probably a good idea to have a go on a spare piece of fabric first. There’s a tutorial here if you need one.

Cutting Out

Using your pattern piece, cut 2 pieces from your lining fabric and 2 from interfacing. Cut one from the outer, and for the other outer piece, draw it onto the fabric but don’t cut it out yet! It’s much easier to embroider it first, then cut it out when you’ve finished the letter.

Sewing the Letter

1. Cut out the letter you printed and draw round it onto the fabric.

2. Start to sew French knots around the outside of your letter. If you’re using more than one colour or shade, space them out a bit so that you’ve got room to come back in with a different colour. I used 3 shades of pink plus white.

3. Once you’ve done this, go round again, then once more so that the French knots are 3 deep. If you have using a letter with a space inside, like an A, a P or a B, you might like to fill this in.

4. Now add some more French knots around your letter, but more spaced out. I did these mostly about 3 deep as well, but you can decide to do more or less depending on what you like!

Assembling the Purse

1. Place one of the purse pieces on top of an interfacing piece with the right side up. Take the other outer piece and place that on top of the outer piece so that the right sides are together. Place the other piece of interfacing on top.

2. Take the clasp frame and line the top of the bobbles up with the top edge of the purse. Check that it is centred and that the distance all the way round the top between the clasp and the purse pieces is roughly the same.

3. Using pins, mark where the top of the hinges are on the purse pieces.

4. Sew the bottom of the purse outer between the pins. Repeat for the lining.

5. Pop the purse lining inside the outer so that the right sides are together. Pin the lining to the outer. Leaving an opening on one side, sew the lining to the outer.

6. Turn the purse the right way out. Slip stitch the opening.

Attaching the Clasp Frame

To sew in the purse frame, you will need to identify the centre hole on one side.

You will also need to find the centre of the top edge of your purse. The easiest way to do this is usually by folding it in half.

1. Take your needle and thread and bring the thread through from the inside of the purse to the outside, in the centre of the top edge, about 5 mm down from the edge.

2. Now bring the needle through that hole in the centre of the purse frame, from the inside to the outside. Push the edge of the purse into the purse frame so that it is right inside. Pull the thread taut.

3. Put the needle through the next hole and through the top of the purse. Pull it out through the other side so that it comes out just underneath the frame. You might need to do this at a bit of an angle. We’re aiming for the stitching to be hidden underneath the purse frame.

4. Take the needle back through the purse and the frame to the next hole.

5. Now put the needle through the hole where you ended the first stitch, through to the wrong side.

6. Pull it taut, then sew upwards through the second hole away from where you have just sewn.

Keep checking that the edge of the purse is pushed right inside the purse frame.

You are basically working a backstitch to sew the frame to the purse, with the neat bit of the backstitch visible on the front and the messier side hidden underneath the other side of the frame, on the inside of the purse.

When you get to the hinge, tie the thread off on the wrong side.

Then go back to the centre hole and sew the other half of that side to the purse in the same way.

Repeat for the other side.

Now your little purse is finished!

Fern Stitch: Hand Embroidery

February 28, 2017 · 6 Comments

Fern Stitch: Hand Embroidery

Fern stitch is a useful stitch to know, especially if you’re sewing plants and flowers. Obviously you can use it to sew ferns and other plants, but it can be used in other ways as well! On the little purse I’ve been making, I’ve used fern stitch for the lavender.

Fern stitch is made up of three little stitches, sewn in the same way and repeated along a line. It is worked from top to bottom.

How to Sew Fern Stitch

1. Bring your needle up to the right side of the fabric at the top of the first stitch. Make a vertical stitch.

2. Bring the needle back up to the side, then take the thread through the same spot as the bottom of the vertical stitch.

3. Bring the needle up on the other side and make another stitch in the same way, ending in the same place as the others.

4. Make another vertical stitch by bringing the needle up just underneath the first stitch, then taking it back through where the first stitch ends.

5. Make the stitches at the sides in the same way as previously, ending the stitches at the bottom of the second vertical stitch.

You are basically sewing a backstitch, while stopping off to make the stitches at the side.

To keep it neat, try to ensure that the stitches are the same size.

If you worry about neatness, you could draw 3 lines, equally spaced apart. The centre line would be where you would sew the vertical stitches and the lines at the side would be a guide for the stitches that come out at the sides. The top of the stitch would touch the line. I didn’t bother with drawing lines, I found just sewing the stitches by sight was fine. If the odd stitch was a bit wonky, I just undid it!

If you like learning embroidery stitches, you might also like these posts.

Lazy daisy stitch

Woven wheel stitch

Stem stitch

And if you would like the embroidery design that I’ve used on the little purse pictured above, you can download it for free here!

These are affiliate links for embroidery stuff on Hobbycraft.

Linking up here.

How to Sew French Knots

February 24, 2017 · Leave a Comment

How to Sew French Knots

The French knot is a funny little stitch that can be used to add a different sort of texture to a piece of embroidery. My favourite way to use them is as blossom, but they can be used whenever a round stitch is called for, but a woven wheel would be too big.

The stitches can be pulled tight or left a bit looser.

How to Embroider French Knots

1. Bring the thread through to the right side of the fabric.

2. With the point of the needle close to the base of the thread, wrap the thread around the needle a couple of times.

3. Pull the thread so that it is fairly taut.

4. Take the needle through the fabric to the wrong side, close to where you brought it through originally. Be careful not to put it through in exactly the same place, or your French knot will disappear!

5. Keep your thumb on the knot while you pull the rest of the thread through.

That’s one French knot!

Stem Stitch: Hand Embroidery

February 21, 2017 · 14 Comments

Stem Stitch: Hand Embroidery

Stem stitch is a useful embroidery stitch to know if you need to embroider lines as part of your design. Obviously it’s great for stems, but it can be used in other ways to! It offers an alternative to back stitch and running stitch, and is a slimmer option than chain stitch, which can look a bit chunky.

I’ve used stem stitch for the stems of the flowers on this piece of embroidery I’ve been working on, and I’m very happy with the results! For the fabric, I used a cotton linen blend, and to embroider the flowers I used 2 strands of DMC embroidery thread (affiliate link).

If you would like to practise your embroidery stitches on a free design, you can download the one for these flowers, plus the daisy design I used in this pouch tutorial.

How to Sew Stem Stitch

Stem stitch is worked along a line and from left to right.

1. Bring the thread up to the right side of the fabric, where your line starts.

2. Sew a horizontal stitch, but before you pull it taut, bring the needle up half way along the stitch.

3. Pull the thread so that the stitch lies flat on the fabric and the thread is underneath the stitch.

4. Make another stitch. This time, before pulling it taut, bring the needle back up to the end of the previous stitch.

5. Then pull on the thread to make the stitch, checking that the thread is underneath the stitch.

Keep going in this way, making a stitch, then making the next one half way along. Work in a line until your line of stitches is long enough.

Woven Wheel Stitch: Hand Embroidery

February 14, 2017 · 2 Comments

Woven Wheel Stitch

One of the lovely things about embroidering by hand is that you can get all sorts of different textures that you just can’t if you use the sewing machine.

Woven wheel stitch is a raised stitch and it adds a little bit of a 3D effect to your embroidery. Kind of like French knots, except that they are bigger. You can make them as big or as small as you like, depending on what you need!

They are useful for making flower centres (I used them for the centre of these daisies), or you can use them as flowers on their own. I’ve used woven wheel stitch for the poppies on this piece of embroidery that I’m currently working on!

They can also be used as eyes, buttons, in fact anything where you might want a little raised circle!

It’s easy and it’s fun to do, although it does take a bit more time than some of the other stitches.

How to Sew Woven Wheel Stitch

1. Decide roughly how big you would like the wheel to be. You could draw a circle using a template, or just mark it with a pencil.

2. Bring the thread up from back to front into the centre of where you want the stitch to be.

3. From the centre, sew 5 stitches going outwards, roughly equal distance apart.

4. Now for the weaving! Bring the thread to the front again, between 2 of the stitches and near the centre. Take the needle over the first stitch, under the next, then over the next.