A bird on its branch

Here are the threads left over from a previous job, which enabled me to create this colorful and varied work.

I urge you to take a look in your stash, I’m sure you’ll find the perfect yarns to make your own creation. I can even imagine that the work will land in the home of one of your loved ones as an unexpected last-minute gift!

The body is embroidered in stem stitch with 4 threads of red stranded cotton, then whipped with a shiny synthetic thread.

Making the wing: after edging the design with a split backstitch, attach 2 overlapping layers of felt to the inside of the embroidery surface, holding them inside the backstitch with a spaced blanket stitch. Then cover the entire felt surface with a dense long and short stitch and decorate it with various stitches according to your whim. Here, the surface is embroidered in red and I’ve covered it with straight stitches arranged in a star shape using a variegated thread and a n°4 gold metallic thread. To finish, I placed gold beads in the center of the stars.

The eye is embroidered with a red ribbed spider web surrounded by 5 golden seed beads.

Embroider the branch in chain stitch with the gold metallic thread, then add straight stitches inside the chain.

The leaves are simply embroidered in backstitch with a swelling, twisted synthetic thread. The 3 flowers are made with spider web stitch using 4 mm silk ribbon and 2 different-colored twisted synthetic threads. I placed a golden bead in the center of each flower before starting the weaving.

These varied thread blends lend themselves perfectly to whimsical and unconventional embroideries; Each skein contains 5 yarns in 5 meters length with different materials and structures, enabling us to achieve often unexpected effects.

They can be purchased directly from me in Nyon or in the UK  from Stef Francis. This is a supplier with whom I have worked for many years and whose reputation is well established.