things to do with embroidery...part ten...

Whoa! Ten! When I started coming up with these things to do with embroidery, I wasn't sure how long the series would go on. I'm still not. There are times when I think that it's slowing down, and then three more ideas come to me. I hope you've been having as much fun with this as I have (and will continue to have!). If you have any suggestions for me, of course, please let me know!



I made this necklace full of embroidered charms for my sister's birthday. Unfortunately it means that I don't really have step by step photos, because I had to keep it hidden and only work at weird, non-daylight times. But this is easy enough for you to get it.

On a piece of muslin with a loose-ish weave, I traced my circles. They are the size of the bottom of my Burt's Bees lotion bottle. What? A real measurement? Fine. 1.75" in diameter. Then I freehanded these patterns, and stitched them up. They were not cut out at this point.



I placed my stitched fabric onto a second layer of muslin, and cut out the circles. Then I stitched them together with a running stitch.



Don't try and stitch more than one row of running stitch, because this is what it looks like. Blech.



I had considered putting eyelets through these, and I might try one like that, but I ended up just pushing a jump ring right through the fabric. I helped it along by making a hole with a large needle first. This process required a bit of practice. First I opened the jump ring a bit, then I made the hole, and then holding the ring with a pliers, I fed it through the hole and closed up the ring again. If you don't get it through the hole right away, the weave closes, and you'll need to make the hole again.



And that's it! I made a bunch of charms so that Anna could wear just one, or several together! These make a nice grouping. (yes, that's the toilet paper that I love to stitch...why?)



This is one of my favorites. I definitely have plans for stitching more Fisher Price Little People.



I Looove faux bois.

These charms would be so fun used in different ways too. How about as a keychain or zipper pull? Or even just pinned onto a bag? Or clipped into your hair? Oooh...possibilities...