try your hand at embroidering with ribbon review and giveaway

When I hear mention of embroidery, I usually think of the kind of embroidery that I do. You know, cotton floss, a pattern to outline or perhaps fill in, and stitches like back stitch, stem stitch, satin stitch, french knot, and lazy daisy. That is embroidery, but in a broader sense, embroidery covers lots of different kinds of stitching, using lots of different materials and stitches.

If you enjoy one form of embroidery, it doesn't mean you'll like all forms, but I do think it's a very good thing to explore various methods. Not only will it expand your general embroidery knowledge, but it might just lead you to something you love. Something with which you can do amazing things!

Ribbon embroidery is one of the varieties of stitching that I've started learning more about, and Craftsy's Embroidering with Ribbon Class has certainly helped me in this. It's a great way to get started, to move beyond a handful of ribbon embroidery stitches, or to help improve your technique. And you can even enter to win this class!



The class is taught by Mary Jo Hiney, who has been stitching since she was three years old and who clearly loves this art form. She talks about the options for materials, and gives recommendations for what to use and why. And I love the stitch library that she helps you build so that you can see what the stitches look like in their different forms and with different ribbons.



Throughout the class, Mary Jo demonstrates base stitches, plus variations on on those. What's great about this is that you can learn one thing, but then change it in a ton of ways. If you've done the kind of embroidery I mentioned earlier, you'll find that some of your favorite stitches will be used in ribbon embroidery, although the technique is different. I even found myself wondering if I might apply her extra adaptations in other kinds of stitching too.

When I've done ribbon embroidery before, one of the things I found happening was something called a sunk stitch. This happens when you pull the ribbon through the fabric too much, and basically wreck the stitch. You can imagine my relief when the instructor said how normal that was, and how to work over your stitches. I also learned that I had been starting my ribbon embroidery the wrong way, and what the better knot was to use!



Embroidering with Ribbon has over three-hours of high-definition video, and along with the stitch instructions, you also see how to make some finished projects using your new skills. Some Craftsy classes have projects included as PDFs, but with this one, you get to see more of the step-by-step on video. This is helpful, because making a covered box or picture frame can be tricky!

Ribbon embroidery has a very different look from what I normally stitch, but it's so very elegant. And I happen to know that just by choosing different colors of materials and combining your stitches in unique ways, you can also make it fun and funky.



And what's really great is that Craftsy is giving away a free registration for Embroidering with Ribbon! If you win, you'll get this fantastic video-based class with full access to the patterns, discussions, and more...for life. But the giveaway is only open for one week, so don't wait!

Click here to enter to win Embroidering with Ribbon.

If you're already a Craftsy member, simply click the link above to sign in and enter. If you're not a member yet, click to sign up and then enter. It only takes a moment!

Good luck, and thanks to Craftsy for this wonderful giveaway!

This post was sponsored by Craftsy, but the words and thoughts are all mine.