coffee week: embroidered doily artwork

It's Coffee Week here on Wild Olive! An entire week devoted to my favorite beverage...with crafty goodness too. It can't get any better!

To get things started, I made this little piece of embroidery hoop art. This is something that I've wanted to try for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity.



Here's what you'll need:
Paper doilies (you'll only need one for the finished piece, but you'll want a few extras)
Coffee (strong coffee is best)
Embroidery hoop (a bit larger than the doilies)
Fabric
Embroidery floss



Begin by staining the doilies with coffee. Place some coffee in a saucer and let a few doilies sit in there for a while. My coffee wasn't as strong as it should have been, but even soaking for about 20 minutes made a difference in the color. It's hard to tell from the photos, but trust me, OK?

Pull them out and let them dry on a paper towel. You may only need one of the doilies, but just in case you have a tear, you have backups.



Hoop the fabric, and trim around the edge to make a little ruffle. Lay one of the doilies on top, and get ready to stitch.



Doilies come with built-in spaces to stitch. Use the designs in your doily as inspiration. If you have a large area that is solid, draw on a design, then pre-poke holes with a needle to avoid tearing.

Be aware, paper doilies can be a little fragile, especially after they've had a good soak (yes, we're talking about the dry ones here). Stitch carefully.



Continue adding some free-form stitching. The cross-stitches are my favorite part about mine.




Mine is really symmetrical and almost like a mandala, but it wouldn't have to be. Use your imagination and get creative. The dimension of the doily, and the fact that coffee was used in the process make this so fun to me. SO fun!