It's time for another Wild Olive Stitching Club! And if you love my kawaii style, you're going to love this one. The Kawaii Alphabet Stitching Club features 26 super cute embroidery patterns and a unique English paper piecing pattern to make a lap quilt.
Everything in this is about super cute stitching and connecting with a group of fellow stitchers as you craft something special. More than any of my clubs before, I'm not showing off the patterns so it can be a surprise for those who like the mystery. But I have plenty of information for you and you can always ask if you have questions!
Embroidery
Embroidery is the heart of the project and it's what ties everything together. The theme is kawaii alphabet, which means super cute objects and animals that represent the ABCs (of the English alphabet). Many of the designs are iconic of the Japanese kawaii aesthetic, but they are all things that you'll recognize in one way or another. The patterns are a secret until they are released each week, but there are a few sneak peeks that lurk around here...The patterns all have their accompanying letter as part of the design, along with some cute little elements all around. They're larger than most of the stitching club patterns I've made before (about 3-4 inches), but they're still fairly quick to stitch up. The size also makes them ideal for embroidering other projects that aren't part of the quilt that we're making.
When starting this project, it's best to know a few basic embroidery stitches.
English Paper Piecing
If embroidery ties everything together, English paper piecing or EPP is what literally holds everything together. This technique involves attaching fabric to cardstock templates. Those templates make it easier to put everything together...without a sewing machine! Each alphabet pattern becomes part of the larger hand-stitched project. A lap quilt, to be precise. You could make it into a giant wall hanging in child's bedroom or you can actually use it while cuddled up on the couch and watching something super cute!Hand sewing a quilt together isn't a fast process, but EPP makes it easy, precise, and portable. The shapes are a mix of hexagons, squares, and a special shape that's like a skewed hexagon. Mine is made with kawaii, candy-colored solids, but you can use any fabrics you like. One person suggested to me that the large pieces would be great for showing off some of the larger scale prints that don't always work for English paper piecing!
And it's okay if you've never tried EPP before, because I'll show you the basics!
Community
This is a stitching CLUB, not just a project. When you sign up, you get patterns and tutorials, but you also get to connect with others who are stitching along. And thanks to a new site where I'm hosting the club, that will be easier than ever. Club members can comment and interact, as well as upload images of their progress.There's no pressure to participate or interact, and you don't even need to stitch at a set pace. But connecting with others can really help you stay on track to finish your project!
All the Details
If you've never done one of my stitching clubs before, here's what you can expect:• New pattern PDF released every Monday while the class runs (if you join after the start, you'll instantly have all the previously released patterns and content).
• Printable templates for the English paper piecing (available as soon as you join)
• English paper piecing instructions
• Lap quilt finishing instructions
• Kind folks who love stitching cute things as much as you do
If you've done one of my stitching clubs before, you can also expect these new features:
• An online portal to access everything all in one place (no hunting for all the emails!)
• Video tutorials along with written instructions
• A private community to interact with other club members and share your photos
The entire club lasts for about six months because that's how long it will take to get through the alphabet with one letter a week. I've set it up this way so you can work on the embroidery and EPP week by week at an easy pace. That means we'll be finishing in November, with just enough time to catch up (if needed!) by the end of the year and gift-giving season. But also, it's completely okay to let this take longer than the six months. You'll be able to come back to the patterns and tutorials after the club ends.
The Kawaii Alphabet Stitching Club launched on May 29, 2023, but you can join any time!
I really can't wait for you to see all of these adorable alphabet patterns and stitch along with me and a fantastic community of super cute stitchers!
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