It was fun to come down in scale a little from our more usual designs to stitch this little cactus hoop –
guaranteed to be maintenance free and suitable for even the least green-fingered among us! We chose a vibrantly coloured linen fabric for the background, against which the cactus really pops.
The design usees a variety of stitches including satin stitch, French knots, basket weave stitch and cross stitch. Shown mounted in 4” hoop.
If you’d like this tutorial as a free pdf file (including stitch guide & template), then click the button below and we’ll send it to you. (If you already receive our free newsletter then you’ll find the tutorial waiting for you in your newsletter readers pattern library).
Materials:
- For each hoop 6” square background fabric – cotton, linen or a blend of the two is nice, but any non stretchy fabric that’s heavy enough to hold the weight of your stitching
- For the hoop on purple linen you will need DMC stranded cotton floss in colours 310, 704, 904, 906, 967, 3033, 3768, 3813, 3816, 3860
- 4” embroidery hoop
Method:
● Use two strands of floss throughout.
● Iron your fabric well before transferring your design. Make sure the fabric is taut in the hoop, but not so tight that it will distort and spoil your stitching.
● Don’t carry your thread across large areas of stitching at the back – it’s better to fasten off and begin again.
● When finished remove from the hoop and press (not iron this time) lightly on the reverse. Use a padded surface so that you don’t flatten your stitches.
● When pressing hold your iron still, then lift it to transfer it to the next area to be pressed rather than using a backward and forwards movement – that’s ironing and again may distort your work.
If you’d like this tutorial as a free pdf file (including stitch guide & template), then click the button below and we’ll send it to you. (If you already receive our free newsletter then you’ll find the tutorial waiting for you in your newsletter readers pattern library)
