I have a list of about eleventy billion crafty things that I would like to learn to do. I’d love to learn how to knit. Although I don’t bake, I think it would be fun to learn how to decorate cakes. And I want nothing more than to arrange flowers like Eddie Ross.
Pretty high on that list was learning how to crewel. If you aren’t familiar with crewel, it’s basically very similar to hand embroidery, except you use crewel yarn instead of embroidery floss. That yarn gives it more of a textured look and feel. Crewel is a thousand year old technique, but it saw great fanfare in the 1970s. These days, the special crewel yarn is ONLY made by a company in London called Appleton. You can find it online and possibly at local shops; there is one place here in Austin where you can pick it up – The Needle Works. It (quite overwhelmingly) comes in hundreds of different colors.
I bought eight skeins of my favorite Appleton colors and headed down to a beginner Crewelwork class at an amazingly hip fabric store/sewing lounge in Austin, the Stitch Lab. Niku, a wonderful gal who was way cooler than I could ever dream to be (she had gorgeous tattoos of embroidery scissors, a cross stitch sampler and a tomato pin cushion!) taught us how to thread our needles with the crewel wool and set us on our way with some stitches. We laughed and we stitched and I was generally hooked. It was so much fun, and I’ve been working away on getting my little crewel sampler completed.
The cool thing about crewel (and hand embroidery in general) is that it doesn’t have to be the typical designs that you find at JoAnn, Michael’s, or your grandmother’s sewing basket. Crewel has gotten cool! After I finish this sampler, I am planning on buying some designs from Sublime Stitching (founded here in Austin in 2001 and now taking over the world). I’m pretty sure Ryan Berkley’s Mr. Fox is going to be stitched out to hang on my wall sometime soon.
Ryan Berkley embroidery transfers available at Sublime Stitching
What about you? Have you ever considered trying your hand at crewel? I think it’s a great thing to do in the evenings instead of checking Twitter and Facebook and Pinterest and then Twitter and Facebook and Pinterest. I honestly don’t think you even need to take a class – just search for some videos on YouTube and get started.
What crafty things would you like to learn to do?
Shut up! We totally would be BFF if we lived closer (except for all those fights we’d have at thrift stores). I too am not a baker but took cake decorating one and two. 🙂
Crewel seems like a good idea because it wouldn’t take FOREVER! I have some old tablecloths from my Grandma with this kind of stitch. I cherish them. I didn’t even know what it was called. Thank You!
I’d like to learn how to quilt. I would love to create something that could be handed down to my niece as an heirloom.
http://www.craftrunwag.blogspot.com
another thing you just might have to take me with you to learn. That’s super cute.
really cute! I’d like to learn to sew.
This is the first time I’ve heard of this, but I’d love to try my hand at it! Thanks for sharing!
I have the random urge to learn how to knit. I want to make really cute hats for the all babies in my life (none of them are mine but I feel like I should spoil them anyways).
I want to use these embroidery patterns for pillows! 😀
I’ve done a little crewel work…I totally have craft ADD, so as soon as I learned how to do it, bought up some supplies and did a project or 4, I pretty much lost interest, but there is a GREAT book that I bought several years ago called “The New Crewel” by katherine shaughnessy. It has great modern designs and the are in 3×3 blocks, so the projects are quick if you want them to be. I did the one with the two trees intertwined and Lurved it!
Yes! I’ve seen that book and I want to get it. I picked up a few new templates yesterday, so I’m working on some new things. I have craft ADD, too, so it might not last long – but it sure is fun for now!
Crewel is something that has been coming up here and there and its now on that eleventybillion list, but I have been working on ebroidery. My newest endeavor is to learn “needle” painting. I have been hanging out on http://www.needlenthread.com and the lady is just so helpful and amazing. She’s got a crewel project on there as well. Unfortunately her supply shop links are outdated so thanks for the help!
Crewel:
http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/04/crewel-embroidery-project-step-by-step.html
Gold work:
http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/07/goldwork-silk-tudor-style-rose-tutorials-index.html
Anyway have fun! 🙂
Hi LINDSAY BALLARD.
Thank you so much for sharing another new thing that we learned. Best of luck wishing you to share many more these kinds of information with us