Hello again friends! This is Faith, back again for another Stitch-A-Long. This week I did the Woodland Snail, and I LOVED it! I think this is my favorite that I've done so far, and I had so much fun experimenting with some new stitches.
Difficulty Level: Beginner +
Stitches Used: Back Stitch, Satin Stitch, Seed Stitch, French Knot, Blanket Stitch
Length of Time to Complete: 3 Episodes of The Handmaid's Tale, and 2 Episodes of Portlandia
Supplies:
"Woodland Stitches" Book (available for purchase here)
1 Embroidery Hoop
1 Flour Sack Cotton Tea Towel (or cotton fabric of your choosing)
1 Embroidery Needle
Scissors
3+ Colors of DMC embroidery floss (I used pink, navy, lavender, dark green, and light green)
Alrighty! Let's get started.
So first up is tearing or cutting out the pattern from the Woodland Stitches book before tracing the pattern onto the fabric. I used my light box again this time, but you can also tape your pattern and your fabric to a sunny window to accomplish the same thing. My house just doesn't get a lot of light, and I tend to start these projects in the evenings when I'm winding down for the day.
I like to use a non-mechanical pencil - I find it easier to mark on the fabric without the lead catching. I keep the fabric pulled tight so I can see the pattern more clearly shining through, and it's easier to mark.
I wanted to give myself a good starting point, so I stitched the shell first using two navy threads with the back stitch. Then I traced the body of the snail in pink, and I used navy thread to mark the eyes, mouth, and antennae.
I also started on some of the greenery with the dark green thread using the blanket stitch. I'm putting a link with a how-to video HERE. I don't know why, I was just feeling extra fancy this time and decided to play around with some new stitches!
I also used a satin stitch on the mushrooms to make them more filled in for some contrast! Instructions HERE. I used a seed stitch to make little spots on the mushrooms.
I then finished outlining the rest of the greenery using the light green in a back stitch, easy peasy.
Once I had everything else finished, it was time to do the little dots surrounding the snail! Once again, I decided to put my fancy pants on and tried my hand at french knots. Instructions HERE. I decided to do dots in every color that I had used to tie it all together.
And here's the finished snail! I've decided to call mine "Herman." He was so much fun to stitch up! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Faith