Way back in the 80s, candlewicking made a comeback. Candlewicking is an interesting Colonial craft technique where ecru thread is used to embroider designs on ecru fabric, traditionally unbleached muslin. Candlewick is the unbleached cotton thread that is used for making candles, something most Colonial families had available for use. Although you can still buy candlewicking, now tatting or crochet thread is often used; and you can even use 6 strands of ecru embroidery floss. The end results are a subtle and muted design… that reminds me of a shadow. Many of the early pieces used a series of French knots to outline imagines, creating a 3-D look, but you can use any embroidery technique you enjoy!

I always talk about my penchant to create designs that can be used in more than one way. Our applique blocks are especially suited to multitasking! For this piece I ran a copy of our Mushroom Applique Block pattern, cut apart the individual mushrooms, and played with them until I achieved a design I liked. You can recreate my design using the placement pattern or lay out your own design. The directions for this Candlewicking Mushroom Wallhanging are available in our FREE Pattern Section. Enjoy!