Quilting Basics – Part 1

Quilting Basics – Part 2

Quilting Basics – Part 3

Quilting Basics – Part 4

When I was done quilting the sample I made for our Quilting Basics series, I wanted to add a little embroidery to the piece. I thought back to those early days of coloring inside the doodles and instead of using crayons, I did a different embroidery stitch inside each shape.

A couple of notes about embroidering for quilted pieces. If the back of you piece is going to be seen, like on a blanket, do your embroidery BEFORE you quilt. This way, all the messy stitching will be inside the quilt, and the only stitches on the back will be of the actual quilting.

If the embroidery is going to be on a piece that you won't see the back, like a wall hanging, you can embroider AFTER you quilt. The advantage to embroidering after you quilt is your embroidery will have more dimension because you are stitching through several layers. Both techniques are acceptable. 

The choice is personal and depends on the project you are doing. I'm trying to decide what to do with this little piece I created. I'm thinking it might become the center panel on a tote bag. More than likely, it will sit in my partially done stash until the perfect idea presents itself 🙂 As we speak the painters are busy at work transforming my house from the rather dark, primitive colors I've used for years, into something more alive and spring like. It will be screaming for new embellishments, and I'm thinking of taking this basic concept of the doodle design, and turn it into a wall hanging above our piano. You can be sure I'll keep you posted 🙂

The pattern for this design and the embroidery stitches I used can be found HERE, or just let the spirit move you and design your own. Enjoy!