Lolita Charm: Embroidery Basics

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Embroidery Basics

image by ebbandflo_pomomama

I've always loved to embroider since I was little. My grandmother loved to embroider first, so she taught me. My earliest memories are of sitting with her after family dinners, made clumsy hot pink French knots (because as a four-year-old, I believed SUPER PINK was the only acceptable color). Somewhere there is still a small scrap of fabric with a sloppy daisy and a few scattered knots on it.

She was unable to finish teaching me herself, as she died when I was five. However, the interest in the craft stayed with me. On and off I'll find myself hunting through the materials and starting projects again. She left me cases and tins full of thread and needles and sewing hoops.

As you may know, I've been dealing with an extended illness lately, so I admit to being slightly stir-crazy. So - I've started embroidering again.

Embroidery is well-known to be 'Lolita-ish' from the film Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari), as Momoko and her hobby feature in the plot. However, it seems like despite its talk-up, few Western Lolitas actually do it. I sincerely recommend you give it a try. It has a handful of useful lessons to teach, a reason it was probably popular for young girls to learn back in the day. For example:

Concentration. It's very meditative and quiet. You would think that it would make your mind wander, or if you were upset, give you 'too much time to think.' But when embroidering, you're so focused on the miniscule details that you're not thinking about the things that bother you. In that way, it's both a training tool for discipline and escapist.
Something to do with your hands. If you're the kind of person that fidgets - or snacks - this could be a great assent. I especially like to do it while listening to television. My hands are busy, and as said, if they are, you're not snacking. I'm just the kind of person who gets fidgety, myself, but if you're looking to lose weight, this could help.
Attention to detail! A very valuable Lolita lesson that I preach quite often. You will definitely learn attention to detail from embroidery. A stitch out of place will end up bothering you; placing the needle in just the right place is essential. Even the smallest stitch can make or break a whole piece, just like an outfit's accessory.
Color training. You generally get to choose your own colors, so you'll learn interesting color schemes and patterns. A shock of red, baby blue and bright green flowers looks horrible - but a collection of different tones of pinks, much better.
An added bonus - you can, if you become proficient enough, decorate your own Lolita clothes. A plain skirt can be embellished with embroidery, or perhaps the breast of a sweater. Even a handkerchief can make a great statement.

So, what sort of embroidery should you do? Here are my top three favorites!

Cross-stitch: A method done on squares of Aida cloth or evenweave (cloth marked out in squares) where you mass the crosses into blocks of color. Consider them like pixels, and you have the idea.

Cross-stitch links: Cross Stitch Supplies, Learn Cross Stitch in Five Minutes, Cross Stitch Instructions

Freestyle Embroidery: Done on evenweave or other fabric, freestyle is done with a variety of stitches, such as the chain stitch, fly stitch, running stitch, etc.

Freestyle links: Sublime Stitching, Sharon's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, Stitch Diagrams (with cool folksy names, like the Point de Sable, or the Witch Stitch)

Silk Ribbon Embroidery: The most elegant and princess-like embroidery is done with soft, silk ribbons. It's similar to freestyle, but obviously done with ribbons and therefore rather thicker. Flower designs are popular.

Ribbon Embroidery links: Beginner's Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Ribbon Embroidery patterns and projects, Ribbonwork: The Complete Guide (this was mentioned in the English Bible!)

Extra!

Some other ideas for using embroidery in your Lolita life!

A soft heart or cameo pendant of velvet or satin you make yourself can be even sweeter with your initials or a crown embroidered on it.
An embroidered change purse is a cute asset - but so is a handkerchief, fan-case, or tissue-packet.
Embroidering your own skirt motifs, sweaters, socks, cutsews, or even blouse detailing is a great personal touch to either homemade or reconstructed items.
Embroidered items are great gifts for your Lolita friends!
Sachets to tuck into your clothes are even cuter with an embroidered image and a little lace.
Lolita motifs are especially fun to embroider - cats, rabbits, candy, ice cream, crowns, hearts, flowers, wings, crosses, butterflies, anchors, and skulls!
Like Momoko, try fixing your broken brand items with embroidery. As you may remember, moths ate some holes into her bonnet - so she stitched hearts and flowers around it. Use embroidery to camouflage holes in socks, stains on dresses (depends on where the stains are), or hide threadbare places. Especially good if you buy a lot of second-hand brand, like I do.

What else can you think of? A little bright color floss and some stitches later, and you could have a truly original piece!

Labels: lifestyle

4 Comments:

At October 6, 2008 at 11:39 AM , Anonymous said...: As always, my dear, a wonderful article. Your style is so objective, informative and helpful; I always enjoy reading this blog.

(Maybe you could teach me some techniques at our cutsew party this week?)
At October 10, 2008 at 10:01 PM , Anonymous said...: Whenever I visit Germany, I have the time to embroider.

I guess I am so stressed out now that I never want to do anything at all. I should start again sometime soon. I haven't finished the table cloth in a couple of years.

Thanks for the article~!
At January 14, 2010 at 4:29 PM , Anonymous said...: I embroider a lot. It's really relaxing, plus its nice to be able to give hand-embroidered things (like table runners) to elder family members who will enjoy them.

I've allso started making ribbon flowers. I recommend the book "Ribbonwork: The Complete Guide" by Helen Gibb. It's really concise and pretty.
At September 24, 2010 at 8:53 AM , Anonymous said...: I'm just learning how to embroider from my grandmother, which is exciting for me, because I've been hoping to ask her for a while, and only recently did.

I know there aren't any lessons for it on the net, or probably even in North America, but there's this writing system called Nushu which was embroidered a lot, used only by women in China, so basically what I like to do is to embroider things in Nushu that I find off the net. It's really very pretty, imho, and fun to embroider.

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Sunday, October 5, 2008

Embroidery Basics

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