Step by Step Guides

Darling Daisy Bouquet

Welcome to our step by step guide for your Darling Daisy Bouquet embroidery kit! I'm so grateful that you've chosen to try embroidery with one of our kits.

This step-by-step guide can be used in addition to or instead of your paper instructions. The benefit of this guide is that each stitch tutorial is listed below, making it even easier to complete your piece without stress!

If you find yourself having any trouble with stitches, reach out to me at hello@craftclubco.com to book a one-on-one 'help me!' session.

Without further ado, LETS GET STITCHING! 

 

Prepping Your Hoop & Thread

Before beginning your kit, you'll be setting up your hoop and threading your needle.

Setting Up Your Hoop

  • To put your fabric into your hoop, separate the inner and outer hoop by loosening the metal screw at the top. 
  • Place your inner hoop (the one without the metal piece) under your fabric, roughly centering your design in the middle. Then place your outer ring on top of the fabric.
  • Use the screw to tighten the hoop until the fabric is taut like a drum. This can take a bit of time. Start by screwing it a little tighter, then adjust the fabric, then screw again before finally pulling the fabric so it's nice and tight in the hoop.
  • Don't worry if the design isn't perfectly in the middle of the hoop, as you'll be able to adjust it after you've completed!

Threading Your Needle

  • Your thread comes as six individual strands combined to make one string. When stitching we will often split the string and used the desired number of strands for the stitch.
  • Cut approximately 60cm (or roughly an arms length) of thread then separate the number of strands you'll need for the following stitch.

  • Use one of your pink needle threaders to thread your needle, pulling the thread partially through the needle. Don't pull the thread all the way through to the middle, just enough so it feels secure and your needle won't slide away.
  • Then tie a knot at the end of your thread. You can do a double knot if you like, but just a single knot is usually enough for the type of linen included in your kit.

 

Beginning Your Darling Daisy Bouquet

For this piece you'll be using 6x different stitch types. Each of these stitches is great to have in your stitch 'toolbox' because they're commonly used in other patterns. Meaning that you'll be able to stitch a range of pieces after completing your Darling Daisy Bouquet.

Stitches Included:

  • Straight Stitch
  • Back Stitch
  • Satin Stitch
  • Whip Stitch (aka Whipped Back Stitch)
  • Lazy Daisies
  • Woven Roses

Step 1

We're going to start your bouquet by stitching all of the long green stems on your piece. You'll be using 3x strands of thread for all your stems, including those at the bottom, as well as the stems with lavender on them. Start with your #3347 (grass green) thread, stitch the stem lengths using WHIPPED BACK STITCH.

Using your #934 (deep green) thread, you'll go ahead and stitch every second stem at the bottom in your darker green tone, also using WHIPPED BACK STITCH.

If its your first time stitching, watch the tutorial for Back Stitch before watching the Whipped Back Stitch tutorial.

Back Stitch Video Tutorial - by Mary Corbet

 

Whip Stitch (aka Whipped Back Stitch) Video Tutorial - by Cutesy Craft 

 

 

Straight Stitch Video Tutorial - by American Quilting

  

Step 2

Next its time to fill in your lovely white daisies! You'll use 3x strands of your #B5200 (white) thread to make your flowers. Using LAZY DAISY STITCHES fill in each flower, making sure that the pointed ends of your daisies all meet in the middle to complete a full flower.

Remember your daisies don't need to be perfect! You might worry that the flower petals look uneven as you stitch them, but once your flowers are finished they'll look beautiful even if there are imperfections - thats the joy of embroidery!

Lazy Daisy Video Tutorial - By Cutesy Crafts

 

Step 3

Now you'll fill in your lavender 'buds' using the same lazy daisy technique! Using 3x strands of your #209 (lavender purple) thread, fill in each bug with LAZY DAISY STITCH. Unlike your previous flowers, this time each petal will be on its own, with the pointed end touching the stem that you stitched in step 1.

These purple petals are slightly longer and thinner than the petals we made for our white daisy flowers. To achieve this all you need to do is pull a little tighter on your loop before securing it, this way it won't be as 'round' shaped.

See Step 2 for the Lazy Daisy Tutorial.

 

French Knot Video Tutorial - by River Birch Threads

 

Step 4

Onto your next flowers! You'll be using SATIN STITCH to fill in your shapes of your cream and yellow flowers. Starting with the yellow middles, use 2x strands of your #3822 (yellow) thread to fill in the small rectangle middles. You can stitch the yellow middles of all four flowers before starting with the petals.

When you're ready to move onto the petals, use 2x strands of #3770 (cream) thread. You'll use SATIN STITCH again for these shapes. Each petal has quite a boxy shape, which makes it much easier to fill in with satin stitch. Keep the lines of your stitches going from the outside of the petal to the middle, and you can't go wrong! 

Satin Stitch Video Tutorial - by Cutesy Craft

 

Step 5

Now it's time to fill in the green leaves across your entire piece. You'll use 3x strands of thread for all of these leaves, filling in each one with LAZY DAISY STITCHES. Start with the #3347 (grass green) leaves, making sure you do the smaller leaves as well as the elongated leaves at the bottom of your lavender stems.

Next stitch the #934 (deep green) leaves dotted around the piece. Finally use BACK STITCH to fill in the darker green sprigs at the top of your bouquet. 

See Step 1 for the Back Stitch and Step 2 for Lazy Daisies. 

 

Step 6

You're onto the home stretch! Time to stitch your last flowers. Using WOVEN WHEEL ROSES you're going to fill in each of your 5x little roses, using #3727 (lighter pink) and #233 (darker pink). Stitch the spokes of your rose with 6x strands (1x piece of thread) and fill the rose with 12x strands (1x piece of thread doubled over). 

 Woven Wheel Rose (Closed) - Crafts By Geesh

Woven Wheel Rose (Open) - Crafts By Geesh

 

Step 7

Now the cherry on top - your bow! Using 6x strands of #B5200 (white) stitch the lines across your bouquet stems using STRAIGHT STITCHES. Then cut a piece of thread about 30cm long and use your needle to wrap it around those straight stitches. Next tie a know with approximately 15cm of thread on either length of the tail, and tie those tails into a bow. You can make the bow larger at first, then re-adjust slowly to make it smaller in size.

When you're happy with the shape, trim the tails of the bow and you're done. YAY!

 

You've Finished Your Masterpiece!

Washing Your Piece

If there are white lines from the pattern still visible when you've finished your piece, it's time to give it a rinse. If you can't see any blue lines (or they're small enough not to be noticeable) skip this step and go straight to backing your hoop!

To wash your lines off, take your fabric out of the hoop and rinse under warm water. You can gently rub the ink with your fingers to remove it. If the ink is being stubborn you can even rinse your fabric with a mild soap.

Once it's clean, leave your piece to dry on a flat on a hand towel away from direct sunlight. You can also press another hand towel gently on top of it to soak up excess water.

 

Ironing Your Piece

If your piece is very wrinkled, you may want to iron it. Generally, you won't need to do this unless it's very creased because the action of tightening the fabric in your hoop will remove small wrinkles.

Place your embroidered piece upside down on a towel on top of your ironing board. You want the back of your embroidery facing upwards. Next place a tea towel on top of your embroidered piece, to protect it from the direct heat of the iron.

Iron your piece on a medium setting, checking your piece as you go. If the creases are stubborn you can increase the setting of your iron, as linen and cotton are okay with higher temperatures. I always suggest doing this gradually, rather than going in straight away with full heat, as the last thing you want to do is burn your piece!

 

Backing Your Hoop

  • When you've finished your design, it's time to back your hoop so it's ready to display! Before backing, make sure your design is centred in the hoop.
  • With your hoop facing down, cut off your excess fabric, leaving approx. 1.5cm around the edge of your hoop.
  • Using approx. 70cm of any thread colour, thread your needle and tie a knot at the end.
  • Starting at the top of the hoop, we are going to use a running stitch around the hoop, across the excess fabric. When you've reached the top again, you can pull the thread firmly to pull the fabric towards the middle. This will stop it from showing at the front.

  • Once it's tight, secure your thread at the top with a knot. You can even knot the two ends of the thread together - just make sure they're as tight as possible so that the fabric at the back lies flat.
  • If you find the fabric is bunching up a bit, simply sit your embroidery piece under something heavy like a book for a few hours. This will flatten the fabric at the back, and make your hoop sit flush when you want to display it.

 

And you're done! Congratulations on finishing your Darling Daisy Bouquet embroidery piece. I hope you had a fantastic experience stitching it! 

Nakisah x

Craft Club's Founder