Easy Watercolor Embroidery!

Hello! A brief break from sewing to do something a little different – embroidery! I started doing some embroidery projects a couple years back, but never anything too complex and I mostly followed patterns I got from Etsy. As a result of this hobby, I have quite a few skeins of embroidery thread, embroidery hoops, and aida cloth at the bottom of a few craft bins on my supply shelves. Because I am the middle of a move, a bunch of those supplies resurfaced when I was setting up the crafting space in my new apartment!

One of my friends came by to check out my new place and she brought over her watercolor set, so I got to test out a crafting trend that I’ve been dying to try – watercolor embroidery. I love the look of mixed media projects and it adds such a unique extra dimension to fiber art.

Here are some snapshots from a quick watercolor embroidery project and how you can accomplish the same!

Supplies:

watercolors (a cheap palette is okay!)
brushes
cup for water
aida cloth or some type of woven cloth
embroidery hoop! I am using a tiny wooden hoop from Joann fabrics
pen – I use Pilot Frixion pens because the ink lifts when under heat
embroidery thread and needle of your choice!

Ensure at this step that your cloth is taut within the embroidery hoop for a smooth surface while painting

Start painting one layer at a time! It’s easier to go with lighter shades first and then layer more pigmented colors next. Make sure to clean your brush before using other colors.

after this step, I used my blow dryer on high speed/heat to make the drying process faster! I then used a pen to draw out the sailboat. A little embroidery and you’re all done! I used 2 single threads together for my embroidery – usually in skeins, 6 threads are twisted together.