Carding for Color Part III: Embroidery

By Stephanie Flynn Sokolov

I have been smitten with color since preschool. I remember my teacher adding red food coloring to a large glass pitcher of water, then making a pitcher of blue and a pitcher of yellow. From these primary colors they mixed secondary colors; purple, orange and green. They had me at purple.

These principles of mixing color have served me to this day. For this project we’ll be looking at a picture, choosing a section we find visually pleasing, and breaking down the colors so we can spin them and recreate that portion of the picture in yarn using embroidery.

What You'll Need

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Colors from your stash; I used mostly CVM/Corriedale cross
Hand cards suited to your fiber (I used Schacht Mini Cards in 72 psi)
Drop spindle or spinning wheel (I used my Schacht Hi-Lo Spindle)
Embroidery hoop for stitching and display. I recommend a small hoop in the 4" to 6" range.
Base fabric for embroidery: light-colored, tightly woven cloth large enough to fit in the embroidery hoop
Inspiration photo (painting, ad from a magazine, personal photo, etc.)
Pencil or fine-tipped water-soluble marker
Sharp needle with eye large enough for your handspun
Needle threader
Scissors