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
-
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
Materials and Equipment
Directions
This tutorial has lots of photos—please download the PDF.