Creative Stitch Combinations with Laura Wasilowski

You may think that hand embroidery is a quiet, meditative art form but for this contemporary hand embroiderer, it is wildly exciting! As I wield needle and thread across the surface of a fabric, I revel in how one little stitch can transform the fabric from flat to fabulous. Simple stitch marks enliven the cloth and bring it to life.

Little House in the Woods by Laura Wasilowski

So imagine combining and compounding those stitch marks. Imagine stacking stitches, packing lines with stitchery, or inserting stitches inside loops of threads. Now that plain old flat piece of fabric becomes a piece of art full of texture, pattern, and shapes.

Fly Stitch French Knot Couching Threads by Laura Wasilowski

And that’s what my online class, Creative Stitch Combinations, is all about. You’ll learn how to combine basic hand embroidery stitches to create dynamic textures, patterns, and shapes with thread for your free-form embroidery projects. I’ll show you my favorite ways to combine stitches using 15 embroidery stitches to create exciting and enjoyable art. Colorful examples and helpful tips are given in each of the three lessons. And there is a bonus project too!

Blanket Stitch French Knot Stitch Combination by Laura Wasilowski

In Lesson One we briefly talk about the types of tools, threads, and fabrics to use to create your artwork. Then we delve into texture building. Building texture with multiple embroidery stitches gives your artwork a rich touchable surface. My favorite texture-making combo is row upon row of connected blanket stitches that are filled in with French knots.

Pattern Building Stitch Combinations by Laura Wasilowski

In Lesson Two discover how embroidery stitch combinations create pattern on the surface of fabric. Pattern building or the repetition of a stitch motif on fabric is useful for decorating objects or filling in larger areas like the backstitch and French knot combination used in this field shape. Pattern building with basic embroidery stitches has endless possibilities.

Flower Shape Needle Weaving by Laura Wasilowski

We explore stitch combinations to create shapes in Lesson 3. I’ll teach you more stitches and how to combine them to create flowers like these made with needle weaving in the center. You’ll learn how to combine new stitches to make leaf shapes and see examples of towering trees, bright suns, and whimsical houses made with free-form embroidery. 

Lovely as a Tree Embroidery Art by Laura Wasilowski

And, as promised, there is a bonus project in my class, Creative Stitch Combinations, called Lovely as a Tree. This bonus PDF includes step-by-step directions and colorful illustrations on how to make this small landscape full of texture, pattern, and shapes. It’s the perfect project to put all you’ve learned into practice.

Left Right Hand Embroidery by Laura Wasilowski

And because I want you to be as enthusiastic about free-form embroidery as I am you’ll also have access to my online Hand Embroidery Stitch Library: Right & Left Handed.

Please join me in my online class, Creative Stitch Combinations, and make something lovely today!