Embroider Stains Away

A friend of mine recently asked who was the designer of one of my favorite sweaters and pointed at flowers I had embroidered on it. Not that I don't appreciate good sweaters, but I had to chuckle - the reason I had the flowers on the sweater was to cover a stain!

So if you do any kind of embroidery, don't throw that favorite shirt or sweater out. Add embroidered flowers over the stain, then scatter a few more so that it looks like a deliberate pattern.

My favorite flower is the daisy. It's also one of the easiest embroidery stitches.You can embroider daisies plain, in the same color as the shirt, or make it more fancy by using different embroidery floss colors, adding french knot centers and green leaves out of the same simple daisy embroidery stitch.

As far as the "designer" sweater, I took a tip from a rose pin at the top of the sweater and added three small rosettes over the stain in a Brazilian embroidery style called "rococo."To make the rosette, pull needle half way around the center spot; wrap floss around the needle like a french knot 10-15 times, then pull gently so the thread is not too tight but is forming one of the rose edges. Secure with a stitch over the center of the long french knot. Keep adding rose edges until you have the stain covered. You can add a little green leaf, or group several rosettes in the same area. Use your own embroidery style; ribbon embroidery would work as well. Not only practical but apparently quite the fashion, too!

Do you salvage something creatively with your embroidery?

Charlotte