Australian Homespun — February 2018

PREPARATION

1

Trace around the inner hoop

(12cm/5in size) onto the three felt

squares. Cut them out on the lines

and set them aside.

2

Place the Pattern Sheet on a

lightbox or against a brightly lit

window. Stretch a calico square in the

15cm (6in) hoop and tighten the screw

to keep it taut. Flip it over to the back

and place it over the design. Trace

the design neatly with a sharp pencil.

3

Remove the fabric from the hoop,

fl ip it over and stretch it again in

the hoop so you’re ready to stitch.

EMBROIDERY

4

Before threading the needle each

time, separate all the strands and

bring them together again. This allows

the fl oss to lie fl atter, covering the

background more smoothly and allowing

the thread colours to blend better.

5

For all the portraits, begin by

backstitching the outlines

indicated by the solid lines on the

pattern, with the exception of the ones

inside the cats’ ears, in Black (310).

(The broken lines on the pattern

indicate colour changes, not outlines.)

6

Also fi ll in the cats’ pupils at the

start. Work these in vertical satin

stitch with Black (310).

7

Referring to the Stitchery Guide

below for the colours and stitches

to use for each area, embroider the rest

of the designs. The stitches generally

follow the natural fur direction – see

Chloe’s Grey Cat Tip. The inner ears

have stitches slanting outwards, the

noses have horizontal stitches and the

irises are stitched around in circles. On

the tabby cat, the single-strand blending

stitches are worked one colour at a time,

brown into black and vice versa.

Grey cat

STITCHERY GUIDE

Design area Thread Stitch

Irises of the eyes Ultra Very Dark Topaz (780) Straight stitch

Whitesof the eyes

and highlight White (Blanc) Straight stitch

Outer ears Black (310) Straight stitch

Tabby cat

See next page for image

Homespun 89

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