Butterfly Stitches: Hand Embroidery & Wool Appliqué Designs

By Catherine Redford

Let your creativity take flight with a rainbow of embroidered butterflies! Internationally recognized teacher Catherine Redford shares her passion for embroidery and embellished wool appliqué. Embroidery, appliqué, or a combination of both? The choice is yours, as you customize 12 designs for 36 unique looks! With delicate details, these winged beauties will inspire you to start your next sampler quilt, pillow, or small project. With an overview of materials, basic stitches, and a robust gallery of ideas, you’ll be ready to unwind and enjoy the soothing practice of hand stitching!

• Language: English
• Publisher: C&T Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781617459870

Catherine Redford

Catherine Redford is an award-winning fiber artist who still loves to learn and pass that knowledge on as she teaches quilting and embroidery around the United States and beyond. She has been married to Steve for very close to 40 years. They have four children who are all married and producing the most wonderful grandchildren. She lives in Naperville, IL.

Book preview

me.

Introduction

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t make things, whether it was cutting up sheets of paper and picking up the little pieces off the floor or knitting dishcloths and embroidering table linens during my elementary school years. High school included embellished jeans, and there were needlepoint pictures during college. Then there were the cross-stitch years, along with four small children. I added quilting after we moved to the States. I love having a project in progress, and I often have more than one. Now it counts as my job—a real bona fide profession. How could life get better?

Growing up in England, I remember red admiral butterflies on summer days. We cultivated special plants to attract them to the garden. We learned about the adaptations made by peppered moths to the smoky skies of the Industrial Revolution. Dragonflies flitted across local ponds, glinting in the sunlight. Our children learned about the migration patterns of the monarch butterfly in their United States schools and were excited when they saw them in our own backyard.

So it seemed like a great project to stitch twelve butterflies and include them in my next quilt. I started drawing up designs and stitching them in my own favorite way of folk art–style embroidery.

I chose butterfly shapes that interested me but soon realized I wanted to include some moths. That was okay; butterflies and moths are all members of the lepidoptera order of insects. But what about the lacewing and dragonfly that found their way into my piece?

Thus we have it: a dozen butterflies and other flying insects, initially drawn out for hand embroidery and then reconfigured to be suitable for wool appliqué enthusiasts. I’ve had a super time stitching them, and I hope you will too.

I’ve added a gallery to inspire you. You can see the first quilt I finished, including all the embroidered designs as stand-alone appliqués, flying across the surface. My wool appliqué quilt is there for you to enjoy. For those that do indeed want to start small, there are the less intimidating projects such as a pillow and canvas-mounted design.

I always intend for my students to take my designs and make them their own. I have included suggestions for suitable stitches, and you can follow my color choices if you prefer, but please don’t hesitate to follow your own path. Remember: No formality or rules are required. It’s folk art!

Note Folk art is sometimes described as art produced by those without formal training in the subject. As anyone who has taken one of my classes knows, there is no formality involved—we call