Teeny Tiny Menagerie: 380 Whimsical & Wonderful Animal Embroidery Motifs

By Noriko Komurata

Stitch 380 adorable animals and a few surprises with detailed, easy-to-follow instructions.

Let your imagination run wild with this collection of nearly 400 enchanting animal embroidery motifs. Using traditional embroidery, cross-stitch, and applique techniques, you can create a menagerie of motifs, borders, and alphabets unlike any you’ve seen before. Each stitched motif is accompanied by detailed instructions for fuss-free execution. The collection includes an embroidery how-to tutorial and an adorable photo gallery to inspire you to use these designs in innovative ways.

• At last, this cute collection of Japanese embroidered animal motifs is finally available in the United States!

• From animals and insects to borders and alphabet letters, you can pick, choose, and even combine elements to make a one-of-a-kind embroidered motif

• These original creatures are the perfect way to add a personal touch to any item

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781607059004

Book preview

Tools & Materials

All of the motifs in this book are stitched with No. 25 embroidery floss, which is composed of six strands of long-staple mercerized cotton thread. The strands can be separated, allowing you to make your embroidery appear thick or thin. This type of embroidery floss is inexpensive to buy and is widely available at craft stores, discount stores, and online.

You can embroider just about any type of fabric, including cotton, linen, felt, and wool. For best results, look for a plain-woven fabric designed especially for embroidery. The designs in this book are small, so you don’t need to use a hoop. However, you may find a hoop helpful if you’re working on a large piece or with a thin fabric.

This book uses two different types of needles: embroidery needles (pictured on left) and cross-stitch needles (pictured on right). Embroidery needles have sharp tips, while cross-stitch needles have rounded tips designed specifically for cross-stitch fabric. Both types of needles are available in a range of sizes, so choose the one works best with the number of strands of embroidery floss you are using.

Use small thread clips with fine blades to trim embroidery floss and large fabric shears to cut out embroidery and appliqué fabric.

How to Transfer the Designs

Basic Method

This simple technique uses colored chalk paper to transfer designs onto fabric. Colored chalk paper is available at fabric and craft stores. This method is best suited for traditional embroidery fabrics, such as cotton or linen.

1. Position a sheet of colored chalk paper on top of the fabric with the chalk side facing down.

2. Copy the design onto a sheet of tracing paper. Position the tracing paper on