In this class you will explore a variety of hand sewn Darning and Needle Weaving techniques. These captivating stitches can be used to do everything from patching clothing in the current trend of ‘Visible Mending’, to embellishing other fiber artworks. Students will work on a sampler of methods ranging from more traditional tabby style darning, to coiled and looped variations.

Kit Available for $20 cash paid at beginning of class includes:

a felt or denim base, 2 skeins of Perle Cotton, 2 needles, a template, and a marking pen/pencil. Students purchasing kits will need to bring an embroidery hoop, a small ruler, thread snips or craft scissors, a seam ripper, and a thimble if you wish to use one.

Supplies Needed  to bring for Class if you dont purchase a kit:

• A piece of ‘stable’ base fabric approximately 11” x 11”: this can really be a piece of heavy felt, denim, or canvas. Some heavy-weight upholstery fabrics might work as well.
• Thread: #5 - #8 weight Perle Cotton in a variety of colors that contrast, yet coordinate well with the color of your fabric base. Variegated thread can be particularly nice.
• Needles: You will need two needles – a sharp darning/basting or doll needle, and a blunt tipped tapestry needle. Both should have eyes large enough to accommodate the Perle cotton you are using.
• Quilters/tailor’s white chalk pencil: The ruler can be any size but a square ruler around 6” or so will be the most useful; these will be to cut your patches if you didn’t cut them ahead of time.
• Template plastic: a 3” square
• Small 6” ruler
• Small embroidery hoop: 5” – 6” would be perfect. I will have some extra hoops students can borrow but they need to be returned to me at the end of the class.
• Scissors and/or thread snips
• Seam ripper
• Thimble (optional): To use a thimble or not is a personal decision. I don’t use one as a rule but it will protect your fingers from punctures and one of the methods I will be showing in class involves using the wrong end of the needle to weave. If metal thimbles are uncomfortable (or you have long nails, you might consider a leather thimble or an open-topped one.
• Lighted Magnifier (optional): There are a number of different products out there, many that clamp onto a table. If you need magnification and/or focused light for detailed work, you might consider getting something like this.