Be Kind

Welcome to our step by step guide for your Be Kind embroidery kit! I'm so grateful that you've chosen to try embroidery with one of our kits.

This step-by-step guide can be used in addition to or instead of your paper instructions. The benefit of this guide is that each stitch tutorial is listed below, making it even easier to complete your piece without stress!

If you find yourself having any trouble with stitches, reach out to me at hello@craftclubco.com to book a one-on-one 'help me!' session.

Without further ado, LETS GET STITCHING!

Prepping Your Hoop & Thread

Before beginning your kit, you'll be setting up your hoop and threading your needle.

Setting Up Your Hoop

To put your fabric into your hoop, separate the inner and outer hoop by loosening the metal screw at the top.
Place your inner hoop (the one without the metal piece) under your fabric, roughly centering your design in the middle. Then place your outer ring on top of the fabric.
Use the screw to tighten the hoop until the fabric is taut like a drum. This can take a bit of time. Start by screwing it a little tighter, then adjust the fabric, then screw again before finally pulling the fabric so it's nice and tight in the hoop.
Don't worry if the design isn't perfectly in the middle of the hoop, as you'll be able to adjust it after you've completed!

Threading Your Needle

Your thread comes as six individual strands combined to make one string. When stitching we will often split the string and used the desired number of strands for the stitch.
Cut approximately 60cm (or roughly an arms length) of thread then separate the number of strands you'll need for the following stitch.
Most of the stitches in your Be Kind kit are using 3 strands, meaning that you would split the thread in half into two sections with 3x strands each.

Use one of your pink needle threaders to thread your needle, pulling the thread partially through the needle. Don't pull the thread all the way through to the middle, just enough so it feels secure and your needle won't slide away.
Then tie a knot at the end of your thread. You can do a double knot if you like, but just a single knot is usually enough for the type of linen included in your kit.

Beginning Your Be Kind Kit

For this piece you'll be using 5x beautiful stitches. Each of these stitches is great to have in your stitch 'toolbox' because they're commonly used and use a range of skills from outlines to filler stitches.

Stitches Included:

Back Stitch
Satin Stitch
Lazy Daisy Stitch
French Knots
Back Stitch Filler

Where to Start

For this kit I recommend you starting by using BACK STITCH to stitch the stems of the flowers on either side of the flowers. Then fill in the leaves using SATIN STITCH. After this use the same stitch to fill in the mini petal flowers.

Then it's time to fill in your larger flowers using SATIN STITCH. You can do these in any order, but I prefer working from the outside petals to the inside center point.

Next, add your pink LAZY DAISY flowers around the background of your piece.

Then start on your lettering using BACK STITCH FILLER. This section will take a little longer, because you're covering quite a large area. Work from the outside of the letters inwards. Don't worry about making these filler stitches perfect because the overall effect will look great, even if you do leave any small gaps. And you can always fill those in after as well!

Lastly, add your FRENCH KNOTS as the final touch to your piece. These will go at the end of your mini petals and in the centre of each lazy daisy flower.

Your Stitches

Back Stitch Video Tutorial - by Mary Corbet

Satin Stitch Video Tutorial - by Cutesy Craft

Lazy Daisy Video Tutorial - By Cutesy Crafts

French Knot Video Tutorial - by River Birch Threads

Back Stitch Filler - by Cutesy Craft

When You've Finished Your Masterpiece!

Washing Your Piece

If there are blue lines from the pattern still visible when you've finished your piece, it's time to give it a rinse. If you can't see any blue lines (or they're small enough not to be noticeable) skip this step and go straight to backing your hoop!

To wash your lines off, take your fabric out of the hoop and rinse under warm water. You can gently rub the ink with your fingers to remove it. If the ink is being stubborn you can even rinse your fabric with a mild soap.

Once it's clean, leave your piece to dry on a flat on a hand towel away from direct sunlight. You can also press another hand towel gently on top of it to soak up excess water.

Ironing Your Piece

If your piece is very wrinkled, you may want to iron it. Generally, you won't need to do this unless it's very creased because the action of tightening the fabric in your hoop will remove small wrinkles.

Place your embroidered piece upside down on a towel on top of your ironing board. You want the back of your embroidery facing upwards. Next place a tea towel on top of your embroidered piece, to protect it from the direct heat of the iron.

Iron your piece on a medium setting, checking your piece as you go. If the creases are stubborn you can increase the setting of your iron, as linen and cotton are okay with higher temperatures. I always suggest doing this gradually, rather than going in straight away with full heat, as the last thing you want to do is burn your piece!

Backing Your Hoop

When you've finished your design, it's time to back your hoop so it's ready to display! Before backing, make sure your design is centred in the hoop.
With your hoop facing down, cut off your excess fabric, leaving approx. 1.5cm around the edge of your hoop.
Using approx. 70cm of any thread colour, thread your needle and tie a knot at the end.
Starting at the top of the hoop, we are going to use a running stitch around the hoop, across the excess fabric. When you've reached the top again, you can pull the thread firmly to pull the fabric towards the middle. This will stop it from showing at the front.

Once it's tight, secure your thread at the top with a knot. You can even knot the two ends of the thread together - just make sure they're as tight as possible so that the fabric at the back lies flat.
If you find the fabric is bunching up a bit, simply sit your embroidery piece under something heavy like a book for a few hours. This will flatten the fabric at the back, and make your hoop sit flush when you want to display it.

And you're done! Congratulations on finishing your Be Kind embroidery piece. I hope you had a fantastic experience stitching it!

Nakisah x

Craft Club's Founder