I’ll be showing this form of embroidery in two very different materials: one is a sampler I stitched with embroidery floss on huck cloth/popcorn fabric, and one is an afghan my grandmother stitched in yarn on monk’s cloth. For each one, I have a larger overall photo and then some closeups.
The photo on the left is a discontinued kit – Pralines and Cream, from Avery Hill Designs. The directions included little gold beads all over it, but I disliked the effect so I left them off.
This was the quickest type of embroidery I’ve ever done. It really covered ground in a hurry. This kind of fabric has little raised threads all over it – you take your thread and run it under them, creating a couched effect. The thread doesn’t pierce the fabric except where you tuck the threads in at the end of a row. The back of this is blank. I’d like to experiment more with using different materials.
Mary Corbet has a post on huck embroidery, with more details on how-to.
The photo to the left is the afghan from my grandmother. I love the colors, it’s just beautiful. Huck embroidery is often done on monk’s cloth with yarn to make afghans. With floss on a smaller scale it’s often used to decorate towels, runners, and placemats.
Places you can find patterns and/or kits: Nordic Needle, Thistle Needleworks, and Stitch On It Direct.
I think I have a piece of the fabric somewhere – I’ve been meaning to have a go for a while. I might get around to it next year…
Next year is actually very soon!
This is so gorgeous! I’ve never heard of this type of embroidery before. I’ve always loved white-on-white embroidery. The first photos are the ones you made, right? I’d love to try this, maybe with just a pillow at first =) Thanks for sharing; I love your blog!
Thanks! Yes, the first ones are my work. Huck embroidery is not always white-on-white but it looks good like that anyway. Go for it!
I love this very neat and beautiful
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As a wedding gift 58 years ago I received some beautiful huck towels with this embroidery. I still have them and they are really durable. A few years ago I found a book with these patterns and bought it along with huck toweling. It’s very enjoyable to do and much faster than traditional embroidery (which I also enjoy). Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures and stories.
you’re welcome!