For the Love of Stitching

I've been drawn to threads and yarns since childhood. Embroidery thread, in particular, has a way of pulling me back, no matter how long I step away. When I was five, I made chain-stitched bracelets and sold them door to door for a dime, so proud of them. In high school, while grounded one weekend, I freehand-embroidered flowers and yin-yangs on my jeans with just a pen—no fancy tools back then. My friends loved them and asked me to stitch theirs too!

At 19, my Aunt Shelly gifted me The Stitches of Creative Embroidery by Jacqueline Enthoven, and it blew my mind. Until then, I’d only used a few stitches instinctively, without knowing their names. That book opened up a world of technique and history, giving my love for embroidery a deeper meaning and context.

In my early 20s, my friend Gretchen asked me to make her wedding dress. I used the Afghan Dress pattern from Folkwear Patterns—six yards of fabric just for the skirt! Naturally, I went all in on embroidery, losing track of the countless hours I spent embellishing it.

Gretchen’s dress in all its glory!

Then came Alabama Chanin. Her hand-stitched clothing and embellished clothing, utilizing embroidery stitches, sent me tumbling down a deep and beautiful stitching rabbit hole. I even took a workshop with her and still wear my handmade Alabama Chanin pieces with pride.

I deeply love my Alabama Chanin garments.

In 2023, my sister and I embarked on a wool pilgrimage to Scotland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. In an Edinburgh yarn shop, I was captivated by tiny wooden bobbins of lace-weight cashmere. Something about that display deeply delighted me and reignited my passion for thread. I bought one in aqua, and soon after, I started dyeing my own threads and ribbons at home..

It’s funny how just a little thing can define a new direction!

As if by fate, not long after I began dyeing, Laine published Embroidery on Knits by Judit Gummlich. We’re a perfect match if I do say so myself!

Judit Gummlich’s beautiful book

While I still treasure the book Aunt Shelly gave me, with its endless stitches, what I love most about embroidery is its simplicity. With just one or two stitches, you can create something truly beautiful. It’s inexpensive to start (DMC thread is still the Queen of embroidery!), and any fabric will do.