Embroidery tutorial and ideas...

Today I did a guest post for Clover in Violet series, A Season by Hand. Welcome to Clover and Violet readers, we hope you like what you see.

 I decided to share an embroidery project that is twist on the norm. 

I embroidered right on top of a fabric I already loved. This is Sarah Jane's Out to Sea fabric line, and this mermaid is darling!

To start, cut the fabric piece about an inch and a half larger than the hoop you are using. 

Another tip is to add a circle of fusible white fleece to the back, this helps your stitches not show through to the front of your project. 

I started with a simple filler stitch for the mermaid tail...

I added some stem stitching to her hair, just pieces of her hair, not all. Then I did a handful of frenchknots to the starfish. The texture really stands out. You could be done here if you liked it. 

I decided to go on and "freestyle" the fishes. The same style of fish were in a different area of the print, so I basically just copied that idea and added the fish next to her. I really like them. 

When you are finished, pull tight, and use a glue gun and glue the fabric edges to the back of the hoop.

You are finished! A sweet, semi-custom, darling embroidery hoop art.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial, and if you are new from Clover and Violet, we hope you come back more!