Amoebic Leaves

Part of the joy I get out of embroidery is learning new stitches and mastering not so new ones. And when I came up Amoebic Leaves, I knew immediately that it was an opportunity to use a number of stitches in one design.


It's a sampler of sorts, using familiar stitches as well as a few that are hopefully new to some. And it contains my favourite of the moment, heavy chain.

It's not always easy working on black, because of light issues, but colours really pop against dark backgrounds and this design lends itself to a huge array of colourways. And of course it can be embroidered on to any colour fabric.

It could be split up into four individual amoebic leaves and used to create a set of tableware, or stitched as a whole, off-centre and slightly above the hem of a skirt for an individual touch.

The possibilities for this design are endless. And if you're a beginner stitcher, simply switch the stitches for simpler ones until you feel ready to take on the more intermediate level stitches contained in the pattern.

My Amoebic Leaves embroidery pattern is available for sale here.

Bloomin’ Marvellous : 5

It's been a little while, but here's Bloomin' Marvellous 5.


I used heavy chain for the outer petals, which is a stitch I'm quickly coming to love. Not only because of its streamlined look, but also because of how pleasurable it is to stitch – it flows almost as smoothly as palestrina.

If you're unsure how to do any of the stitches I've used, go to the useful links page on my website for stitching books and online stitch libraries.

Download the pattern for Bloomin' Marvellous 5 here.