Monday Project - Embroidered Blackberry Vines

Have you been practicing your bullion stitch?  I finished the embroidered overalls I was working on for little c and have the blackberry vine pattern and tutorial for you!  If you're just joining us today, see last Monday's post here.

Materials:
*something to embroider - I'm using denim bib overalls
*embroidery thread in green, purple, cream, and light yellow
*embroidery needle - if you're embroidering on denim, use a heavier needle than what you're probably used to using
*small pair of pliers if you're using denim - these are useful for pulling the needle through heavy seams, especially if you have achy fingers like me!

Some hints on embroidering denim:  Use shorter (about 12 to 14 inches) lengths of thread.  After awhile of pulling the thread through the heavy denim it begins to wear and get a big fuzzy, making your stitches look off.  I use a heavy needle and a small pair of pliers to stand up to the denim and its heavy seams.

I embroidered these without tracing a pattern onto the overalls.  I drew out the patterns I ended up with that you can download or view if you want, or just look at the tutorial and follow the sequence I used.  If you want to see patterns, they are here.

1.  Using six strands of green, embroider a wandering vine using a stem or outline stitch. 

2.  Next, add in the leaves using a lazy daisy stitch and six strands of green.  Add in spirals and offshoots every so often.

3.  Add the flowers, again using a lazy daisy stitch and three strands of cream.

4.  Put three french knots in the center of each flower, using two strands of light yellow.

5.  Make blackberries using a bullion stitch and 6 strands of purple.  I wrapped the needle 4 times for some of the stitches and 3 times for others.

6.  Here's the finished side seam:

The finished side pocket:

The front bib pocket:

The back pocket:

And the finished front:

Happy Creating!  Deborah