Berlin Embroidery Teaches Needle Cases and French Link Book Binding Stitch

If you've always wanted to create your own felt needle book, Tanja Berlin of Berlin Embroidery now offers a PDF file tutorial on French Link book binding stitch to make it easy to sew your needle book pages together in a decorative stitch.  

https://berlinembroidery.com/

Tanja sells little needle case kits with full instructions and includes the French Link book binding tutorial for free if you buy one of them.  Currently there are two needle cases available, both using needlepoint canvas for the front and back.  You can buy the designs, threads, instructions and canvas from Tanja but will have to source two thick pieces of felt and ribbon for assembly yourself.  You will also need Craft Tacky Glue.  

https://berlinembroidery.com/product-tag/needle-case/

If you have a needle case design in mind already, you can just order the instructions for the French Link book binding stitch to assemble your needle case for $7.88 USD. (Tanja is in Canada.)

https://berlinembroidery.com/product/needle-case-construction-downloadable-pdf-file/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 24, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tanja's Tutorials on Lacing and Gluing

Tanja Berlin has edited and updated her tutorial on lacing needlework for framing or mounting in a hoop and added a section on how to create the backs of needle cases or boxes in this great tutorial.

https://berlinembroidery.com/finishing-needlework/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright January 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A Special Sale at Berlin Embroidery

Tanja Berlin is having a special exhibit and sale of her mother's stitching.  The story is touching and I am happy that her mother's work will be shared instead of boxed up in a closet or hidden under the bed.

https://berlinembroidery.com/beppy-berlin-needlework-gallery-1/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright May 1, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

All About Metal Threads

Tanja Berlin, the fabulous Canandian embroiderer who is a master of needle painted animals, also knows a lot about metal threads.  Her website has a pretty good summary that's free.

https://berlinembroidery.com/metal-thread-info/

She also has a nice PDF document for sale on her website that coveres metal threads extensively if you are exploring their use for goldwork and other types of needlework using metal threads.

https://berlinembroidery.com/product/metal-thread-information-pdf-file/

She also sells tools and materials needed for goldwork but sales are temporarily on hold because her dad is ill and Tanja herself is still recovering from a hip replacement.  Send her your good wishes, order the PDF if you like (she can sell those even though she's away from home caring for her parents), and hold off on ordering supplies for a bit until she's back home.

Good luck, Tanja!  

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright January 3, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Japanese Embroidery Scissors

I have two pair of Japanese embroidery scissors I love.  I don't know the brand (they don't have any name on them) but they have stayed sharp for years and I just love them.  So I noticed when Tanja Berlin announced she carries KAI brand Japanese scissors in her shop now.
https://berlinembroidery.com/blog/new-kai-hand-embroidery-scissors/

https://berlinembroidery.com/product-tag/kai/

My scissors don't appear to be from KAI but if these are half as good as the ones I own, they are a great bargain.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 10, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Ripping Out: The Video

BeStitched's latest video is all about ripping out.
https://vimeo.com/148802682?inf_contact_key=4a2e7a8003034fc6cc5e79e8e92650dd

Some people like to use scissors with blades that curve up or tweezers (or both) to help rip out stitches.  You can see a variety of these on Tanja Berlin's website.
https://berlinembroidery.com/product-category/hand-embroidery-supplies/gift-ideas/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 21, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Need Some Tweezers?

If you want a nice pair of tweezers for your stitching toolbox, Tanja Berlin has a great selection on her website.
https://berlinembroidery.com/product-category/hand-embroidery-supplies/gift-ideas/

She also has some very beautiful limited edition needle minders for sale.  These appear to be done in goldwork and they are unique!  They are expensive but you will have top quality needlework and something none of your stitching friends own.
https://berlinembroidery.com/product-category/hand-made-needle-minders/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 22, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tanja's Tips: Magni-Clips Magnifiers

Tanja Berlin has a good tip if you are considering buying a pair of clip on magnifiers to wear over your regular glasses:  try a pair of drug store magnifying glasses over your bifocals first to see if they will work with magnifiers.   This also will tell you what magnification to buy.  Tanja sells these if you follow the link, but she's in Canada so the pricing is in Canadian dollars.
https://berlinembroidery.com/blog/back-in-stock-magni-clips-magnifers/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 19, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tanja Teaches Framing

Tanja Berlin is continuing to build out her new website, adding PDF files about various techniques, some of which are free and some of which are lessons to buy. I highly recommend her free file that teaches you how to mount your needlework on acid free board before framing it.
https://berlinembroidery.com/mounting-embroideries/

Framing is labor intensive and the materials are not cheap, so being able to at least mount your stitching on board prior to framing it is a really good thing to know.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 18, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The New Berlin Embroidery Designs Website

Seems like every time I turn around another designer is updating their website! This time it is Tanja Berlin Designs.  Tanja is a very skilled embroiderer who designs and teaches blackwork, needle painting, counted canvaswork, and goldwork.
https://berlinembroidery.com

She is a great source for metal threads used in goldwork and elsewhere, and has added a great information page about these threads for folks who are trying to learn more about them.  If you want to know the difference between gimp cord and Grecian twists, this is the place.   You can compare pearl purl to jaceron and learn all the sizes of bright bullion she carries.  It's a great resource, one I've added to the Tutorials and Tips tab for later easy reference.
https://berlinembroidery.com/metal-thread-info/

You can download the metal threads information as a PDF file for a small fee. Think of it as buying a booklet on goldwork threads!
https://berlinembroidery.com/blog/metal-thread-information-pdf-file/

She's added a blog to the mix, too!
https://berlinembroidery.com/blog/

Thanks for all the work, Tanja!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 3, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Berlin Embroidery Has a New Website

Tanja Berlin has a new website!  If you are curious about needle painting animals, you will love seeing Tanja's kits, many of which have diagrams posted so you get a sense of how she analyzes and then stitches animals for a very realistic look.  This is a good place for goldwork supplies as well, and her blackwork designs are gorgeous. Have fun browsing.
https://berlinembroidery.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 24, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tool Collector Alert--Tweezers and Polishers

Tanja Berlin's latest e-newsletter had some wonderful tweezers that she stocks and sells, and something new to me--a needle emery inside an abalone shell!  The tweezers with pads on the squeeze section look particularly useful for those with hand problems but the needle polisher caught my eye.
https://pub15.bravenet.com/bravemailer/v2/online.php?id=787&usernum=1282098814&e=chillyhollow%40hotmail.com&cname=Valued%20Subscriber

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 10, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mythic Crafts: New Source for Slate Frames UPDATED AGAIN

If you are in the market for a well-made slate frame, then you'll want to look over the Etsy shop of Mythic Crafts AB.  Tanja Berlin, trained at the Royal School of Needlework, raves about these Canadian products.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MythicCraftsAB

These are completely hand made.  You can even have them engraved with your name or stitching motto.  Very very nice!

UPDATE:  Mary Corbet reviews and raves about this brand of slate frame here.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2017/03/slate-frame-for-embroidery.html

MORE UPDATES, this time from The Unbroken Thread:
http://www.theunbrokenthread.com/blog/2017/03/16/story-mythic-crafts-slate-frames-part-1/

http://www.theunbrokenthread.com/blog/2017/03/17/give-away-story-mythic-crafts-slate-frame-part-2/

LATEST UPDATE:  Mythic Crafts has a new and fabulous website.
https://mythiccrafts.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 15, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A Quick Lesson on Reverse Couching UPDATED

Between sessions of Japanese Embroidery, Carol-Anne of the Coral Seas blog took a Tanja Berlin Tanya Bentham course and learned about reverse couching in gold work.  Reverse couching can be used to create intricate goldwork patterns with metallic threads so I thought you'd like to hear what Carol-Anne learned.  Click on the little photos for a really good look.
http://threadsacrosstheweb.blogspot.com/2016/02/english-work-embroidery-short-course.html

UPDATE:  Nupur says that Carol-Anne took the class with Tanya Bentham instead of Tanja Berlin.  Sorry!  My apologies to everyone, particularly since I've followed Tanja's blog for several years without realizing that is who was posting.  Here's the link.
https://opusanglicanum.wordpress.com/author/opusanglicanum/

I'm leaving up the link to Tanja Berlin's website, since it is a fun visit for everyone, too.  Sorry for the confusion!  And thanks for straightening me out, Nupur.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 10, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Want to Learn Needle Painting?

Campanita, The Miami Gold Digger's Dog

I'm sure regular visitors of Blog have noticed that recently my profile photo at the top of the right hand column has been the little dog from the Miami Gold Digger canvas I'm currently stitching.  There's a reason for that--I'm going to use this in a needle painting tutorial.  But first, let's talk about what classic needle painting is.

Basically it is creating very realistic animals, usually with one or two plies of cotton floss, using only a limited range of stitches:  long and short, stem stitch, split stitch and perhaps a few straight or slightly slanted satin stitches for details like noses and whiskers and claws.

Tanja Berlin and Helen M. Stevens are masters of this technique.  Berlin Embroidery sells kits to reproduce her original designs.  If you head to her website you can see them here.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/needlepainting.htm

Even more importantly, Tanja has posted examples of her instructions for various items:  birds, animals and flowers.  Click on any of her examples and you will see diagrams for which colors to use where, diagrams that show the direction of the stitches you will be using and diagrams that tell you what order to stitch the animal parts in.  She uses long and short stitch for most of her fur, feathers and flower petals with 1-2 plies of cotton floss.

Helen Stevens' website isn't quite as detailed (she teaches, lectures and writes books on her techniques) but the photos are knockouts!  She uses the same stitches as Tanja but adds various other stitches for special areas like wings.  She also tends to use silk flosses for her designs.  
http://www.helenmstevens.co.uk

Impressed?  Intimidated?

Be impressed but don't worry--this isn't nearly as hard as it looks.  All you need is patience and to observe dogs to see how their fur lies since we don't want to stitch Campanita's ears so the fur sticks out in an unrealistic way.  Don't own a dog?  Not to worry--Watson will pose for us.

Watson at 8 weeks

Stay tuned for an orientation to the threads and stitches we'll be using.  I will add article links to a new tab called "Needle Painting on Needlepoint Canvas Tutorial" as they go live.  Which will be when I have time, this being the holidays.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 29, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Fancy Work and Fantasies: A Tale of Hapsburg Lace UPDATED

Ruth has been working "Hapsburg Lace" which you'd think is a style of needlework, but it isn't.  She explains here--
http://ruthsneedlework.blogspot.com/2015/09/my-name-is-ruth-and-i-am-needlework.html

The best place I know of to pick up some of the Fancy Work and Fantasies charts now is Alex Paras, the online arm of Thistle Needlework.  Ruth linked to the site in her article above.  Don't miss the very beautiful "Eterna" which is my favorite of Carol Costello's designs.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/fawofa.html

The Pampered Stitcher on Etsy also has some of Carol's work.  Use the Search This Shop box in the middle of the page to see them all.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePamperedStitcher?ref=l2-shop-info-name

These designs are from the 1980s but they are classics all the same, even if they are over thirty years old.  After all, when WE hit our thirties, we were just coming into our prime!

UPDATE: By coincidence Julie posted a Tanja Berlin design called Hapsburg Lace on Facebook this morning.  The second link below describes her classes using this technique.  Thanks, Julie!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205538301793328&set=gm.932688986808260&type=3&theater

http://www.berlinembroidery.com/countedthreadembroidery.htm#hapsburg

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 14, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Brass Stiletto

Tanja Berlin's e-newsletter has a new product listed I've not seen before--a brass stiletto that can be used as a laying tool or awl.  It's  a pretty thing (although in CH brass tarnishes badly if not lacquered) and can also be used as a laying tool.  If you are interested, hurry.  Tanja will be away most of the month of June starting on the 5th.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/whatsnew.htm#brass

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 1, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tanja Proves My Point

This morning I got an email from Berlin Embroidery about Tanja Berlin's latest needle painting cyberclass--the red fox.   The class starts in February and lasts roughly two months.  If you are interested in learning to create realistic animals with just DMC cotton floss in long and short stitches, this is the class for you.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/onlineclasses.htm

See?  Told you this was the Year of the Fox!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

All About Needle Painting

Elizabeth is participating in a Needle Quest this year. Apparently each month a different technique will be explored and January's is needle painting. So she has listed her project and all the resources there are to learn and practice needle painting either online or in books.  This is a very useful summary of the technique and where to find information if you want to try it yourself.  Thanks, E!
http://sew-in-love.blogspot.com/2014/01/needlequest-2014-january-technique.html#.UsQdc3nnnHg

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Needle Painting Cyber Class

Tanja Berlin's monthly newsletter is out. In it she mentions her needle painting cyber class for The Pansy is open for registration. I didn't realize Tanja did cyberclasses. This is a nice introduction to the needle painting technique which she is a master of.  
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/onlineclasses.htm

By the way, each month Tanja puts one of her kits on sale.  This month it is her lovely Goldwork Lion.  Pricing is in Canadian dollars.  Her kits have very complete instructions, by the way.  I have her Field Mouse kit and re-read the instructions before I start any needle painting project.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/kitofthemonth.htm

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.