Yes, I’m old school.
I love working with paper.
Collage, paint, drawing, and design, you name it, I love it.
But, have you actually used it to stitch into?
Yes, it can be done, quite easily, surprisingly, with a history of punched paper designs that were quite successful and still are.
And, depending on the paper, it can be stitched using either hand or machine techniques.
Visit my Embroidery on Paper Pinterest Board here to develop your own possibilities.
But there is an art to it I have to say.
Some papers need to be stabilized for instance, and obviously, you can’t work in a hoop – so some stitches fall by the wayside, such as Bullion Knots. And you can’t make a mistake unless you know you can cover the needle holes somehow.
Plus, if the paper’s thick, it’s far easier to pre-punch the hole for both accuracy and ease of stitch – and that can make the process seem tedious and slow.
But, taking all that into consideration, there is a beauty to working on paper, and that is that the stitch really stands proud of the surface, especially if using a thicker thread such as a six-stranded floss or perle thread.
It’s that final layer of texture that compliments the artwork underneath – whether that be collage or painting.
The trick, as with all design, is to ensure that the embroidery becomes unified with the design itself – that it doesn’t just sit there totally unrelated and unappreciated.
So, with the Christmas season fast approaching, why not fill your own stocking with some quality papers, markers, paints, glue, and brushes and use the time between Christmas and New Year to do nothing but create amazing bases for embroidery?
All it takes is some patience and practice.
Develop your own processes through trial and error, and really explore this technique, because it is worth delving into.
Working on Paper – may be a new pathway for 2024.
All views and opinions expressed are my own, except where acknowledged information is included from other sources.