embroidery

Have you seen just how many sewing classes we now offer at Backstitch? We aim to provide everyone with a chance to get creative and learn a new skill or take up a new hobby. From learning the very basics of using a sewing machine, to crafting your very own pair of hand-made jeans, or mastering an overlocker, you can gain new dressmaking skills with the help of our experienced tutors.  Learn the magic of quilting; choose from five different classes, each offering different designs of quilt top. Next, learn how to finish the quilt, and even add embellishments using the free motion quilting technique. From weaving to visible mending, embroidery to crochet and knitting, we have it covered. Continue reading →

These last few weeks we have really enjoyed getting the classes going at our Burwash Manor shop. It's lovely to see people learning new skills and making good stitchy stuff. We are having fun! More dates have gone up on the website for our machine basics classes and for our dressmaking classes. We have some classes on the weekend and...

At Backstitch HQ we have recently received delivery of our DMC embroidery threads and with almost 600 different skeins of stranded floss I thought we had better take a closer look and explain the differences in the ranges. All of the threads I will be discussing in this post are comprised of six strands which can be used together for a thick line or split for a finer line.  You can also combine strands of different colours and types to add interest.  Personally, I mostly use three strands of thread at a time on quilting weight fabric and on our linen cotton blend fabric (which incidentally is lovely to embroider), but you may want to use fewer strands for a lighter fabric, and more for a heavier one. Continue reading →