Myosotis by Di van Niekerk
11th August 2023
How do you define embroidery? Do you have some guidelines you might use to discern if something is deemed an embroidered piece? Or is it simply a matter of anything that pierces a substrate with a needle and thread is now an embroidery?
In an ever-changing world we might like to think that embroidery is our one constant, something that has, and will be, around forever.
While that may be true, it’s also a reality that needlework is changing.
As technology evolves and information becomes ubiquitous, rising up is a new generation of stitcher.
For the first time in history, we have access to a technical understanding of embroidery that reaches as far back as historical records allow us to travel, married with an industrial and technological revolution of materials, ideas and processes.
The result? What we stitch and how we stitch is no longer confined or restrained by, well… anything! You can stitch on any material using any type of thread, creating any style of design you like.
The project Myosotis by Di van Niekerk from Inspirations magazine #119 is an example of a modern-day approach to embroidery. Today we have the luxury of printing any image we want onto a piece of fabric and embellishing it with needlework.
This notion of starting with a bespoke image on your canvas further removes embroidery from its traditional restraints and means that as much or as little of the project as you like has been completed before you even begin stitching.
For some this may feel like taking a short cut, for others it is wholly liberating.
For Di van Niekerk it’s just part of the creative process of stitching in the modern era. Myosotis (the botanical name for forget-me-nots) uses an image Di was particularly taken with from the 1857 book ‘The Language of Flowers: An Alphabet of Floral Emblems’ published by T Nelson and Sons.
Once printed onto a linen panel, Di added her trademark ribbon embroidered magic to really bring the image to life.
In this way it’s a beautiful marriage of both worlds where an illustrator or painter sets the scene and as stitchers, we get to bring the foreground to life with our needle and threads.
Once completed you are left with a symphony of ideas, design styles, textures, colours, layers, and dimensional elements that achieve more than any singular endeavour can do on its own.
If you’ve never tried embellishing a pre-printed design before, it’s both liberating and satisfying all at once!
PS… Our Ready-to-Stitch kits include both the printed linen and all the materials you need to complete the project, or you can purchase just the printed linen HERE and use your own stash to embellish as much or as little of the image as you like.
Make Your Own Myosotis
Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions
Myosotis by Di van Niekerk is a pretty silk ribbon panel of forget-me-not flowers framed with metallic threads and beads.
Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit
The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Myosotis includes everything* you need to re-create this charming panel: Fabrics (inc. printed fabric panel), silk ribbons, embroidery threads, beads and needles.
Myosotis – i119 Kit
*Please Note: To cater for flexibility of purchase, instructions are not included with our kits. For step-by-step directions on how to create this project, please refer to the magazine/digital pattern.