Rose & Daisies by Ana Mallah

Diversity is a buzz word these days for lots of good reasons. Left to our own devices we have a tendency to become creatures of habit and stick to what we know.

Yet if we reflect on our own journeys of diversity, be it as simple as trying new food, buying a different coloured top or learning a new stitch, the results can be truly rewarding.

With Inspirations magazine set to celebrate its 30th birthday in October this year, we have seen a lot of diversity in needlework over the years.

To give you a feel for what a diverse needlework journey looks like over a lifetime of designing, have a look through just some of the amazing projects we’ve published by just two of our more prolific contributors, Susan O’Connor and Carolyn Pearce.

You can see a selection of Susan’s projects HERE and Carolyn’s projects  HERE.

Versailles Chatelaine by Susan O’Connor | Strawberry Fayre by Carolyn Pearce

Now in comparison let’s have a look at a designer who is still relatively early in their journey and yet has already created an amazing body of work.

Click HERE to see some of Ana Mallah’s projects to date.

Little Birds | Summer Blooms | Mushroom Magic

Today we’re adding a new piece to Ana’s gallery with her latest design ‘Rose & Daisies’ from Inspirations issue #117. What we want to highlight about this piece is not only the exceptional beauty of these elegant, stitched flowers, but also the fact that this is Ana’s first truly three-dimensional project.

Now some of you are saying, hang on, what about the incredible flowerpots we just saw in her gallery, or the butterfly and toadstools? Aren’t they all three-dimensional?

Good point, let’s explain further. For the purposes of ensuring the nomenclature we use to categorise all the projects published by Inspirations is accurate, here is our definition to discern between three-dimensional embroidery and stumpwork:

Three-dimensional embroidery is the creation of a stitched design using individual detached elements that are in no way connected to a ground fabric.

Therefore, by virtue of this definition, Ana’s projects to date have been stumpwork whereas Rose & Daisies is a three-dimensional embroidered design.

Let’s have a closer look at the techniques Ana has used to achieve these incredibly realistic flowers and better understand what three-dimensional embroidery is.

The rose is created using 49 detached elements and the trio of daisies use 54 elements. The first step in starting work on a project like this is to create all the various detached elements.

First up are the petals for the rose. There are 27 petals in an assortment of sizes arranged in 5 rounds. Each petal is created by tracing the outline of the template onto fabric and placing a piece of wire on top, shaping it to follow the contours of the template. The wire is then couched to hold it in place.

Next, you begin at the base of the petal and work blanket stitch around the wire before switching to short and long blanket stitch to fill the centre of the petal.

Once you’ve finished stitching, you then cut out the petal and together with all the other 48 elements including the leaves and the bud, you wire and wrap everything together and voila! you have a perfectly stitched rose.

Now that is an over simplified summary of the processes Ana has used, but you get the idea.

Also, we should point out that petals for the daisies are created slightly differently to the rose as they use overcasting with the filling stitching sitting inside the wire instead of covering the wire.

The difference is you get a finer edge as there is no beading around the perimeter, however more care is needed when cutting these elements out.

The great thing about Inspirations magazine is all the instructions for both the rose and the daisies are included in intricate detail to make it as easy as possible for you to follow along.

Let’s re-cap… today we learned that in every great needlework journey there is diversity. Diversity in technique, in materials, finish and design. We celebrated with Ana as she added a new chapter to her journey by expanding her repertoire to include three-dimensional embroidery. We even learned the basics of how you go about creating a three-dimensional piece.

Our hope is that, just like Ana, you too can add diversity to your needlework journey by adding new techniques such as three-dimensional embroidery.

What better opportunity than to get started today by creating your very own Rose or a trio of Daisies, or maybe even both!

Make Your Own Rose & Daisies

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Rose & Daisies by Ana Mallah is two stunning garden flowers in three- dimensional embroidery.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kits for Rose & Daisies include everything* you need to re-create these stunning three-dimensional garden flowers: Fabric (unprinted), wool felt, wires, embroidery threads, beads and needle.

*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.