World Embroidery Day 2021

As we enjoyed World Embroidery Day on 30th July this year, it once again proved to be a wonderful opportunity to bring stitchers together across the globe and encourage us all to celebrate our art in whatever way we felt.

With some people choosing to celebrate large and others happy to sit quietly with their stitching, we loved receiving emails and photos from those who participated. 

Here is how Mrunalini Nimbalkar celebrated:

‘On World Embroidery Day I continued my ‘Stitching of French Knot’ project which I started on 1st September 2020. It’s a project inspired by Amanda (@littleglitzbyamanda). My piece is an abstract, multi-coloured, year-long project that I plan to frame and hang on the wall. I have used around 30 shades of Anchor stranded cotton threads to make a 9″circle. I called it ‘Spectra Blast’.’

Here’s Harriet Alonzo’s idea:

‘Every year I send out a Happy World Embroidery Day message. This year I am featuring the first in a series of needlepoint pieces I’ve entitled ‘Look Her Up.’ It combines my profession as a women’s historian and my love for embroidery. I hope that people will see the piece, read the quote, and become curious about the woman featured. 

The first is Jane Addams, a woman known the world over for her work in human rights and world peace. She lived from 1860-1935 and was the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize. I hope you enjoy it and that lots of folks will look her up and learn something new in celebration of the stitching holiday.’

Sheila McCoy from Canada wrote:

‘My guild had planned to meet for the first time since February 2020 on Tuesday, 27th July – but it poured with rain. So, we reconvened on World Embroidery Day – Friday, 30th July. The meeting report then read: 

Seven members gathered under the trees near the floral clock for a lovely few hours in the fresh air. There was lots of catching up with news and showing off what we were working on. Just not sure how much stitching got done!’

Finally, Christine Wellnitz was inspired by our article on UFOs for her World Embroidery Day:

‘40 years ago, at school, I started embroidering a tablecloth for my mother but didn’t finish it. I didn’t know how to make a nice hem at that time. So, I gave it to her unfinished for her birthday, thinking that she would do the hem herself. 

A few weeks ago, I found this tablecloth at my mother’s house and it still had no hem – a 40 year old UFO! I took it with me but, to my great disappointment, I found that it was full of stains. I washed it three times and pre-treated it with different cleaning agents but it was all in vain. The stains have become lighter but are still visible.’

‘Since I still had the pattern, I thought about embroidering around the apricot wreath background completely so you can’t see the spots, then cutting it out and appliquéing it onto a new tablecloth.

If I stitched out the background, the UFO wouldn’t be finished for many more weeks or months and I was worried I might even put it back in my ‘UFO-box’. A quicker solution was needed, so, on World Embroidery Day, I took heart and edged the wreath on the outside and inside edges with the sewing machine, cut away all the fabric around the outside and in the middle, and then appliqued the wreath onto a new tablecloth.’

‘I’ll admit it took longer than 15 minutes, but by the evening it was all done and now the tablecloth is with me outside on my patio table. Some UFO’s just take a little longer to reach their destination!’

Thank you all for writing in – there appears to be as many ways to celebrate World Embroidery Day as there are embroiderers! What brings everyone together, no matter where in the world you are, is our shared love of needlework and our respect and admiration for each other. If you celebrated, please let us know what you did. We’d love to hear your stories.