Beginners

EMBROIDERY
best GET MY
WINNING
stitches for METHOD FOR
beginners that THREADING
you can use YOUR NEEDLE
again and again
on countless
patterns.

YOUR
QUESTIONS
SPECIAL ANSWERED:
FEATURE! Do I have to
use a hoop?
Inspiring examples
What’s the best
from my own collection
fabric to use?
for your next projects.

Designs and lessons by Kasia Jacquot

www.kasiajacquot.com
 Kasia Jacquot
ARTIST - DESIGNER - TEACHER

“I’m here for you”

Being a creative human you would know that the best part of making is sharing
it with someone. This is as true for me as it is for the thousands of people I have
connected with through my workshops, social media and at various events.

We are makers. Making and sharing go hand in hand.

Whether we get joy form showing what we made to people we love, or we gift
someone our creation or we help someone learn something new, it’s the sharing
that is the ultimate joy.
Everything I do creatively leads me back to that joy expressed and experienced
in those three ways. This mini-magazines purpose is exactly that. I’ve created it
so we can both share the giddy happiness that comes with finding inspiration,
learning new skills and then sharing, gifting, celebrating what we made.

Enjoy.

www.kasiajacquot.com
WELCOME

Hello creative soul mate!

Welcome to this fun and quick
embroidery project. If this is your
first time EVER stitching, relax and
take it slowly and be kind to yourself,
no perfection is required or expected.
If you’ve stitched before and you’re
returning to embrodiery after a long
time away relax and take it slowly and
be kind to yourself, no perfection is
required or expected! Good advice
right?

This is a basic intro pattern to get

you stitching using a style I’ve
developed over the years to give me
quick results without frustration or
a requirement for perfection. You
will notice that I do not keep perfectly
straight or even stitches, that I use
thick threads and that I embrace
wonky lines. I encourage you to do
the same :)

I hope you have fun with the “Maya”

pattern and I would LOVE to hear
back from you once you finish! You
can email me a photo to
hello@kasiajacquot.com or tag me
on Instagram at
@kasiajacquotembroidery

Kasia x

P.S. You’re on your way to becoming

an accomplished embroiderer!
www.kasiajacquot.com
c Kasia Jacquot Patterns are for personal use only and projects made from these patterns may not be sold.

Print this pattern

and transfer onto
your fabric.
1.
CHOOSING
YOUR FABRIC
If you don’t already have a stash of I stock beautiful Russian linen in my
fabric at home (and who doesn’t?!) online shop in various colours, you
then I recommend grabbing yourself can see close up photos of the grain
some nice pure linen, This is always as well so you’ll get an idea of the
my go to fabric when it comes to type of fabric I mean if you’re still
embroidery. A blend of linen and cotton unsure.
is fine too and if you can’t get a hold
of that then plain cotton is just fine. And if you’re into fabric weights then
my own collection is all 245gsm.
It’s best if the fabric has a little bit of Below is a photo of what I use and
weight to it. Somethign like a calico is have available in the shop.
good and you don’t want the fabric to
be super light like a muslin because
we’re stitchign with all six strands so
the stitches will be thick. For lighter
fabrics you should stitch using only
2 strands. Whatever you have make
sure the fabric is:

- Light coloured
- Non stretchy
- Plain without patterns on it
- A little bit bigger than A4 size

Regarding the stretch, all fabrics

have a bit of a stretch to them but
generally speaking your linen or
cotton should not stretch from side Check out my hand dyed Russian
to side or top to bottom, it will always linen collection by clicking here.
have a bit of give on the diagonals
and this is fine.

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2.
YOUR NEEDLE
Your needle is super important. If
you get the wrong size needle you
end up struggling with your embroidery,
your thread might get tangles, you
get frustrated and you chuck it into
the pile of unfinished projects! No
one wants THAT!
I use one needle. One needle only.
For. Everything. This is because I
have my own specific style of embroidery
which is quick, chunky in texture, not
fussy around mistakes. There are
loads of different embroidery needles
out there and they are fabulous for
different styles of embroidery of
course. For what we do here and for
all my kits and patterns if you decide
to do more in future, we use only one.
Size 24 Chennile Needle.
This needle is the perfect size for
me, I don’t like using very long needles
and this one comes with a nice sized
eye as well which is easy to thread
and we need that as we’ll be using
all six strands of the embroidery floss!
Below is an easy way to thread the
cotton through the eye of your needle
in case you don’t have a needle
threader and you’re having issues
threading all six strands.
Cut a small piece of paper about
5mm x 15mm. Next fold it in half,
place the end of your thread into the
fold and close it. Pinch it between
your thumb and forefinger and push
the flat folded piece of paper with the
thread inside through the eye of the
needle.
I will often also use a spare skein tag
because these are made from a thin
plastic and don’t deteriorate as quickly
as the paper ones do.
1. CUT
2. FOLD
3. THREAD
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3.
YOUR THREADS

When it comes to threads I’ve used Thread length.

just about everything there is! I have
played around with crochet cotton,
all types of yarn, gold thread, plain
stranded cotton, pearl thread, you
name it; if I can shove it through the
needle I will try it! For our project
here we will use
DMC Stranded Cotton
And if you don’t have access to DMC
that’s fine you can use Anchor or any
other stranded embroidery thread.
I always cut my thread to the same
length, from my fingertips to my
shoulder. When I pull out the thread
I hold the end with my finger and
thumb and pull the skein to my shoulder
and then cut to that length. If you prefer
yours shorter go for it, but I don’t
recommend making it longer because
you’ll get tangled up and that’s just
sooo frustrating!

If you’d like to use the same colours

as me they are:
Short tag
- DMC 898 x 1 skein
- DMC 732 x 1 skein
- DMC 734 x 1 skein
- DMC 355 x 1 skein
- DMC 353 x 1 skein

When you pull the thread out of the

skein, keep both the tags on don’t take
them off. Pull ONLY from the side Long tag
that has the long tag with the colour
number on it. If you pull from the other
side you’ll make a tangled mess. I’ve
just saved you a pile of trouble!

Pull from this end

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Strands
In case you’re not familiar with
stranded cotton it just means there
are six separate strands that make
up one thread. So when you pull
a thread out of the skein you’ll see
that it has six strands. After cutting
it you can separate the strands and
only stitch using two or three or four.
I use all six because there’s no time
wasting separating the strands and
I LOVE thick and chunky embroidery!

Knot on the end.

For beginners it’s best if you just
do a simple knot on the end of your
thread before you start. Don’t worry
about what the fusspots say about
having knots on the back of your
work (big deal!) you just focus on
your embroidery and when you’re
ready you can learn how to do your
work without the use of knots, hiding
your threads on the back and all
that fancy stuff. Check out the photo
above of my ‘backside’ (haha!) It’s ok
for it to look a bit messy.

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4.
TRANSFERRING
YOUR PATTERN
All my patterns are printed with a heavy box. My dyed linens collection should be
line to enable you to see the design transferred using the Carbon Transfer Film
through light coloured fabrics without having (which is available on my website) or the
to squint your eyes! window as a light box. For light or white
linens please follow the instructions on the
The below instructions are for transferring following page.
using a table surface. If your fabric is not
light enough to transfer on a table then use I also have a video on this type of transfer
the exact instructions but use a window on my website. Click here to watch it!
instead. It is best to use a window that
is facing the sun as it will act like a light

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1. 3.
Secure your design to the table sur- I use a simple ball point pen to draw
face (or window) with tape on all four the design onto my fabric. Don’t be
corners. afraid of using the same! Remember
that your linework will be covered by
the stitches.
IVONKA

c Kasia Jacquot Patterns are for personal use only and projects made from these patterns may not be sold .
embroidery pattern

You do not have to press hard,

by

you only want the line to be heavy

enough so that you can comfortably
see it when you’re stitching. You will
find that the linen is a little bumpy
due to its natural woven texture. This
is why it’s important not to press hard
as you will get very uneven lines.

If you prefer you can use a fabric

marker which comes off with an iron
or a simple pencil. If you are going for
2. a pencil please don’t use anyting soft-
Iron your linen to remove the fold er than a B as the lines get smudgy
lines, you want your fabric as flat and thick. Go for BH or lower.
as possible. Then place it over your
pattern in the position that you will be
stitching it in. Then secure the linen
onto the table surface (or window)
IVONKA
again using tape on all four corners.
c Kasia Jacquot Patterns are for personal use only and projects made from these patterns may not be sold.

EMBROIDERY PATTERN

IVONKA
c Kasia Jacquot Patterns are for personal use only and projects made from these patterns may not be sold.

EMBROIDERY PATTERN

4.
Begin tracing the design onto your
linen using continuous lines as much
as possible and avoid using the
feathery “sketching” motion as this
makes your line work messy.

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5.
HOOP OR
NO HOOP?

Not everybody likes the

hoop. I do recommend using
one because it’s easier to keep the
fabric taught. But to some people the hoop
just gets in the way. Go with what feels most
comfortable. You can get a hoop at any craft or
sewing shop and a 6-7 inch is most comfortable as
its size means your hand that is holding the hoop
can reach to all parts of the embroidery. With very
large hoops you’ve got one hand holding the hoop
and the other one is stitching several inches away.
And of course with very small hoops you have to
constantly keep moving the hoop as you stitchg
the design. When you put the fabric on the
hoop make sure that it is taut like a drum. It
will loosen as you stitch and then you
just need to tighten it a little again.

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www.kasiajacquot.com
 6.
YOUR FIVE GO-TO
STITCHES
I like to keep things simple especially in my embroidery work. I prefer to
focus on colour and texture rather than lots of different stitches. That’s not
to say that a big variety of different stitches isn’t fun. If you enjoy the
challenge of learning lots of different stitches and using them in your work
by all means dive in, there’s a lot out there and you’ll have lots of fun.

In my work I only use about 10 different stitches again and again. Here I
am sharing my five favourites which make up the majority of my work. You
could literally just use these five and still keep on creating amazing work
infinitely.

This project uses only these five stitches so you’ll have an opportunity to
practice them.

If you are interested, the stitches I use repetitively are:

1. Satin Stitch 5. Single Stitch 9. Woven Border Stitch

2. Fly Stitch 6. French Knot 10. Running Stitch

3. Stem Stitch 7. Herringbone Stitch 11. Lazy Daisy

4. Back Stitch 8. Chain Stitch 12. Leaf Stitch

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1. SATIN STITCH
For filling solid shapes.
This is my favourite solid filling stitch. I never strive
to be perfect with it, I just aim to fill a shape. it
gives great puffy texture and is easy to do.

2. FLY STITCH
For solid, semi filling and borders.
You can use the Fly Stitch in so many different
ways. Keep wide gaps in it like in the leaves on this
pattern and you will semi fill a shape. Or you can
make the stitches very close together and you can
fill a shape solid. You can also use this as a great
border stitch. It’s so versatile!
open closed fly stitch as
fly stitch fly stitch a border

3. STEM STITCH
For outlining.
A super popular stitch for all your outlines. Easy
to do and creates nice smooth curves. Keep the
stitches small when going around tight curves.

4. BACK STITCH
For outlining.
Another outlining stitch and lovely to use when
you want to use somethign else to outline your
work. This stitch is also the base for a whipped
stitch and is great to use for lettering.

5. SINGLE STITCH
For isolated stitches.
The single stitch is just that; a single stitch. You can
use it as a highlight over the top of satin stitches,
add little rays around flowers, cross them over to
make a cross or a star. It has a myriad of uses and
is super easy.
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7.
STITCHING
INSTRUCTIONS
It does not matter what element you
start on as this is a fairly straightforward
design. Read all the instructions first
while you check them against the
photo so you have a general big picture
of the whole project.

Refer to the photo for colour placement

but feel free to mix things up as you
prefer.

Numbers in brackets indicate how

many strands to use (6). I almost
always use all six strands to give the
embroidery a fuller texture.

I often use knots on the end of my

thread when I start to stitch. For the
sake of simplicity I recommend you
do the same unless you have your
own ways of starting and finishing
stitches.

All the stitches featured here are

demonstrated in short video
tutorials on my website.

www.kasiajacquot.com
www.kasiajacquot.com
 VIDEO
TUTORIALS
SATIN STITCH TUTORIAL

Click on any of
these thumbnails
to go directly to
FRENCH KNOT TUTORIAL
the stitch video
you need.

STEM STITCH TUTORIAL

FLY STITCH TUTORIAL

o u T ube
yY find
On m el you’ll n &
n o
chan inspirati .
e ls
mor t tutoria
c
proje CLICK &
SUBSCRIBE

BACK STITCH TUTORIAL

www.kasiajacquot.com
8.
FINISHING
Lots of people get stuck when they finish their embroidery project. It looks so
pretty but what do you do with it!? Don’t be afraid of turning it into a usable
item. A drawstring bag for future embroidery projects, a journal cover, a quaint
little wall hanging with two dowels sewn into hems at the top and bottom. You
can add this design onto the front of a linen top or dress, you can multiply
it several times on the front of a cushion. There are so many uses! Let your
imagination run wild, make it, snap a photo and share it with me. I’d love to
see what you create! On the following pages you’ll see examples of my own
finished projects.

www.kasiajacquot.com
You have the skills, now
here’s some inspiration.
You can create beautiful
things with your hands
and surround yourself
with objects of value
and meaning.

www.kasiajacquot.com
TEXTURED Probably the quickest way to turn a fin-
ished piece of embroidery into some-
thing useful. I’ve displayed my work
WALL in hoops but the easiest way is just to
make a simple wall hanging by sewing

DISPLAYS
a couple of hems top and bottom and
slipping a dowel into the top (or both
top and bottom) then just adding a
string. In some cases I just used a stick
from the garden like in the bottom left
image here!

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A NEW
WARDROBE

Adding embroidery onto your clothes

creates an instant transformation. Even
if it’s just a small design onto the front
of a blouse. You could stitch the MAYA
design onto your top now that you
know how to do it!

I’ve embroidered dresses, jackets,

pants, shirts and tops. And I love every
single piece.

Pictured on the right is the “Ursula”

dress embrodiery pattern which is
available as a PDF download from my
online shop. It’s doable for anyone, it
just takes time! And it comes with a
step by step video.

Here’s a quick link to it if you’re keen...

www.kasiajacquot.com
www.kasiajacquot.com
COSY AND
USEFUL IN
THE HOME

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I adore being surrounded by hand
made things and that’s why I love
embroidering cushion covers, throws
and items like journal covers too. I even
embroidered a chair seat which we’ve
had at home for over 15 years now.

I’ve also made a big quilt out of loads of

pieces of unfinished embroideries. It’s a
great way to use up all your unfinished
work!

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MAKE A BAG
ANY BAG

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I thought I would get bored of making
bags out of my finished embroideries
but I still haven’t after all these years!
And the great thing is that I’ve either
gifted them or have used them regularly
so making a bag has never been a
waste of time for me! If you’re handy
on the sewing machine you could whip
one up pretty quickly. There are loads
of tutorials online showing how to
make all kinds of bags.

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www.kasiajacquot.com