Discover seed stitch embroidery
Pretty up your breakfast table with Mollie Johanson’s jam pot cover embellished with simple seed stitch embroidery strawberries.
Published:
Seed stitch embroidery is a fab technique for adding that extra little bit of detail that will really give your embroidery some character and charm. Here’s the perfect project to help you discover seed stitch embroidery, stitch up some sweet strawberry pips and then turn your embroidery into a traditional jam pot cover!
You will need
- Linen fabric: 30x30cm (12x12in)
- Contrast fabric: 25x60cm (10x24in)
- Stranded cotton: red, green, white and yellow
- Matching thread
- Basic sewing kit
Notes
Use a 5mm (1/4in) seam allowance.
You will need to download and print the free jam pot cover pattern template.
Jam pot embroidery pattern
You Will Need
- Linen fabric
- Contrasting fabric
- DMC stranded cotton
- Matching thread
- Basic sewing kit
Step 1
Working Seed Stitch
Each seed stitch is made from a pair of small straight stitches worked close together.
Step 2
Come up through the fabric where you want your stitch to start and take it back down a short distance away.
Step 3
Bring the needle back up, close to the start of the first stitch, but not in the same hole. Go back down close to the end of the first stitch, again not in the same hole.
Step 4
Scatter these pairs of stitches to fill any area where you want a small stitch that is thicker than a single straight stitch.
Making a jam pot cover
Embroidering the design
Step one
Download and print out the free jam pot cover template
Step two
Place the linen centrally on top of the strawberry motif and trace over it in pencil.
Step three
Embroider the design on the linen using three strands of stranded cotton.
Step four
Use back stitch for the outlines, seed stitch to fill in the strawberry and the blossom petals, and French knots for working the blossom centres.
Making the cover
Step one
Draw a 20cm (8in) diameter circle onto a piece of paper and cut it out.
Step two
Place this centrally on top of the embroidered linen and cut out.
Step three
Cut the contrast fabric using the circle template.
Step four
Pin the two circles right sides (RS) facing and sew together around the edge, leaving a 5cm (2in) turning gap.
Step five
Turn the circle RS out then fold the edges of the turning gap to the inside, keeping the curve of the circle, and press.
Step six
Slipstitch the opening closed with matching sewing thread.
Step seven
To decorate the edges, work a running stitch all the way around the edge using three strands of red stranded cotton. Step eight Work this 5mm (1/4in) from the edge and keep the stitches all the same length.
Making the tie
Step one
From the remainder of the contrast fabric cut a strip 2.5x60cm (1x24in) for the tie.
Step two
Turn the short edges under by 5mm (1/4in) to the wrong side (WS) and press.
Step three
Press the strip in half lengthwise and open out. Fold the long edges over to the WS so they meet at the centre crease and press.
Step four
Fold in half lengthways again and press to enclose all the raw edges.
Step five
Sew together down the length to hold the strip closed and neaten.
Step six
Place the embroidered cover on a jam jar and tie the strip around it into a bow.
Authors
Mollie is the author of Stitch Love: Sweet Creatures Big & Small. She lives near Chicago and is happiest with a cup of coffee and some stitching. She specializes in designing exceedingly cute, contemporary embroidery and cross stitch projects with a kawaii influence. Her work has been featured on The Spruce Crafts and in books and magazines including Simply Sewing Magazine, Cross Stitch Crazy and Mollie Makes. She co-hosts the Very Serious Crafts Podcast with Haley Pierson-Cox and Heidi Gustad. Find her on Instagram @molliejohanson
