Picture this
You will need:
- photographs printed on thick paper
- embroidery floss in colours of your choosing
- embroidery needles
- scissors
- pencil
- awl or thick needle for pre-punching holes
Do:
- Choose a photo with areas defined clearly enough that embroidery could highlight or enhance details. You could instead choose an image with blurry or ill-defined areas, using your embroidery to bring out details or increase definition.
- Decide where you want the embrodery - if you want to fill in space, add small details, add new details, or simply outline certain areas.
- Use an erasable marker or pencil to mark out where you want your embroidery to go.
- Pre-punch holes along your marks using a thick needle or awl, to prevent tearing and make stitching easier.
- Once done, secure the ends of your floss on the back of the image by either using knots or small pieces of archival tape.
- Trim any thread excess.
- Frame your finished work to protect it and display it nicely. Use a shadow box if you have raised or heavily textured threads.
Notes:
- Not all stitches will work for this method, so make sure you have some idea first of what stitches you want to use.
- Work carefully and gently to avoid tearing the photo.
- Try different stitches, thread types and thicknesses.
- You could add other items - such as beads, sequins, old jewellery pieces - to add more dimension.