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Diamond Starburst Embroidery Project | Guest Designer Carolyn Forster
Easy |
Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps
Add a little twinkle to your cotton tote bag with Carolyn Forster’s beginner-friendly Diamond Starburst embroidery design.
Worked over gingham fabric, the simple design brings together straight stitches, double cross stitches, and woven diamond details to create a starburst effect. This project focuses on the embroidery only, but we've got a simple gingham tote bag for you to make if you don't have one to hand. Carolyn has used black embroidery thread (floss) for a crisp, minimalist look that really lets the pattern shine, but don’t be afraid to experiment with colour.
How to get started
The complete design is worked over a 45 x 45 grid of squares. The centre lines are marked with dashed pink lines and help guide the placement and mirroring of the pattern. To find your starting point, fold the gingham square into quarters, crease, then unfold. Adjust the centre line intersection so it sits over the darkest squares, allowing the woven diamonds to beautifully frame the palest squares. Use running stitch along these adjusted lines to help position the embroidery before you begin. The lines may look slightly off-centre at first, but once the fabric is trimmed, everything will fall perfectly into place.Finished size
The embroidery should sit at 10½in (26.75cm) square when you've finishedAbout Carolyn Forster
Carolyn Forster is a best-selling quilting author with more than 150,000 books sold worldwide. Her love of quilting began as a teenager, and that early passion led her to study Textiles at Bath Spa University, UK. Since then, Carolyn has shared her enthusiasm for patchwork, quilting, and embroidery with stitchers in the UK and USA through her teaching. Her beautiful quilts have appeared in a range of books and magazines, including Today’s Quilter. You can find out more about Carolyn Forster in our interview. Carolyn has also kindly shared several inspiring projects with us, including the Japanese Reversible Patchwork Block and the Mini Christmas Quilt pattern.Buy the Book
This project has been taken from All-New Twenty to Make: Chicken Scratch Embroidery by Carolyn Forster: a curated collection of projects celebrating the magic of simple stitches and gingham fabric. Inside the book, Carolyn explores how traditional chicken scratch embroidery can be used in 20 fresh and creative ways with step-by-step instructions to help you at every stage. Click here to purchase a copy of this title - and don't forget that HYSC members receive 30% off all Search Press titles.MEMBERS ONLY: To gain full access to the Half Yard Club projects please login or sign up
You will need:
Equipment
- Embroidery needle
Materials
- 1/4in (5mm) gingham / mini check,16in (40.5cm) square
- Stranded cotton thread (floss) in one colour, working with three strands in the needle
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Project steps:
Step 1
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Step 2
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