I made a needlepoint pillow < with my hands

Last year, when visiting London, I bought this English Summer Butterflies needlepoint kit from the V&A Museum. I haven’t done much needlepoint but I have always admired pillows and cushions decorated with those tiny stitches. This pattern also delights me as it has some history. The kit is based on a big embroidery panel designed and embroidered by Mrs Archibald Christie in 1914. She was the first teacher of embroidery at the Royal College of Arts.

I bought the embroidery stand I wrote about here for this project originally. It proved to be a proper wrist and shoulder saver, allowing one to use both hands for stitching. It took a bit of adjusting to find the best way of positioning the stand and my work but then I didn’t have to touch the stand anymore.

Here is my video on YouTube:

Stitching these butterflies was fun – especially seeing them pop up from the canvas when I filled them with stitches. I wonder if these butterflies are actual butterflies common in England. I have never seen butterflies like this here in Finland.

I think it took about 5 weeks for me to finish the pillow. Of course, I didn’t stitch every day and had breaks, but I often forgot myself and sat in front of my work for hours.

The finished pillow

Before sewing the actual pillow, I blocked my embroidery by pinning it into its shape and spraying it with water.

I bought cream-colored silk for the wrong side of the pillow and found a matching piping to decorate the seam.

The back side of the pillow is made out of silk.

I’m really happy with how this project turned out. I seem to be drawn to these long projects nowadays, which unfortunately leads for a smaller number of blog posts. I hope you enjoy these anyway!