About

Back in 2007 my work as a Bridal dressmaker came to an end and I took that opportunity to learn to digitise machine embroidery. I had been using embroidery in my bridal work but I confess that I was not happy with the designs that were available. Being passionate about beautiful embroidery I was disappointed with the choices. Although I had purchased some excellent sets they were limited to a few designs which did not always fit exactly on a bridal gown, bodice, corset or veil as I wanted them to. This was the time to develop my skills as a digitiser and create the designs which I had wanted to purchase in the past. My first attempts were not good but I keep them as a reminder of how much I have learnt since then. That learning process continues as I develop new collections and learn new digitising programmes. After a year or so I felt confident to launch my website Graceful Embroidery and my Embroidery group. It was amazing to meet so many machine embroiderers from all over the world and I am grateful for their friendship and support since then.

What I enjoy most about digitising machine embroidery is that with the click of a mouse I create tiny lines, single stitches and gather them together to capture the beauty of a flower or an intricate pattern. How perfectly delightful.

I made the decision to create mostly heirloom and bridal designs, as well as Celtic embroidery as I had done quite a few Celtic weddings and saw the need for more designs. The intricacies of this type of embroidery fascinates me, and so I set to learn all I could about Celtic work as well. One of my first collections was called Celtic Dreams and I subsequently developed Celtic designs with flowers which have been very popular!

The challenge to produce versatile designs continues and as Embroidery machines become capable of even more there is much for me to aspire to. I must confess that I have a life time of ideas in my head of future collections and enjoy every moment of creating them from selecting or creating the artwork to launching the new designs. My plans are to develop lace designs but not necessarily free standing, as well as larger designs that will fit the new mega hoops. During 2011 I started creating tutorials on Outline alignment stitches (OAS) which help with the placement of my designs and all my recent designs come with and without OAS.

Everybody is blogging now it would seem, but I love the medium which allows me to share what I am embroidering in my studio, with photos and videos uploaded from my iPhone! I hope your visits with me will inspire you to create something different on your machine and to attempt more complicated embroidery. Remember the most breathtakingly beautiful embroidery takes time and effort!

I hope you enjoy this new format which is a little more mobile friendly and easy on the eye. As the links have been removed from the side, you will now find them at the bottom of all my pages along with a search box for any particular topic you need to know more about. I also have a YouTube channel full of FREE tutorials, which allows you to visit with me in my studio at any time. Of course I would also love to hear about any ideas, suggestions and questions you may have about my embroidery designs and how best to use them. You may email me at hazel@gracefulembroidery.com

The current background image is from the Jane’s White Work collection

Happy Embroidering from Hazel

Taking your machine embroidery beyond the ordinary with blogs and video tutorials.