Girlguiding embroidery activity
Girlguiding embroidery activity
We’ve loved seeing your reactions to our new brand over the past couple of months. One of the things lots of you told us you loved was our new brand purpose – we help all girls know they can do anything.
'We love the ‘we help all girls know they can do anything’ tag line. They certainly can and it really represents the Girlguiding movement as a whole, from Rainbows to leaders. I love the mention of all the new experiences and adventures they can have and think. It’s big and bold.' – Rainbow parent
So, for this issue’s activity for volunteers, we’re bringing you a bespoke Girlguiding craft, inspired by the new ‘Girls can do anything’ woven badge. Designed using our new brand colours, this craft will brighten up any wall and sit as a reminder of what we all know and believe in Girlguiding - girls can do anything!
You will need
- A print-out of our embroidery pattern
- Cotton fabric in navy
- 8 inch embroidery hoop
- Embroidery threads in white, Rainbows light blue, Brownies yellow, Guides mid blue, Guides light blue, Rangers red and Rangers light pink. Check out our brand guidelines for a closer look at these colours.
- White transfer paper
- Embroidery needle
- Fabric scissors
- Pins
- Pencil
- Optional: felt fabric for backing
We’ve included the pantone codes for each colour on the pattern so that you can find a close match, but not all of them will match up exactly with a thread colour. If you’re not sure about which thread colours to use, there are many free online colour conversion tools - we’ve used Madeira to help us find the nearest match for this craft.
Setting everything up
- Begin by printing our colour and pattern guide – we recommend printing it as an A4 page for best results.
- Cut out a piece of the navy cotton fabric to embroider on. Place your embroidery hoop on top of your navy fabric to guide you before cutting it. When doing so, make sure to leave at least 3cm extra around its edge. You can press the fabric to remove any unwanted creases.
- Cut a piece of the white transfer paper to match the size of your fabric. Place the transfer paper with its chalky side down on top of the fabric.
- Place the piece of paper with the Girlguiding design on top of the transfer paper, and secure all the pieces in place with pins.
- On a flat surface, use a pencil or a ball point pen to press firmly and draw over the design. You may want to go over it a few times, just to be sure that it has transferred properly. Try not to press down too much on other areas of the paper, to avoid smudging your fabric. Once you’ve traced the design, you’ll have a white stencil transferred onto the fabric to work off.
- Secure the piece of fabric with the design onto the embroidery hoop, making sure it’s well centred. Tighten the hoop to keep it in place.
Getting your threads ready
Now it’s time to get the threads ready! When cutting a length of thread to embroider with, we recommend measuring its length from your fingertip to your elbow – that’s about 40cm (15.7 in) and will make it easier to manage, avoiding any tangling.
Before getting your stitch on, please note that each skein of stranded cotton has 6 threads. We’ll be using 3 at a time for this project. To separate them, cut the thread, then select 3 threads and pull them apart from the other 3.
Let’s get our stitch on!
For this craft we recommend using the following stitches for each of the specific areas of the design.
Satin stitch
This simple filler stitch is used to cover small and medium sized areas of an embroidery project. Make sure your stitches aren’t longer than 1.5cm to avoid them sagging and becoming loose. We will be using this stitch to fill the “Girls can do anything” text and the Guides symbols (the ‘G’ with the star).
You can do this step in any order you like, but we recommend starting with the words in the centre. Use white thread to fill in each letter. To keep them looking neat, it’s a good idea to sew your stitches in the same direction.
Use the ‘Guides mid blue’ thread or a similar colour to fill in the ‘G’s, and ‘Guides light blue’ thread or a similar colour to fill in the stars with satin stitch.
For more guidance follow the tips below.
- Stitch rows close to one another to create a block of colour.
- Stitch in the same direction to keep them neat.
Split stitch
This is very similar to satin stitch, but is used to fill in larger areas without the thread sagging, and to achieve a smooth look. We’ll be using this stitch to fill in the Rangers symbols (the mountains).
Use the ‘Rangers red’ thread or a similar colour to fill in the bigger triangles. Start by working along the long edge of the triangle, closest to the text in the centre. Then fill in the rest in the same direction.
Repeat this using the ‘Rangers light pink’ thread or a similar colour to fill in the smaller shapes in the same direction as the red triangles. As the rows you’re stitching along both shapes get shorter, you may find you don’t need to use split stitch. For the smaller ends of the triangles, satin stitch will work just fine.
For more guidance follow the steps below.
- Start with a satin stitch no longer than 1cm. Place your needle up through the middle of the stitch you’ve just made, splitting the thread.
- Pull the thread through, and then make another stitch further up. Repeat the process.
Chain stitch
This looped stitch is one of the best-known ones in embroidery, as it gives a wonderful texture. It’s used on everything from flowers to feathers. We’ll be using this stitch to fill the Rainbows symbols (the rainbow) and the Brownies symbols (the magnifying glass).
For the Rainbows symbol, start your chain stitch at the narrow end of the rainbow, and work your way up along the outside edges of the shape. Fill in any gaps towards the top with more rows.
For the Brownies symbol, start from the bottom of the handle of the magnifying glass and work your chain stitch up one of the outside edges. Finish your first row of chain stitches at top of the magnifying glass – the top of the circle.
Repeat the process with the other outside edge, so that your two rows meet at the top of the circle. Fill in the gaps in the middle with more rows of chain stitches, again working from the bottom of the handle and working your way up. Finally, fill in the small line in the centre of the magnifying glass.
For more guidance follow the tips below.
- Once you’ve threaded your needle, tie a knot at its end and push the needle from behind the fabric at your desired point.
- Take your needle back down, very close to the original hole and stitch through.
- Gently pull creating a loop. Bring the needle up inside the hoop at the height where you want it to be. Pull it through, but not too tightly. You’ve made your first chain stitch! We recommend your stitches to be approximately 6mm in length.
- Repeat the process of stitching back down close to, but not into the same hole and coming back up to where you want your next stitch to be.
- Repeat the process until you get to the end of the row.
- To finish a row, stitch back down over the top of the end of the loop. Double knot from behind and cut any leftover thread.
It’s time to back it up!
Once you’ve finished your project you can add a backing to it – this way you’ll be able to proudly display your work of art on its hoop. Follow these steps to add a backing to your embroidery.
- Turn your finished masterpiece over and use a pair of fabric scissors to cut around the outside of the fabric, creating an approximately 2cm wide seam allowance.
- Use a piece of embroidery thread to pull all the fabric together by stitching all the way around it and pulling the thread to make it tight. Secure it in place with a knot.
- Place the felt fabric on a flat surface, and use a pen to trace around the embroidery hoop onto the felt.
- Grab the scissors to cut the felt circle and place it over the back of the hoop.
- Attach the felt onto the back of the embroidery by using a simple up and down stitch, making sure to keep them as neat and even as possible.
Congratulations, you’re done! We’d love to see your creations – you can show off your work by tagging us on social media @girlguiding.
Do you have any activity suggestions for fellow volunteers that you'd like to see featured in Girlguiding magazine? We'd love to include them!
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