Hi! Im lottie, the face behind everything Purple Rose Embroidery!
I’m a self taught fibre artist and have been embroidering for over 10 years
If you’d like to know more about Purple Rose Embroidery and how it started you can find the full story on Lottie’s Blog
Purple Rose Embroidery is a UK based small business, run by Lottie. It stocks variety of different designs for Embroidery, Blackwork Embroidery, Cross Stitch and Crochet. Each design is available as a full kit including materials or a PDF pattern download for those with their own supplies already.
Many of Lottie’s embroidery and crochet designs are accompanied by stitch tutorials which can be found via the Purple Rose Embroidery YouTube cannel!
All designs are unique and can not be found elsewhere.
If you’re new to blackwork embroidery and looking for a fun and easy project to get started - this post is for you!
This ugly jumper design makes such cute ornaments and is the perfect way to get comfortable with the technique
My partner, Sam, got me into playing them last year and I’ve really enjoyed trying out lots of different systems and campaigns.
If you’ve ever even slightly dabbled in RPG’s then you’ll know the importance of a good dice bag! So when my brother asked for a dice set for his birthday and it arrived without a bag, I knew what I had to do and headed to my yarn stash
Whenever you’re starting a new hobby, it can be hard to know where to look for all those helpful bit of wisdom that just make it… click!
Recently I asked my Purple Rose Stitchers:
There were some fantastic responses, and so many tips I wouldn’t have thought of!
Spring may be right around the corner but there’s definitely still time for a fun new hat project first!
I've been really enjoying woven stitches and cables recently and I just couldn’t resist writing this pattern.
You know when there’s an idea in your head that you can’t stop thinking about so in the end you just indulge your creativity and run with it, even if there’s other things much higher up the to-do list. Well this project was one of those projects for me and I had so much fun with it!
You voted for it so here it is! the Sunset Orca has been brought back from the halls of retired to designs to take up permanent residence as a free pattern right here
Thank you to all of my lovely Purple Rose Stitchers who cast their votes on which design to bring back via my newsletter last week, I couldn’t have decided without you!
We all love a nice relaxing Christmas project to get us through the long dark evenings at this time of year right? Well I know I do at least!
This Cross Stitch and Blackwork Christmas tree design is the perfect project to keep by the sofa and pick up whenever you’re feeling crafty
It’s October so at least one pumpkin related design is obligatory right?
Well this year its a cosy Pumpkin Pillow! Someone told me this design looked like a graphic from a NES and I quite like that comparison
There’s quite a lot of colour changes in this one so its great for those confident with corner to corner crochet, or those who have a little experience and love a challenge!
I love learning new crafts, especially fibre crafts! I’ve never really got on with painting or anything involving glue… its just a bit too messy and sticky for me, my sensory issues can’t stand it but put yarn, thread, beads etc in front of my and I’m happy for hours
Recently I’ve been really enjoying C2C crochet, I mean, who knew it was so simple?!
Since I released my first ever C2C Snowflake Blanket design this month I shout it would be a great opportinity to share a blog post tutorial with you. I’ll take you through both increase and decrease rows, all you need to get started with C2C crochet
When you’re thinking of taking up a new hobby it can be really daunting to try and work out what tools and supplies you might need! This blog post will take you through the basics of what you need for embroidery, and to be completely honest with you, I very rarely use anything that isn’t on this list even as a professional stitcher
Ok, first lets digest the title of this blog post and get things straight! I’ve been using social media as an advertising tool for Purple Rose Embroidery for the last 4 years. Over that time I’ve perfected my methods of how to get the best photos I can in the easiest way possible. After all the best way to treat social media is little and often so it has to be quick and easy!
Do I know as much as a trained photographer? No. However I can offer many years of experience and a foolproof method that only requires your phone!
When deciding to set up a small business working out where to sell your products online can be really daunting!
Many people will tell you what you should or shouldn’t do without having any experience themselves. Others will delight in recounting their horror stories with one platform or another. It can all be very overwhelming and difficult to know where to start!
I want to start this post by saying that you absolutely do not have to keep the back of your embroideries neat if you don’t want to!
In fact I very rarely take the time to keep the back of my stitching neat
However this was highly requested and on those occasions when I do like to keep my work tidy, this is how I do it!
One of the new things I’ve decided to do in 2022 is share some my designs as free blog posts! I hope that this will not only act as a great resource for those wanting to learn embroidery but also will show you just what you’ll be getting if you decide to purchase one of my patterns or kits
We all know the struggle of having to type in WiFi network names and passwords correctly, it can be such a faff! Well here’s a nice stitchy solution: QR codes
They can be scanned using most phones inbuilt cameras (or by using an app) and can provide a shortcut to automatically connect to a WiFi network! Turns out they’re super easy to turn into a cross stitch too…
I love to display my finished embroideries in the hoop! It makes them really easy to hang on a wall and really shows that they are handmade
If you’re looking for a more professional looking to finish your stitching in a hoop then maybe this framing method is just for you!
We all love to handmake Christmas items, I know I do!
So I thought to celebrate my Birthday today I would spread the love a bit and release these tiny Blackwork Christmas designs along with instructions on how to make them into your very own Christmas baubles!
I think we can all agree, we love the look of metallic threads but hate stitching with them!
Somehow they always manage to split, fray, stretch, come unravelled or break entirely
Not an easy thing to have to work with!
While there is no way to completely solve these problems, there are a few things to be done that help to prevent them
I threw up a poll on my instragram stories recently with some ideas for new blog posts and got people to vote on what they most wanted to see… by far and away the most popular choice was this one!
My stitching routine
Once I sat down to write this post I realised that in many ways, I don’t really have one! As with anything, of course, there are certain patterns to the way I work but I’m not actually sure if ‘routine’ best describes my habits
Ah well! I will do my best to enlighten you on a few things related to when/where and also how I stitch on a regular basis
This is the story of how my little business was born!
I’m in no way a business expert but I hope it’s helpful to see how things came about for me and my haphazard little biz
Its hard not to be affected by the current global pandemic. For many of us it has impacted all aspects of our lives and how we are able to live. So given that, it’s impossible for our creative outlets not to be changed. Over the last few weeks I have seen some remarkable things happen despite of the situation we have found ourselves in. For many of us though, being remarkable, or even normal, is hard at the moment. I hope that by talking about my situation in this post that it may lend some comfort or reassurance to others
Procreate is probably one of the most well know drawing apps out there. Its easy to see why! With a myriad of tools and brushes to choose from there is a lot to play with. But when you are first trying to find your way around that can be pretty daunting!
Today I’m going to take you through 6 of the tools I use the most when designing my patterns in procreate
We all love that seamless fade between colours that you can only achieve with the just the right threads! Well theres a little more too it than you might think…
Understanding a little about colours
How to choose your threads
How to use the gradient in a larger piece
There are many ways to create embroidered patches to sew onto clothes, bags etc
In this post I’m going to show you how to turn an existing piece of embroidery into a patch.
I like this method as it means that you can stitch your embroidery normally on whatever fabric you want, in your hoop, and don’t have to decided if you want it to be patch till you are done!
As it was my parents 25th wedding anniversary in July this year they decided to have a vows renewal this summer
I thought that it would be a great excuse for me to break out the sewing machine and get back to dressmaking!
Although I have made several things in the past, including my prom dress, I certainly would not call myself an experienced seamstress and I certainly expected, and indeed wanted, this to be a challenge…
A mini sampler pattern from a recent workshop!
I have written out exactly how to complete it, stitch by stitch.
As you work through this design, keep looking at the pattern grid and try to get the hang of counting it from there and then checking my instructions to see if you’re on track…
This is something that I know a lot of people struggle with.
It’s hard to know where to start sometimes, and even harder to know if what you’ve created looks right!
I’m going to take you through the steps I use to create my designs before I even start stitching:
Looking for inspiration images
Drawing the elements of the design
Playing with composition
Thinking about colours
Recently I asked my Instagram followers two questions:
What piece of stitching advice do you wish you knew sooner?
What is the best piece of advice you can offer other stitchers?
I’m going to go through some of the best answers with you and explain them a little more where possible. (That instagram question box has a rather limited answer space!)
I hope that If you are new to stitching, or are experienced but willing to take advice and try new things, that some of these responses will be useful to you!
There are many ways to finish your hoop but I’m going to talk you through my preferred method of sewing a circle of felt to the back of the hoop
One of the difficulties of working on a square grid as you do with counted embroidery such as Blackwork is creating those smooth curves and circles that some designs just need.
I’m going to explain a little about why circles are so difficult and a few things I think its useful to know about this shape before trying to stitch it.
I’ve also put together some of the tips I have for getting a smooth curved edge to help you create your own designs!
If you would like to see a small sample of work from my lovely Purple Rose Stitchers then click the button below to view the customer work gallery
Purple Rose Embroidery is the home of modern needlework design - always fresh, sometimes a little unexpected, always a delight!
Intricate and innovative, full of colourful and detailed stitches
Purple Rose Embroidery is a unique brand created by an extremely talented thread artist!
Happiness in a box
This magnificent snail is my partners favourite design of mine!… But also it never did very well in the shop
It can be super hard to predict which designs will be the most popular! I never though anyone would want to stitch Humphrey and although I love Edward I never expected it to be a fan favourite 7 years later
In 2025 I will be releasing many of my retired designs, like this beautiful snail, here on my blog! Some designs are only retired because there are simply too many for me to keep track of but now I want to give them a new lease of life and this seems like the perfect way to do it
So gather your threads, pick up your needle and get stitching!