Hips and haws are a classic autumn combination, so here’s a quick project for adding a little touch of warm colour to your décor. When crisp bright autumn goes all grey and dull, these glowing jewelled berries still look cheerful.
You’ll find a list of basic embroidery supplies in this post here. If you’re not familiar with embroidery stickers, I have a post here.
Play around with the designs to see where they work best. I often find it easier to stitch each design one at a time, so I mark the positions with a fabric pen before sticking them down.
The branches are stitched in stem stitch. I mixed two strands of red-brown DMC floss (919) with one strand of green (904) to mimic rose stems.
I stitched the rose hips in lazy daisy stitch, using three strands of scarlet (666) and one strand of dark brown (898). It’s more fiddly to do this stitch with two colours but I love the effect.
The hawthorn berries are more straightforward. I did the branches in stem stitch again, using three strands of dark brown (898). I used six strands of crimson (816) to stitch French knots for the berries.
Using the whole thickness of floss gives the berries great definition and helps them to stand out. It’s more difficult to create the knots when there is so much thread, as well as a layer of stabiliser on the fabric. Check out my video below for tips on how to keep the knots neat.
Three stitch types is all it takes and you’re done!
Wash away the stabiliser or fabric markers once the design is complete. Soak the fabric thoroughly in warm water.
I really like seeing rose hips and hawthorn berries together – the bright scarlet and deep crimson shades work so well.
These berries will look gorgeous as wall décor or as a pretty accent to brighten up a desk or bookshelf. You could also stitch them on napkins or cushions – wherever you want a bit of seasonal colour.
The berries are from my autumn set:
https://sweetthorn.co.uk/products/autumn-embroidery-patches
Find all my embroidery stickers here:
https://sweetthorn.co.uk/collections/stick-and-stitch-designs
Video instructions: