Technique Tuesday: Stumpwork Beetles!

One of the design elements on each of my cloth figures is it's beetle companion.  Those beetles are created using a variation of stumpwork, a 3-D embroidery technique.  I wish I had the time to make each insect by hand, but I don't, so I've altered the methods to add a machine stitched shortcut.  I get a lot of questions about the beetles and always try to explain the process as best I can.  In previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2), I outlined my methods, but this month, I made a video.

If you would like more information about stumpwork, there are quite a few good books out there.  The technique is hundreds of years old, but is going through a well-deserved revival in popularity.  My two favorite books are by the same author, Jane Nichols.  Stumpwork Dragonflies is lovely, but The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection is a stunner.  I think it deserves a spot in every embroiderer's library.  If you don't want to purchase the books, they are available through interlibrary loan - visit your local library for more info.