Want to engage more with the novel Fatal Throne: The Wives of King Henry VIII Tell All by M.T. Anderson, Jennifer Donnelly, Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, Deborah Hopkinson, Linda Sue Park, and Lisa Ann Sandell? Check out our review from Annelise to find out more about the book, then participate in a new project relating to it!
Throughout the entirety of Fatal Throne, all six queens embroider for King Henry VIII at one point or another, as the art was a common practice for women during earlier times. Embroidery requires great patience and focus and many say that women of the 1500s CE had nothing more to do, as a result of oppressive and toxic masculinity, than embroider. Well, nowadays, women have lots required of them and we're truly making an impact on the world, but even still, if you're someone (a woman, man, non-binary) who wants to take up a new hobby or has a little extra time during the pandemic, embroidery is an immensely calming and rewarding option for you.
Crown Embroidery
Experience Required: None
Project Difficulty: Medium
Time To Do: 1 Hour
Materials
3 Different Colors of Thread (embroidery thread or regular thread)
Needle
Ring of Mason Jar Lid
Rubber Band or Ponytail Holder
Fabric From an Old T-Shirt/Old Washcloth (using a washcloth was highly difficult, so I would recommend an old T-Shirt)
Scissors
Step 1
Take your first color of thread (my mom happened to have embroidery thread in the garage, but you can also use three strands of regular thread, that are the same length, together) and measure out an arm span's length. If using embroidery thread, split it in half so you only have three threads in a strand. Cut with scissors and thread through the needle, tying a knot at the end so the thread remains on the needle.
Put your fabric over your Mason Jar lid ring and put the rubber band over the fabric and lid so that it holds the fabric in place. Pull the fabric gently until it is stretched taut like in the picture above. If you own an embroidery ring, use that.
Step 2
With your threaded needle come up through the back and poke a hole at the base of where your crown will be (if possible, sketch the outline of the crown on your fabric), pulling the thread through almost all the way but leaving about an inch behind the embroidery ring that you will hold down to make sure the thread doesn't pull all the way through.
Make a forward stitch with your thread so that you begin to form a horizontal line that will be the bottom of the crown and pull your thread through, still holding on to the tail of the thread so it doesn't pull out all of your stitching.
Come back up, poking your needle through a little farther down the line but leaving space between your forward stitch where you come up. Do a backward stitch, closing the space between your first stitch and where you just came up with the needle.
Repeat the process mentioned in the previous paragraph until you have a line you are happy with for the bottom of your crown. Make sure your needle has come up from the back of your fabric and is ready to go down again before you begin the next step.
Make a long stitch at an angle away from your horizontal line to form the first point of your crown. Come up from the back near where the origin of your first stitch was, but a little to the left or right. Make another forward stitch right next to and a little below your initial stitch forming the point of your crown.
Continue making stitches next to your initial stitch but a little lower each time so you begin to form a filled-in point of the crown that you are happy with.
Once finished with your first point, move on to your second point of the crown, making sure your needle has come up from the back of your fabric and is ready to go down again before you begin the next stitch. Make a long stitch at a different angle a little closer to the middle of your horizontal line to form the second point of your crown. This stitch should be a little higher than your first point and the line should have a bigger angle with your bottom horizontal line. Fill in the point with the same method as you did the first one, and this point should be a little bigger. You can make as many of these points as you want, if you make three your second point should be vertical to your horizontal line, I did five points, but doing three points is easier.
When finished (or if you run out of thread), stick your needle through a recent stitch on the back and make a loop, twisting your needle through that loop a few times to form a knot, then pull that knot tight to end your thread. Snip with scissors.
Step 3
Take your second color of thread and cut it an arm span length. If using embroidery thread, split it in half so you only have three threads in a strand. Cut with scissors and thread through the needle, tying a knot at the end so the thread remains on the needle.
Step 4
With your threaded needle, come up through the back and poke a hole at the top of the first point of your crown, pulling the thread through almost all the way but leaving about an inch behind the embroidery ring that you will hold down to make sure the thread doesn't pull all the way through.
Make a stitch right next to where you came up and then come back up right next to where you went down. These will form the jewels of the crown and it is essentially a bunch of tiny stitching in one spot. Repeat this close stitching until you have a dot at the tip of your first point that you are happy with.
When finished (or if you run out of thread), stick your needle through a recent stitch on the back and make a loop, twisting your needle through that loop a few times to form a knot, then pull that knot tight to end your thread. Snip with scissors.
Repeat the process mentioned in the previous paragraphs until you have a small dot at the tip of each point of the crown.
Step 5
Take your second color of thread and cut it an arm span length. If using embroidery thread, split it in half so you only have three threads in a strand. Cut with scissors and thread through the needle, tying a knot at the end so the thread remains on the needle.
With your threaded needle come up through the back and poke a hole at the base of your crown, pulling the thread through almost all the way but leaving about an inch behind the embroidery ring that you will hold down to make sure the thread doesn't pull all the way through.
Make a forward stitch with your thread along the horizontal line on the bottom of the crown and pull your thread through, still holding on to the tail of the thread so it doesn't pull out all of your stitching.
Come back up, poking your needle through a little farther down the line but leaving space between your forward stitch where you come up. Do a backward stitch, closing the space between your first stitch and where you just came up with the needle.
Continue this method to outline the crown, then, when finished (or if you run out of thread), stick your needle through a recent stitch on the back and make a loop, twisting your needle through that loop a few times to form a knot, then pull that knot tight to end your thread. Snip with scissors.
And you're done! Let us know how it went in the comments or share a final photo! For more projects and book reviews, check out our blog and website. Follow us on Twitter @nookblogger and on Instagram @_booknookblog or contact us at thenookblogger@gmail.com for book or project recommendations!
Comments