Whenever I travel I bring a small piece of art home with me, and on a recent trip to Portugal, I found an embroidered tea towel that I found so charming I decided to turn it into a framed piece of art. Sardines (and all kinds of locally sourced fish) are a common meal and the fish motif is repeated in a lot of ceramics, art, and packaging in Portugal.
I removed the glass from a 8×10 picture frame, then cut the tea towel to fit, allowing an extra inch around the edges. I used hot glue to secure the towel to the back of the cardboard insert and returned it to the picture frame. Instant art!
I love the raised texture of embroidery when it’s displayed as art, the colorful threads catch the eye and make the artwork so interesting. Embroidered art looks great without glass so you can better see the detail of the threads.
My tea towel is machine stitched, but hand stitching has equal (if not more) appeal. You can find vintage embroidered art on Etsy (and Ebay) or unique works by artists, these are some favorites I discovered:
constellation / arizona sunset
If you’d like to try your hand at embroidery, check out these DIY embroidery kits, a great way to learn this style of textile art while you’re binge watching your next show!
enjoy life / floral, dark background
Any embroiderers out there? What are your favorite sources for patterns and supplies?
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