You know how it is about embroidery supplies: we all have our favorites…and it’s pretty rare to see fine embroidery goods go on sale.

Because of that, I like to announce it when they do. In this case, I know many of you have been waiting for the annual 15%-off everything sale at Hedgehog Handworks. Guess what?

It starts today! And it’s running for 15 days, through June 3rd. What will you find there that might be of interest? (I probably don’t need to ask that question!) Well, I’ll tell you some of my Favorite Things – embroidery supplies that are hardly ever on sale any other time!

You’ll find fine linen for hand embroidery. This is linen made from the ground up specifically for hand embroidery. It includes Alba Maxima linen, which is perfect for Schwalm whitework, for drawn thread work, for all types of general surface embroidery, and so forth. It’s my all-around favorite all-around linen.

You’ll find shadow work linen and linen cambric, both excellent for shadow work and for fine monogramming, for fine whitework. The cambric is excellent for heirloom sewing and christening gowns, and even for very fine, light linen clothing, nightgowns, and whatnot.

You’ll find ecclesiastical linen, ideal for cutwork, for ecclesiastical whitework, altar cloths, and the like. It’s also excellent as a ground for fine silk shading, needlepainting, and any applications where you want a quality, high count, smooth, sturdy linen ground.

You’ll also find round yarn linen, which is great for needlework samplers and anywhere you’d want a heavier weight linen. You can use it for heavier drawn thread work, church linens, Hardanger…lots of options! It’s a lower thread count (around 25 threads per inch, I think), but the threads are thick and full and fill the weave.

For Mountmellick embroidery fans, you’ll also find an excellent cotton sateen, perfect for Mountmellick embroidery.

How Embroidery Fabric is Cut

Keep in mind that embroidery fabrics are generally cut differently from other fabrics off the bolt. So if you order a quarter yard of fabric, you’ll end up with a piece that’s 18″ x half the width of the fabric, which is a good sized piece of fabric on its own.

So, while the price per yard are higher for these types of needlework fabrics, when you buy them, you rarely need a whole yard, and often, for most embroidery applications, a quarter will do. Keep in mind, on some of them, a yard can be 60 or 70 inches wide. An example: the round yard linen is $80 / yard. But it is 71″ wide. So when you order a quarter yard ($20-worth), you get an 18″ x 35.5″ piece. That’s a good chunk of good fabric for $20…and it’s on sale for 15% off, so that’s actually $17!

And then, there are threads.

Be still my heart. Threads!

Hedgehog carries a fantastic collection of embroidery threads, from cotton (floche, coton a broder, Danish flower thread), to wool (Fine d’Aubusson is a favorite of mine), to silk (all the Au Ver a Soie silks), to linen threads (Londonderry Linen threads, which really are the best linen threads out there), to goldwork threads, to speciality threads like Gilt Sylke Twist.

Oh dear. I’m sunk. I’m the kid in the candy shop at the moment!

But it’s a perfect time to look ahead to upcoming projects, see what’s needed, and get the supplies on sale, that’s for sure. Because, like I said, it doesn’t happen too often! (And wouldn’t you say that’s perfect reasoning?)

Embroidery Tools

And there are the tools we need, of course!

If you’re contemplating taking a stab at tambour embroidery, you can find tambour embroidery tools on sale Hedgehog.

If you need a good embroidery hoop, Hardwicke Manor embroidery hoops are on sale, and they have the whole range of sizes. They also carry the shaped hoops from Hardwicke Manor.

If you’ve been pining after a slate frame, you can special order them from Hedgehog, too.

Embroidery scissors? Oh, yes, they have those, too! These Dovo scissors are particular favorites. And so are these.

Needlework Miscellany

If you’re looking for needlework accessories or finishing options, you’ll find display boxes with glass lids (perfect for stumpwork pieces – think Jane Nicholas pieces) available. How about Needle ID cards, for when you want to identify which needle is what size? Or twill tape for binding embroidery hoops? Yes, it’s all there.

And then, of course, there are books. Lots of books! Lots of needlework books!

Well, you get the idea – there’s something here for every embroiderer.

And it’s all Ooooooon Saaaaaaaaale!

And that doesn’t happen often!

And…and…

I have to go now.

Bye!