Back in July, when I originally showed you this embroidered monogram in floche, I had a lot of requests for the tulip alphabet that I used for that particular letter.
This is the embroidered monogram, in case you haven’t seen it yet:
The design comes from an old publication – late 1800’s – and as usual, it was missing some letters (W and I are the letters normally missing from monogram alphabets of old) and the individual letters were not necessarily consistent, especially in the spacing and measurements of the center lines and in the placement of the tulips.
I finally got around to cleaning them up, and as I work my way through the alphabet, I’ll filter them out to you here on Needle ‘n Thread. You’ll be able to find the tulip monograms listed on this index of monograms patterns for hand embroidery, which is listed under Patterns in the main navigation at the top of the website.
So, the original monogram that I embroidered was worked with split stitch, primarily, except for the tulip, which is a combination of stem stitch (on the stem and leaves) and padded satin stitch.
In retrospect, I wish I had worked the leaves on this in padded satin stitch as well, and the next time I work up one of these monograms, I’ll do just that!
These particular monogram designs, though, will work with all kinds of stitches, and the letters don’t necessarily have to be filled.
You could outline the letter with a simple stem stitch and, for contrast, work the tulip in filled stitches. Closed herringbone stitch, cretan stitch, buttonhole stitch – all kinds of stitches would work well on the tulip leaves and petals.
Perhaps you want the letter to be filled, though not solidly filled. Seed stitching (tiny random straight stitches) would work well for that.
You could also work these letters in shadow work, which would be interesting, I think. In fact, I’d like to try the letters in shadow work, with the tulip worked solid, from the front, for a contrast. That might be fun!
Tulip Monograms A-D Printable
Although the letters look very large here, the designs on the PDF below print at 2.5″ high. You can enlarge or reduce them to fit your own personal needs. If you want them to print at 2.5″ high, choose “no scaling” or similar options in your printer settings before clicking the print button.
Tulip Monograms A – D (PDF)
I hope you find some use for these letters and that you enjoy them! I’ll filter the others out as they’re ready.
If you’re looking for more monogram designs for hand embroidery, you’ll find a collection of them here on the monogram design index. You can also find plenty of other hand embroidery patterns available here on Needle ‘n Thread.
