A little BDE information

I'm so happy that many of you liked my "Ribbons & Roses Heart". I hope you have an opportunity to stitch it for someone special in your life.....maybe yourself! Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery is such a gorgeous form of embroidery. Many of you might not be real familiar with it or what makes it different from other types of embroidery. The first thing, is the type of thread that we use to stitch with. BDE is stitched with several different types and weights of "Z" twist rayon thread. This is what gives it the fantastic sheen that BDE is known for. The most popular brand of threads used is Edmar, which is available from many suppliers.....but there are a few other brands out there. If this style of embroidery is done with any other type of thread, like silk, cotton, or wool; it is just called dimensional embroidery. Many of the stitches used for BDE are those that had been developed for other forms of embroidery and have been around for decades, and have been improvised for use with the "z" twist rayon by switching the direction the thread is wound on the needle or how it is held while stitches are made to keep the twist from untwisting..... but.... many, many new stitches have been developed specifically for BDE by talented BDE teachers and designers and are only found in their books or patterns. A word of caution....BDE books and patterns are written to be stitched with "z" twist thread, so if you are using them and stitching with "s" twist thread, you will have to understand that you may have to compensate for this or your stitches may not come out right. If you would like to find out more about BDE, why not check out the BDEIG website? There is a lot of information there including free patterns and stitch instructions. You can find it at Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery International Guild .  I'd like to, also, invite you to join me and a great group of talented ladies interested in BDE at our BDEIG Online Chapter on Yahoo Groups. We have a terrific group that is there to help with questions and help you with your BDE efforts. There is some great "eye candy" there to view, too. Come and check it out.

Tomorrow, I'll share something I’m excited about and a little “eye candy” with you. See you then.... Hugs, Sherry