Fine Cell Work's wonderful Production and Design Supervisor, Annasofie, has created an embroidery design especially for our #virtualstitchclub on Instagram to help all of us stitch our way through this together.

Download the PDF template and print onto a sheet of A4 paper. Follow our instructions below or print the instructions instead.

We often use linen for our stitching but you can use any fabric scraps you can find around the house – an old pillowcase or sheet, a cotton tote bag, embroider onto clothing... be creative!

The easiest way to transfer the design onto your fabric is to tape your printed template onto a window and then hold/tape your fabric against it and trace directly on to it. You can use a water soluble pen or even just a pencil. If you have an embroidery frame you can pop it in to keep the fabric stretched, or you can just stitch without one.

Select a few colours of thread. We like to use three or four strands of stranded cotton for a nice bold effect.

Now you’re ready to get stitching! Watch Fine Cell Work’s handy YouTube and Instagram stitch tutorials to learn the techniques of French knots, chain stitch, stem stitch and back stitch, or use whichever stitches you fancy. Embroider directly on top of your drawn lines so they won’t be visible. You may even wish to add more elements to the design – like this beautiful floral border stitched by one of our volunteers.

Most importantly – be creative and have fun! And don’t forget to share your progress – and finished pieces – over on Instagram. Tag @finecellwork and use #virtualstitchclub for a chance to be included in our Instagram stories!

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