Garden Birds: Chaffinch - Original Hand Embroidery metal thread all of which are essential

all of which are essential when building up shading and texture in a piece of silk shading

Materials included in the kit: ivory cotton fabric

Difficulty level: Intermediate - This kit is suitable for all skill levels and for those who want to practise or explore the technique of blackwork embroidery

Difficulty level: advanced

Materials included in the kit: cotton calico fabric printed with the background design

Garden Birds: Chaffinch - Original Hand Embroidery metal thread all of which are essentialOriginal hand embroidery of a Chaffinch from the Garden Bird collection. This beautifully detailed little bird sat upon a large needle took approximately 14 hours to embroider using a combination of two techniques called silk shading and stumpwork. Silk shading, sometimes known as 'painting with the needle' was used to replicate the delicate soft texture of the feathers by blending together seven shades of stranded cotton threads, each one inserted