Cat in My Pocket Embroidery. Hiroko Kubota

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      You will be using a lot of similar thread colors to embroider your cats, so I advise you to organize your pin cushions well: having too many needles on a pin cushion will cause the threads to tangle, so you may well need more than one.

      Group your shades in a way that is logical to you, then make ink dots on the cushions so you know where to replace your needle. You will also be able to pick up the shade of thread you need next more easily.

       (9) THREADS

      Separate skeins of size 25 embroidery floss and use single strands (see pages 18–19). The projects list exactly which thread shades to use, but keeping a more extensive selection at hand can be good for freestyle work and for feeding your creativity at the time of working—just like a painter who may have more colors on their palette than they actually use on the canvas.

       STITCHING TECHNIQUE

      Using just a needle and single strands of embroidery floss, you can achieve soft color-shading effects and replicate the patterns and textures of a cat’s fur.

       LONG AND SHORT STITCH

      Painting with thread uses a stitching technique called long and short stitch, although the name is slightly misleading, since long and short stitches are used to start an area of embroidery, but the shading is actually completed using irregular satin stitches. The first row of stitches will feature alternate long and short stitches, but subsequent rows use stitches of roughly equal length, staggered to fill in the gaps of the previous row. You use your needles like a paintbrush, filling in color changes and light and shade. You may bring your needle up next to preceding stitches or through them, and may even pierce the thread of existing stitches.

      To work the first row, alternate long and short stitches.

      Fill in the gaps with a row of satin stitches.

      Now fill in the next gaps with more satin stitches.

      The stitches at the edges are long and short again.

      You can keep the overlap between stitches short. . .

      . . .or long.

       NATURAL COLOR GRADATION

      To create natural-looking cats you will use lots of threads, often in very similar shades. By using multiple colors you can create smooth and subtle gradations. For example, while moving in color between black and white, you might expect to need to use a gray. In fact, look closely at a photograph of a cat and you will see that various shades of gray, and perhaps browns too, are apparent between the extremes of white and black. Don’t be afraid to use lots of threads: we are lucky to have so many shades available.

      To understand what I mean, start with two distinct colors.

      Work between those colors with similar shades to begin to soften the transition.

      Keep building a natural gradation using slightly differing shades of thread color.

       TEXTURE

      The long and short stitch technique is perfect for replicating the direction of a cat’s fur. Every cat is unique, so study the furry details and use your stitches like brushstrokes, changing their size and direction to emulate the nap or texture of the fur. That said, the changes in direction, like the changes in color, need to be subtle, so keep your stitches roughly parallel with only small changes each time as you round a corner or make a change in direction.

      Embossed stitches make the paw stand out.

       THREE DIMENSIONS

      As you continue to layer your stitching to build color gradations and realistic textures, the embroidery will get thicker. This thread overlap naturally creates a 3-D effect, which is something you can use to your advantage. If you want some areas to stand out, use stitch layering to create that effect, working over some areas by embossing stitches on top of other stitches.

      If your cat has smooth, even fur, then you need to be careful not to create an unwanted 3-D effect by overembossing any areas.

       STARTING AND FINISHING

      Before you start on the projects, there are a few more things you need to know, including what to do before you start stitching, how to keep your work neat and tidy, and how to look after it once your creation is complete.

       PLANNING AND POSITIONING

      I began embroidering cats to adorn the shirts I made for my son, so the tailoring came before the embroidery. It is very difficult to embroider on to store-bought clothing, so the only solution is to make your own. Tailoring your own shirts means you can choose where you want your cat to be, and you can adapt your designs for your chosen embroidery—for example, you might wrinkle the edge of a pocket to make it look like your cat is climbing out.

      Cut out all the pattern elements as you usually would, then decide where to position your cat.