Evil Eye kit no851

Before Christmas I bought three kits for embroideries designed to ward off the Evil Eye. The purpose is not personal use, but as examples for a talk I am going to give to the World Embroidery Study Group later this year. While I have a lot of information, I figure it will help to have some actual examples.

While I bought these from an Australian Etsy site, they appear to be designed and constructed in the UK, although the package itself does not identify the artist. 

I chose what looked like the most complex to begin. There are 5 different threads and three sets of beads. The stitches are simple - stem, straight, satin and a bead attachment.There is a simple diagram for each of these and a diagram showing where each is used, along with the colour. This all fits on the single instruction sheet. Needles and a needle threader are included. I thought this was clever. Because the stitches have been kept basic, a beginner would be able to work it out.

I began with the inner blue iris, working around in an arc so the stitches eventually overlapped. The next round, the gold metallic, was my only grumble. The gold “thread” was a nightmare to work with. Even short lengths quickly untwisted and broke after a couple of stitches. I persevered, but won’t do so in future kits. I will substitute Madeira metallic with a cotton core. 

The rest went fairly smoothly. I experimented a bit with the number of beads threaded at a time. Securing individual beads would not only be uneconomical of time, but wouldn’t get the flow implied in the photo.

When I came to the outer row of blue, I used blanket stitch rather than straight stitch.

I had purchased hoops with the kit. They are cream plastic, blending nicely with the design. I used my regular seated hoop to stitch it, but mounted the finished piece in the hoop provided.

I found a square of fabric I purchased some time ago from the Aboriginal Fabric Gallery in Alice Springs that seemed appropriate. I pinned it over the back, cut around it and then trimmed the corners off the embroidery, pinned, stretched and stitched.  

I am delighted with the result. I haven’t hung it as yet. I think I’ll wait to finish the three. It has been the most enjoyable embroidery I’ve done for ages.