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Welcome to my Blog. This a place to share and learn all things embroidery. Here I post inspirational stories and free lessons in the form of tutorials and guides. I also share tips, tricks and teach stitches and techniques.

You will also find free patterns and designs for you to unlock your creativity. It is a great place for any creative looking to learn or find inspiration in this art form.

To stay in the loop with Dicraft you can subscribe to my newsletter and stay in touch on Instagram and Facebook.

Blog > Tutorials

How to Embroider Long Hair by Di van Niekerk

  Hi, hello everyone! I was asked to write a tutorial about how to make this kind of hair – the long shiny locks of hair like this one in our popular kit “Girl with a Horse”. This kind of hair is easy to make!   . Threads to Use. I find that the Rajmahal Art. Silk threads are ideal for making hair as they are a blend of...

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How to Make Hydrangeas with Silk Ribbon

Hi everyone! I thought I would show you how to make Hydrangeas with silk ribbon, the easy way.   Here is an example of Pink and Blue Hydrangeas and how to make these...   . Start with the pink flowers and use Di van Niekerk’s Silk Ribbon 4mm no. 114 and make loosely wrapped French knots. Wrap the ribbon once around your needle. Change to no. 2mm no. 92...

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How Do I Make Softly Raised Stitches with Silk Ribbon by Di van Niekerk

Hi, hello! Today I am teaching you about creating dimension and softly raised ribbon embroidery stitches. I am often asked why some stitches are soft and rounded, raised off the surface of the design and why some designs look flat and have less dimension. I will show you why. .   . How to Create Pretty Stitches with Silk Ribbon that are nice and rounded, adding texture to your ribbon...

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Handy Hints - How to Make an Embroidered Hat and Basket

  Hi good morning from a sunny Cape Town!  Today I thought I'd show you how to make an embroidered hat and a basket like the two in this design.   It's quite a simple technique yet it has stunning results.  This is from “The Bicycle” design where the hat and basket were made separately and then stitched on to the main design.     Make the Hat On a...

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Learn How to Make Irises

Hello everyone … today I thought I would show you how to make Irises. These are beautiful Irises by Anna Dunaevskaya. .  . ... and this is a short tutorial on how to make one of the most popular flowers for ribbon embroidery! I also wrote some notes for you on a black and white diagram of Anna’s beautiful design. This should help you to see how she made her...

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How to make Berries and Fruit with Silk Ribbon by Di van Niekerk

Hi, Hello from a sunny Cape Town!  I wrote a tutorial about how to make an orange tree. If you look at my New Beginnings sampler below, you will see I used fruit and berries here too. . . In the bird panel, I used the technique to make the pink berries... .  . and for the Erica in this panel, I used the same technique too... . . For...

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Marguerite Daisies in Silk Ribbon Embroidery

Silk Ribbon Daisies See how these daisies are almost life-like in their appearance, raised up off the surface of the design? An as promised I will show you how these daisies are made… .   . How to make Three-Dimensional Daisies in Silk Ribbon Hi, good day from a sunny Cape Town A few weeks ago, I promised to show you how to make silk ribbon daisies with a...

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Ophelia- a Beautiful Embroidery by Christine Chan via Dicraft.com

        Hi, hello! I’m back from hiking amongst the wildflowers on the West Coast not far out of Cape Town and having caught up with the backlog, I want to show you a gorgeous classic piece of artwork, embroidered by the talented Christine Chan from Arcadia in Los Angeles County. Ophelia is a 1894 oil on canvas painting by the English painter John William Waterhouse and the embroidery...

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How to make Oranges and Berries with Silk Ribbon Embroidery

Hi, hello! I promised to show you how to make an orange tree and at the same time, I will show you how to make Forget-Me-Nots or simple daisies. See the RES design below, the second panel on the far right?  . . For my RES book, I show how to make an orange tree in a woven basket and in my New Beginnings design, I show you how...

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How To Make a Nature Scene of Embroidered Wildflowers

How To Make a Nature Scene of Embroidered Wildflowers . Hello, good morning from Kloof near Durban in KZN, where it’s much warmer and I am slowly defrosting. Cape Town has had a very cold winter!   I thought you would like to learn how to make a country scene filled with wildflowers (we call them veld flowers). It’s a natural phenomenon here in the Cape that happens in...

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