Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 126: Sydd Tofs

Welcome to the world of wool embroidery. Today we have another stitch from Carina Olsson's book Bottensömmar. The Swedish name Sydd Tofs translates into English: Stitched Tassel, but rather than a dangling tassel it looks like a little mossy hill.

To make it you need:

plain weave 

OR Aida/counted weave, with a backing of plain weave
a hoop
a needle
wool yarn
small scissors
a comb
a lint roller with sticky tape

Thread the needle with double yarn.

Insert the needle from the top 

and leave the last 1 cm of the yarn

on the surface.

Come up and down near the first

stitch, leaving a 1 cm loop. 

Repeat until you have a nice tuft.

On the back you should have a little 

knob of yarn.

Remove the fabric from the hoop,

and expose the tuft.

Pinch the tuft and trim it

with your scissors.

Make a rounded shape.

Comb the fibers.

Use the sticky tape roller to remove

lint and fluff up the tassel.

 .........

You can of course use a pen to make even loops.

Cut open the longer loops,
then trim in the way
described above.

Small, tight, perfectly round,
larger, fluffier
or wild and untidy,
there are no rules in free form embroidery.
Have fun!

Homework:

Experiment with stranded floss to see if it can replace the wool yarn.

Then add Sydd Tofs to these samplers.