An Embroidery Kit for the Betsy Ross House
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to create a custom embroidery kit for the Henry Ford Museum's Fabric of America exhibit. Around the same time I was asked to create that design, the same group comissioned me to create a design for the Betsy Ross House.
Beyond knowing that Betsy Ross stitched the first American flag during the Revolutionary war, I needed to do a little research into what this embroidery kit should be about.
The Custom Embroidery Kit Design Process
In looking into the Betsy Ross House, I learned they have a living museum, where Betsy, shares about her upholstery business, how she created the a 5-pointed star, and about her life in the 18th century. The Betsy Ross House asked if I could include both fabric remnants and the 5-pointed star in the embroidery kit, along with additional elements that spoke to Philadelphia.
My first thought was to have a fabric star in the middle of the hoop, with red and white flower stripes shooting out from the center. After some deliberation and additional feedback, I took some of those design elements and adjusted the design.
This second design kept the feminine, modern flowers along with the applique star. It also added additional stars and the outline of a house to tie everything together. Additionally, we added Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia, PA for those wanting to stitch this as a keepsake of their visit, but it could also be left off of the design too.
The fun thing about this kit is that each one will be unique. Every kit will have different fabric remnants for the stars, so no two designs will ever be the same.
The Final Custom Embroidery Kit Design
After a few months of back and forth designing, the hard work paid off. My embroidery kit was approved and these kits are available at the Betsy Ross House gift shop.
About the Betsy Ross House Embroidery Kit
The Betsy Ross House embroidery kit is a beginner to intermediate level embroidery kit. It includes all the materials needed (minus scissors and yourself) to create the project featured. The kit walks you through the design step by step. From placing the fabric in the hoop, to prepping the thread, making knots, each embroidery stitch, and how to create a 5-pointed fabric star, as well as finishing the embroidery in the hoop. This embroidery kit uses a water soluble pattern so it's ok if you don't follow the lines as you stitch. The pattern includes the buttonhole, straight, satin, stem rose, lazy daisy, French knot, running, and whip stitches. Along with step by step photos for each stitch in the kit, there is also a QR code to the MCreativeJ YouTube channel where you can follow along, watching each stitch video and many more.
What's included in the Betsy Ross House kit?
The Betsy Ross Embroidery Kit includes:
5-inch beechwood embroidery hoop
white cotton fabric
fabric remnants
blue and red DMC embroidery thread
embroidery needle
water soluble transfer pattern
felt backing and sawtooth hook
5-pointed star folding and cutting instructions
full color printed and step-by-step instructions
QR code to stitch videos
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