When you try to completely fill just one inch (2,54 centimeters) with embroidery stitches, you realize how time consuming embroidery really is. But don’t let that stop you. It is also meditative, reflective and time spent well.
Embroidered Inchies by iHanna. Little fabric one inch sized squares with a colour theme.
We are swapping inchies in my embroidery group, Embroidered Inchies. Inchies is a very small form of art that is 1 x 1 inch small, that is 2.54 x 2,54 centimeter. Pretty small canvas to work with, but it can be done. I tried doing an inchie collage once but the format wasn’t for me. It felt to small to express anything I wanted to say.
I decided to be abstract with my embroidered inchies as you can see, and I used a hoop while working with them. It is fascinating how long it can take to just “fill” one square inch with stitches. Embroidery is indeed a slow art form.
We devided colours in the group, and I choose pink. I am making a batch of light pink inchies and one with darker pink magenta inchies. These are the first embroidered inchies I’ve ever made and I think they are turning out very nice. I especially like them in a grid like this, working systematically and one inch at a time…
I don’t know yet what I’ll do when I get the other colours, but I imagine a rainbow of inchies on black fabric in some way… What would you do with little inchie squares like these? Have you ever created something this small?
Here are some more photos, because I think they look extremely yummy;
WOW these are cool and so textural! Good idea working on them in a big batch. How else could you even hang onto them? Will you cut and separate them now??
It would be cool if you cut six of the squares in the shape of a ‘t’ and then assemble it into a cube!!
Nice-nice-nice :-)
This is so beautiful! It kind of looks like candy up close. I had never heard of “inchies” before but it sounds like it could also be a great small-scale art journal project. Thanks for sharing!
So delicious! Thanks for the inspiration, I think I will have to collect all my turquise thread!
I’ve done the proverbial collage inchies, in fact did a tutorial on it at one time.
I’ve never sewn inchies. I’ve thought about felting inchies though. Thought that might be fun. I’m wondering what it will be like when you cut them. Hoping they don’t roll up on you. I can’t imagine you could sew them together when you receive all the others. I like your idea of the black background.
Hanna. These are just lovely! You have inspired me to get out the embroidery supplies! Something I can work on during my son’s baseball games, yay!!!
TJ, they are for a swap so I will not keep mine but get a batch of other colours that are already cut up, though I like the cube idea. Cubes are fun, makes me think of the collage cube I once did. :-)
Kris, thanks for the link to your tutorial, yours are wonderful with one word + one little collaged woman image.
Sarah, yes, embroidery is perfect to bring when you’re out and about, the inchies have been in my bag for a while now. Have fun with your embroidery, just sewing little stitches if so much fun. :-)
Thanks for commenting!
Wow, those look great! Embroidery is too slow for me, but I love how yours turned out. I think it’s a great idea for a group to do something like that.
Hi Hanna, I just did a post on my blog about inchies, so I was very interested to read your post today. Love the shades of pink. Since I don’t embroider myself, it’s interested to see how you translate that talent into inchies!
Oooo! These are indeed yummy!
i just want to get my hands on these – love all the texture and different stitches. i, too, enjoy embroidery but have never entertained the idea of “inchies”. you are always about ten steps ahead of me!!!
hi hanna, thanks for the pitt pen info, they are so fluid. my post this morning is very pink too, i dont have your patience though.
These are great and your embroidery skills are tremendous! It made me laugh, though, because it takes me ten thousand years to make a couple of decent French knots, let alone a whole field of them! Lol! I’d still be making those inchies when I was too old to even see them anymore!
I think it would be cool to cut the inchies into strips (the way you’re sewing them) and back them with something sturdy – maybe even leather. They would make an incredible textural cuff bracelet!
wow, this is so cool! i love the different textures and subltly varying shades.. are you going to embroider over the lines or leave them as is? i have to admit, i want to shrink down so small that i can take a walk in your pink embroidery pastures..
Lovely. As I look at this, I think, what color would I do? Do I still have a hoop? Spring is on the horizon. A new project should be in the works.
I didn’t see this post when I came here before…love these embroidery inchies! I guess you will be cutting those apart to send to various people?
Oh wow!! Girl, you are OWNING your pink!! I am wild about your inchies, the shades, the textures – total yumminess!!
OK, so are you going to replicate this with other colors????
Hanna, I’m not going to comment any more, or you’re going to think I’m a stalker! But I have been away too long. And these posts just always give me something to think about. What a great idea this is! And I was thinking that the paper scrap weaving from the previous post would be so cool with a few square embroidered after weaving! And then, holy moly! maybe a little coin purse or even a tote! Varnish or laminate, put a liner inside— a woven evidence of all the great paiinting and color work we’ve done! And some cool beadwork, too.
I’m definitely calling in sick tomorrow…
Thanks for commenting!
Chris, I already know you’re a stalker, my favorite one. You need to sign up for the postcard swap too, don’t miss that post before you go to bed. Want you joining, so start making some postcards while you stay at home tomorrow! :-)
Take care!
I never thought to use an embroidery hoop for sewing on beads! I am so glad I saw that! Also, I really like what you are doing.
Oh, I love this! You have inspired me to start my own little inchie embroidery and I am so enjoying the soothing repetition of sewing french knot after french knot! I love how you included beads into your stitches too.
Rachel x
They’re beautiful! I haven’t worked on a small project in ages. This may inspire me to try something.
Now you have gone and done it! Making embroidered inchies looks like something I just have to do!
Yourrs are beautiful.
You have made some great textured inchies.
While these are not strictly fibre-related, they are inchies. Every Inchie Monday is a blog where you have a word prompt to kick-start your creativity.
I’m just finding out about inchies. Love what you do here. From some that I’ve seen, the inchies are sewn in 2 or 3 layers and quilted. Do you have to do that–or can you just leave them as one layer. How do you bind the edges?
Oh My God! its so beautiful.your information is so useful.Thankyou so much.