Collaborative embroidered prayer flag

Years ago I got this embroidered, appliqued square from the late corduroy cat in one of Cster’s swaps of pre-made items. She wanted someone to finish it however they saw fit. I hemmed it, added eyelets so I could hang it up, and filled in the free space with an appropriate song lyric. And added tiny bird legs.


The words are from the song “I Shall Sing” by Van Morrison, which is exuberant in its arrangement, but sung much more low-key. It matches the feel of this mellow bird in a busy scene.

I think this was the first time I’ve used waste canvas to cross-stitch on fabric, and the stitches are not nearly as clean as I’d hoped. I tried to make the letters clearer by surrounding them with a dark then a light border, but it still looks so busy! Do you think I should add more white stitches around them to further separate them from the patterned background, or maybe a white paint pen over the adjoining patterns to fade them out?

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This is so lovely. :heart:

I actually really love the text as is. The green thread and double outline give it just the right contrast. I never would have thought to use scrap canvas for x-stitch text but I love the effect! I love how you made it look cursive in spots.

I like the little bird legs :slight_smile:
I think the letters are good as they are, the white makes them pop up from the background (to my eyes anyway).

This makes me so happy. It is wonderful.

I love the fun details on the bird. What a great finish! I think two more rows of white stitches would really help separate the words from the print, but that seems like an awful lot of work. Do they make thin paint pens? I’ve only seen thick tipped ones.

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Thanks, I have one with a nib that’s about the size of standard Sharpies’, so it would add about an eighth of an inch in width. I would have more control using the embroidery thread; I don’t know if the paint pen might bleed.

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I think the stitches are great as they are! It looks so fun and happy!