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HomeOur stitching

Thread,
stitch by stitch

One small studio. How a portrait is traced, stitched and finished, and what to know before you order one.

The Threadift bench by a window: a black and white cat and a spaniel stitched in wooden hoops, a velvet pincushion, brass scissors, skeins of thread and a cup of tea, and a wall of thread spools sorted by colour behind
A father on a sofa holding a framed embroidery of his twin red-haired daughters, the two girls laughing over his shoulders, torn kraft paper and ribbon on the table in front

The material

Real thread,
not printed

Embroidery is thread, not ink. We trace the design onto natural linen and build the portrait up in thousands of fine stitches, each one laid the way the fur lies, so the picture stands up off the cloth rather than sitting on it. Run a finger across it and you can feel the eyes.

The same linen goes into a slim walnut frame for the wall, or is trimmed and pressed into the front of a 45 cm pillow for the sofa.

On the bench

Trace, match,
stitch, finish

Trace

The approved design is traced onto natural linen, stretched drum-tight in a hoop.

Match

Thread is matched to your photograph, one shade for every shade of fur.

Stitch

The outlines first, then the shading, in fine stitches laid the way the fur lies, and the eyes get the most time.

Finish

Framed and ready to hang, or trimmed and pressed into a pillow, then wrapped in tissue.

Good to know

Shipping, returns
and care

Shipping

Stitched and packed in our studio, wrapped in tissue and tracked end to end. Pillows reach most addresses in two and a half to three and a half weeks; framed portraits in about five. The estimate for yours is shown before you pay.

Before you buy

Made for one person, so it is not returnable. Ask us anything before you buy and we will answer properly, usually the same day. The approved design is what we stitch.

Hanging & care

Framed portraits arrive ready to hang; pillows go straight on the sofa. Dust a frame with a soft dry cloth and keep it out of hours of strong direct sun, which fades any thread in time. Spot-clean a pillow with a damp cloth and mild soap; no bleach, and press it from the back on a low heat.

Threadift | Our stitching