Wednesday, November 10, 2010

trial and error

tea towel embroidery

well our internet signal went missing for a bit but i am finally back with a new project to share! this is something i completed over the summer but after finishing it i hit something of a roadblock because i realized it wasn't something i could sell in my shop. on the other hand, it should make a great little christmas present for someone on my list.

remember these little drawings? well i based each little kitchen item in the towel after my own sketches and turned them into embroidery transfers using a sulky transfer pen. it worked great and i even completed another one of just vegetables but ended up giving it away as a gift to a dear friend before i got to photograph it. i'm happy with how the drawings worked out but i've got two problems: first off, the elongated design is incredibly difficult to show off in photos and if there's one thing i've learned about etsy, it's that a good photo will go a long way to helping an item sell faster; secondly, each little vignette really adds up timewise and so when i calculate a retail cost for it, there's just no way anyone would put that kind of money into buying a tea towel.

detail of tea towel embroidery

i think i will be focusing instead on finding one vignette per towel and enlarging it which makes it much more shop friendly. trial and error, trial and error!

7 comments:

VeganCraftastic said...

So adorable!

found and sewn said...

I love this design. It's so difficult pricing handmade work.

Meeling said...

Great kitchen theme...very retro looking...love the look!

Maureen Cracknell Handmade said...

So adorable. It must have been a lot of work -- but well worth it! As always, great job!!!

Hope you visit my way!
:)maureen

Angela said...

You know what you could sell? Your embroidery designs!! Just like Sublime Stitching!! You could send them via email and that way people could put them on whatever...just a thought.

Oh - I am giving away ads on my blog if you want one ;)

thestoryofkat said...

thanks so much!

angela, that is a great idea that i might just have to chew on for a bit! i wonder if people just put out a pdf that people then trace with a transfer pen or what?? thanks for the idea!!

Unknown said...

Oh, I love that little juicer! It's my favorite :)