Incorporating words into embroidery is something that has been happening for centuries (think stitch samplers in stately homes). There are some lovely modern embroidery patterns that make words a feature, but these generally are based on a font face, normally a script or block font.

To make an embroidery even more special you could include your handwriting or the handwriting of someone else such as a child.

I have a free guide to creating your own stitched greeting’s cards and one of the ideas I demonstrated in that is a card with the word ‘love’ on it. But you could also feature it in an embroidery on fabric. One great idea is to get your kid to write a message to a grandparent or teacher and you trace it and stitch it to make it into a unique framed memento.

Here are my tips for turning handwriting into a work of art:

• size is important - too small makes it difficult to stitch especially letters with loops like ‘e’ can get squished and difficult to read

• use small stitches for curves in letters, even smaller than you think is needed otherwise the line will come out with a jagged rather than smooth edge

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