The Printemps Biscornu

Pat
Nov 3
2 min read

I am so excited to show you my newest project, The Printemps Biscornu! For years I have been fascinated by these fabric treasures— I love the dimensionality of the 3D shape.

I really enjoyed making this, and I love the way it graces my desk!

I kept putting the idea of creating one on a back burner, but I am so happy that I got the chance to make one recently and I was so delighted by the results that I just had to put together a pattern in case you would like to try to make one, too.

Most of the biscornus that I have seen are embellished with counted embroidery patterns, which makes sense as the edge seaming is best done by counting the stitches. But, as much as I liked the idea of the nice even finish that counted work would bring to the assembly, I really wanted to enjoy working some simple surface embroidery.

I have a number of projects on my desk from my upcoming book Thread Blossoms: Embroidered Needlework Accessories, and decided to make my biscornu to go with those piece, so I opted to use the same pretty blue linen that I used for the items for the book.

I am inspired by flowers everywhere—this is from the spring in Bryant Park, NYC.

Lilies of the Valley are my absolute favorites. These are from a neighbor's yard.

From there, it was easy to come up with a counted edge for the construction, and the pictures of spring flowers on m phone inspired me to create a design with some of my favorite blooms—lilies of the valley, lilacs, lavender, and pansies. Oh, and some delicate baby's breath and forget-me- nots, too!

I am a much better embroiderer than I am a gardener: ) And I love going for walks outside and I take a ton of pictures of flowers, so I had plenty to inspire me!

Is there anything more heavenly than a lilac? The scent, and the color-- oh my!

I really enjoyed stitching this—more in fact than almost any project I have made recently. So much so, that I am already pondering the next biscornu in this collection!