I don’t know about you but I love to look at other people’s tattoos. What may seem to be some simple body art actually can be something deep and meaningful to the wearer. For those of you who (like me) can be socially ill at ease at times, it is a really great conversation starter!
I had not given tattoos much thought until I was asked to design one. I was very nervous knowing this would be something so permanent. I was touching to see the final design on the wrist of the guy I designed it for. Not only was the image meaningful to its wearer but it created a connection in my mind knowing my design would be permanently on his skin forever! It was then that I started to really appreciate tattoos in a new way.
I always notice and appreciate celebrity tattoos so I thought it would be really fun to embroider some! This was such a blast and kind of addictive. Want to play a little game of “guess the celebrity tattoo”?
To embroider the tattoos, I found some good images online and took a screenshot. I sized them in photoshop and then printed them. Once you have the image printed on paper, it is easy to trace onto a piece of fabric by taping the image on a bright window, then taping your fabric on top of that and using a mechanical pencil to trace the design.
Another method is to use sticky water soluble paper. You can either print the design directly onto the paper or you can trace the design onto the paper, cut around it, peel off the paper backing, and stick the design wherever you want to embroider it. When you are done stitching, rinse the stabilizer off with warm water and dry the fabric.
Above, is what I have at home.
So let’s get started:
Here is celebrity A: (Answers will be posted at the end.)
I used a lot of black thread and tried to stay true to the actual tattoo but I would love to try some with colors and some extra flair, as well. This one was cool because the actual tattoo had almost a sketched/scribbled effect which subtly carried over to the embroidery,
Celebrity B:
Celebrity C:
Celebrity D:
This one was a little more delicate requiring only one thread.
Celebrity E:
Celebrity F
“Always Tired”. I can totally relate.
After finishing all the stitches and rinsing off the stabilizer, I cut around each of the embroideries and am currently sewing them onto a jean jacket. I am trying out something new by use a glue stick to affix the pieces first then sewing around each of the edges with the sewing machine. I hadn’t thought about what will happen to the glue if I wash the jacket (?) The glue says it’s washable but I am wondering if there will be glue residue on the jacket after washing. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Here is the back of the jacket with the pieces attached by using a glue stick. Once the glue dried, then I sewed around the edges with my sewing machine then added a running stitch by hand. It will be an ongoing work, I’m sure.
Here is the front. I plan to add more embroidered embellishments like the red flower next to the compass. Maybe I’ll even paint it as well.
Now the answer key:
A. LADY GAGA
B. KALEY CUOCO
C. AMY WINEHOUSE
D. XXXTENTACION
E. ADAM LEVINE
F. POST MALONE
Hope you had fun guessing!
Thanks for stopping by!
Warmly,
Pam