Where are all my crafty Slytherins at?!

When I look at this sweatshirt, I see My first embroidery project finished (it took quite a few weeks)— and I’m trying my best not to wear this EVERY SINGLE DAY because I love it so much.

I can definitely tell this was my first embroidery project, because my stitches were very messy and mainly guess work when I started— and about 1/4 of the way through I started researching actual embroidery stitches to work on, which was a game changer. That’s a very “Stacie” way to approach projects— try it the way I think it should be done, see how bad it looks, then research how it should be done. Some of you can’t stand that method, but it’s very on brand for me.

And, despite both my first and last names starting with an “S”, this “S” definitely stands for Slytherin, also represented by the sweatshirt colors.

If you’re wondering how I made it, I didn’t document the whole process, but I have some tips for how to make your own:

1. Thrift a sweatshirt you don’t mind destroying if your project goes sideways.

2. Print out the letter you want to embroider. I printed out a few different sized “S”’s and placed them on the sweatshirt so I could see what size I liked. Once I found the right size, I centered the letter, pinned it onto the sweatshirt, and traced it onto the sweatshirt.

3. I then drew the floral on by hand. I was inspired by a few embroidery projects on Pinterest, so I sort of had an idea of where the flowers and greenery needed to go.

4. After drawing, I put my embroidery hoop on the sweatshirt and began to fill in the design with stitches. I could have filled in the “S”, but I really liked the idea of it staying empty.

5. If you’re not sure where to start with stitches, I found Chloe Wen’s Youtube Channel to be super helpful and really fun!

While Jk Rowling was a sore subject in 2020, I still believe the story of Harry Potter has positive implications for those who have and will read it.

Do you remember how you felt when you were sorted into your Hogwarts house? Were you excited? Did you feel right at home? Were you confused, but accepting? Did you try to take the test again to get different results?

Did I, the rule follower and rebellious-avoidant, ever think I’d be a Slytherin? Nope.

I’ve mentioned it before, but in case you didn’t know— I’ve only taken the House sorting once, and even though I’ve heard you can take it more than once— I felt very strongly about keeping the house I was sorted into first, even though I wasn’t super happy about it. So even though I wasn’t excited to be a Slytherin (I always felt more like a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff), my attitude has really shifted over time. Especially when we saw the play in New York and the play asks the question, “Can anyone be good who comes from Slytherin?”. I want spoil the ending for you.

And yes, I know it’s all fictional and it does feel silly to have been disappointed or sad that I was initially sorted into Slytherin. But if you’ve never had big feelings come from something totally fictional, have you ever really lived?

Is it time to start a Harry Potter inspired embroidered sweatshirt line? Probably not. But I am SO pumped to continue my embroidery journey! I’m already working on my second project— a book cover/case for my jewelry book. And if you’re not sure what a jewelry book is, I can’t wait to show you!

Sticking to the rules and the stitches,

Stacie