How to stitch your own Baguette (as made by Fendi)

Laura Lees, go-to embroiderer for the fashion industry, shows us how to let rip with a selection of stitched possibilities

Fendi Baguette needlework kit, £800, by Fendi, 141 New Bond Street, London W1, 020-7927 4172; Crochet hook, £3.40, by Prym, johnlewis.com (Wilma)

Do not judge a book, or baguette, by its cover. Sewing is not something solely for school or Tudor queens, it can be used to decorate and embellish individuality – here Laura Lees, go-to embroiderer for the fashion industry, shows us how to let rip with a selection of stitched possibilities on the canvas of the famous Fendi Baguette. Apply this to real life from the running stitch to Frenching.

YOU WILL NEED

Needle
Embroidery thread
Patience

THE MAKE

Running Stitch

1. Thread the needle and cast on, then pierce your needle through the fabric, and pull until the knot reaches the fabric and you can't pull any more.

2. To make the stitch, weave the thread in a straight line in and out of the fabric 'running' in the direction desired. Try to keep your stitches even and straight in length with the same amount of space between.

French Knot

1. Push the needle through the fabric; then, holding needle parallel to material, take the thread in your left hand and wrap it around the needle three times.

2. Holding the three loops on the fabric, pull the needle and thread back through the same hole tightly. Repeat as desired.

Chain Stitch

1. Pierce fabric with needle, making a 1cm loop with thread, then start to push the needle back through the fabric at the same/starting point.

2. About ½cm away from the starting point of your first stitch, bring the needle back through the fabric, leaving the loop on the right side of the fabric, and pull the needle through so that the thread is now on top of the 1cm loop and pull tight.

3. Repeat to create the chain stitch, working it across the fabric in the desired direction.

Blanket Stitch

1. Pierce fabric, and push the needle back through about 1cm diagonally north-east (2 o'clock position) of the original hole, leaving a 2cm excess of thread on the right side of the fabric.

2. Pull the needle through the fabric directly 1cm south of the last hole, making sure the thread goes over the excess loose thread. Pull tightly. You should have created a 90-degree angled stitch with the needle coming back through the fabric at the bend in the stitch.

3. Repeat steps 2 to 3, and knot to finish.

This is an exclusive preview from 'Make Life Beautiful' by Camilla Morton, published autumn 2015 by Hutchinson/Random House