Hövej Embroidery: Step One

It's been nearly two months since I returned from Hungary.  My purpose in going there was to learn more about the embroidery and hopefully learn how to do it.  Mrs. Szigethy sent me home with a doily already stretched onto it's frame.  I just couldn't find time in December or January to pick it up and work on it again, but today I had time.

Here's the doily on the frame all ready to stitch.  Perhaps you can see the design traced onto the fabric.

Step One:  Baste the outer circles twice around.  The stitches will not be seen, their purpose is to stabilize the buttonhole stitch and the wrapped stitches that go around the outside and inside of the circles.  The basting stitches you see in the photo above were done in Hungary.

Here's what my piece looks like now, with the basting for these outer circles complete:

I think you can see the design better in these two photos; the fabric is very thin!

That's all I am going to do today.  Next time I will work on the buttonhole edge on the outer part of the circle.

Off to watch the football game!