Stitching through the alphabet
Welcome to the ABC Stitch Along Review page! As we work on stitching through the classic Penguin & Fish ABC Animals Collection, we'll be updating this page with our finished blocks. We will also include links to the YouTube playlist from that block and any other resources mentioned, such as special techniques used. Feel free to click on any of the finished pattern images below to purchase that pattern.
Learn more about the ABC Stitch Along
Aa - Alligator
We kicked off the ABC Stitch Along with the Alligator pattern. This pattern was stitched the week of January 31 - February 4, 2022. We stuck to the colors and stitches suggested for the original pattern and filled in the letters 'Aa' with satin stitch. This pattern actually features two A animals, the alligator and the albatross birds. Watch the Live stitch along replay below!
Buy the A - Alligator iron-on pattern
Bb - Butterfly
The Butterfly pattern was stitched the week of January 7-11, 2022. For this pattern we tried a fun new technique called Color Tinting, or fabric coloring. Using colored pencils, we shaded the butterfly and letters prior to stitching to add a new dimension of color. Click here to read more about color tinting. Watch the Live stitch along replay below!
Buy the B - Butterfly iron-on pattern
--------------------
Cc - Cat
This fun Cat pattern was stitched the week of February 28 - March 3, 2022. We chose our own fun colors and made the cat grey with orange stripes. Then, I filled the 'Cc' letters in with satin stitch. The "Marew" word in this pattern can be replaed with whatever sound your cat makes! This is the kind of meow my parent's cat made while I was designing this pattern. Watch the Live stitch along replay below!
Buy the C - Cat iron-on pattern
--------------------
Dd - Dog
We stitched the Dog pattern the week of March 7-10, 2022. Although we stuck with the original colors for this pattern, we mixed up a couple of the detail pieces on the dog's collar. First, we stitched the collar in a crosswise satin stitch to make it look like a woven collar. Then, we pulled out the Nishikiito metallic embroidery floss for the decorative French knots on the collar, and it turned out so fun! It looks like real bling. Watch the Live stitch along replay below!
Buy the D - Dog iron-on pattern
--------------------
Ee - Elephant
We stitched up the Elephant pattern the week of April 4-8, 2022 and added some fun touches to this one! Someone suggested we do turkey work for the tail, and this stitched turned out perfect as an elephant tail. We also switched the flower that the elephant is holding to a sunflower. We were able to quilt this block in the same week as well. I love how the little flowers turned out. Catch up on the elephant stitching by watching the Live stitch along below!
Buy the E - Elephant iron-on pattern
Learn more about the ABC Stitch Along
--------------------
Ff - Fox
The Fox embroidery pattern was stitched the week of April 11-14, 2022. For this pattern, we tried to stick with the colors and stitches on the original pattern, but did mix it up by using French knots for the letters. This fox pattern uses the chain stitch as an embroidery fill stitch for the end of the tail and on the head. In the stitch along, we did both the forward and reverse chain stitch method. Catch up on the fox stitching by watching the Live stitch along below!
Buy the F - Fox iron-on pattern
--------------------
Gg - Giraffe
The Giraffe embroidery pattern was stitched during the week of May 2-6, 2022. We tried some fun types of stitches with this pattern, including different ways of satin stitch, turkey work, and a whipped backstitch for the letters. If you look closely at the giraffe's spots, you'll see that the satin stitch is done in multiple direction. This gives a fun texture to the giraffe. We also used turkey work for the tail again. Catch this quick preview of how I did it over on TikTok. Watch the full giraffe stitch along Live replay below!
Buy the G - Giraffe iron-on pattern
--------------------
Hh - Hedgehog
The Hedgehog embroidery pattern was stitched the week of May 9-13, 2022. We stitched this hedgehog with a lighter brown than the original pattern shows. We also gave the hedgehog green eyes and a sweet pink nose! The letters are filled in with the chain stitch, and we quilted "chain stitch" style loops around the hedgehog to make it look like a little sweater stitch. Catch up on the Hedgehog stitch along below!
Buy the H - Hedgehog iron-on pattern
--------------------
Ii - Inchworm
This fun Inchworm embroidery pattern was stitched May 31-June 3, 2022. We stuck to the same colors from the original pattern, but did choose different shades for some of the colors as we went along. Thanks to the suggestion of a Live viewer, we also added the whipped backstitch to the outline of the worm's body. This gives the worm a neat textured look. Lastly, we filled in the letters with a longer satin stitch, to mimic the satin stitch colors on the worm's body. Catch up on the Inchworm stitch along below!
Buy the I - Inchworm iron-on pattern
--------------------
Jj - Jellyfish
The Jellyfish embroidery pattern was stitched June 6-9, 2022. This pattern is loaded with French knots so we spent some time during the Live stitch along to talk about how to do this stitch, including the three things you may be doing wrong if your knots don't quite look right. We also used our small embroidery floss scraps to satin stitch the 'Jj' letters. We even combined two floss colors together at times to give an ombre effect. Catch up on the Jellyfish stitch along below!
Buy the J - Jellyfish iron-on pattern
Learn more about the ABC Stitch Along
--------------------
Kk - Koala
The Koala is a community favorite and was stitched July 11-15, 2022. We had fun with colors while stitching this pattern! Using a technique where we combined multiple colors to create one strand (for example, 2 blue strands and 1 purple), we gave this koala pattern a fun new texture. The eucalyptus branch and Kk letters also used a combination of colors and were stitched with the back stitch to fill in the space, placing the rows of stitches right next to one another - this is sometimes called brick stitch. Catch up on the Koala stitch along below!
Buy the K - Koala iron-on pattern
--------------------
Ll - Lion
The Lion was stitched July 18-21, 2022. The bulk of the time spent on this pattern was put into creating the mane for the lion. We decided to give some extra floof to this guy through the turkey work stitch. By going around the face a couple of times with turkey work, we were able to create this fun, fluffy mane. We used scrap embroidery threads to get the rainbow effect which also used up a bunch of scrap floss - win-win! Catch up on the Lion stitch along below!
Buy the L - Lion iron-on pattern
--------------------
Mm - Monkey
The Monkey was stitched August 1-4, 2022. We stuck with neutral colors for the monkey and used basic stitches to complete his look. A simple satin stitch brings the banana to life, and a long satin stitch gives that satin-like finish to the 'Mm' letters. The M - Monkey marks the half way point of the ABC Animals! Catch up on the Monkey stitch along below!
Buy the M - Monkey iron-on pattern
--------------------
Nn - Newt
This sweet Newt was stitched August 8-12, 2022. We had fun playing with colors for this pattern. We made our newt purple with pink, grey and cream spots. We also went over the 3 things you may be doing wrong with a French Knot in the beginning of video 2. The Nn letters are stitched with satin stitch in two different colors. Catch up on the Newt stitch along below!
Buy the N - Newt iron-on pattern
--------------------
Oo - Owl
The Owl was stitched August 6-9, 2022. We embraced a sunset theme with the colors on this pattern. Both the French knots in the owl's belly and the letters below it are stitched with an ombre effect. The Penguin & Fish colors used for this were: Bumblebee, Tiger Lily, California Poppy, Garden Rose, and Lilac Season. Catch up on the Owl stitch along below!
Buy the O - Owl iron-on pattern
Learn more about the ABC Stitch Along
--------------------
Pp - Pig
The Pig was stitched August 12-16, 2022. This simple pattern was calling for more, so when someone in the Livestream suggested we add wings, it was an immediate yes! We filled in the wings and the letters at the bottom with a long and short stitch in white, then traced them with a light blue backstitch. To add a pop of color, we also put a layered lazy daisy on the back of the pig. We then spruced up the mushroom with a fun new stitch - the drizzle stitch. This created a fun 3D 'boingy' stitch that immitates grass. Catch up on the Pig stitch along below!
Buy the P - Pig iron-on pattern
--------------------
Qq - Quail
The Quail was stitched October 3-7, 2022. We pretty much stuck to the same colors as the original pattern for this Quail, but then we had to add a little baby quail behind its mama! We also talked a lot about the seed stitch during this stitch along and used it on the belly of the quail, under the satin stitch for the top knot, and in the letters at the bottom. Catch up on the Quail stitch along below!
Buy the Q - Quail iron-on pattern
--------------------
Rr - Raccoon
The Raccoon was stitched October 10-13, 2022. We were feeling the rainbows for this project and decided to add a little rainbow to the tail of the Raccoon. The colors we used are Rose Garden, You're a Peach, Bumblebee, Celery, Denim Wash, and Lilac Season. We also switched the stitches on the tail from satin stitch to chain stitch, which is the same stitch we decided to stitch the letter R's in. Catch up on the Raccoon stitch along below!
Buy the R - Raccoon iron-on pattern
--------------------
Ss - Seahorse
The Seahorse was stitched Novemberer 1-3, 2022. For this pattern, we kept it simple with classic water-themed colors and simple stitches. To give the piece a little dimension, we mixed some thread colors! For the outline of the body, we used two strands of Teddy Bear and one strand of Goldenrod. Then, for the belly it was two strands of Scubadive and one strand of Fresh Basil. And finally for the letters at the bottom we used two strands of Fresh Basil and one strand of Scubadive. You can catch up on the Seahorse stitch along below!
Buy the S - Seahorse iron-on pattern
--------------------
Tt - Turtle
The first part of stitching on the Turtle was completed on November 7, 9, and 10, 2022. We picked it up again on January 19, 2023 and then finished the Turtle up on February 20, 2023. For this pattern, we wanted to fill in the turtle shell with a bunch of fun and different flowers. The first few flowers we did were the Wagon Wheel stitch that is paired with a couple of woven picot leaves, a lazy daisy flower, and a bullion knot flower. See each of the flowers come together on the replay of the Turtle stitch along below!
Buy the T - Turtle iron-on pattern
--------------------
Uu - Unicorn
The Unicorn was stitched Novemberer 28-December 1, 2022. We had a lot of fun stitching this unicorn pattern! I dug out my metallic threads to had a sparkle to this project. I like the Nishikiito brand metallic threads as they have been the easiest I've found to work with. We used these threads for the horn, the hooves, the flowers on the unicorn's back, and did a whipped backstitch with them on the Uu letters. You can catch up on the Unicorn stitch along below!
Buy the U - Unicorn iron-on pattern
--------------------
Vv - Viper
The Viper snake was stitched December 5-8, 2022. We used basic embroidery stitches on this design, and tried a new, simple stitch for the letters - the woven backstitch. The fangs and tongue were stitched with the Nishikiito metallic threads while the details on the snake's back are done with a satin stitch using cotton embroidery floss. We then did a double woven backstitch for the letters. This stitch is similar to the whipped back stitch where you start with a backstitch as your base, but instead of going around the same way with the second thread color, it weaves back and forth. We did this twice to create the double woven backstitch. You can watch along as we do the stitch in the last video of the playlist. Catch up on the Viper stitch along below!
Buy the V - Viper iron-on pattern
--------------------
Ww - Whale
Stitching on the Whale began January 3-5, 2023 and was finished on January 18, 2023. We stuck with the basic embroidery stitches for this pattern. The colors for the outline of the whale are blended with Scubadive, Denim Wash, and Lilac Season. The first week we stitched this pattern was a shorter week on the Livestream and we didn't quite finish then, so the little fishies and the letters were finished at a different time. Catch up on the Whale stitch along below!
Buy the W - Whale iron-on pattern
--------------------
Xx - Xray Fish
The Xray Fish was stitched January 9-12, 2023. We started by stitching the white "skeleton" inside the fish with a chain stitch. Then, we blended colors for the fish outline. We used California Poppy, Tiger Lily, and Bumblebee. Since the fish is technically see-through, we decided to add a little heart. We added a baby fish (with a heart) as well since there was a lot of talk about babies during this stream. ;) Finally, we satin stitched the Xx's with Denim Wash and Winter Morning. Catch up on the Xray Fish stitch along below!
Buy the X - Xray Fish iron-on pattern
--------------------
Yy - Yak
The Yak was stitched February 6-9, 2023. This pattern was a fun one to stitch using the straight stitch to create the fur-look of the Yak. We decided on yellow horns and light purple for the nose. Then, we did some turkey work to make fun, floofy letter Yy's! We just about finished the Yak in the week we stitched it - we just need to finish trimming the little 'y.' Catch up on the Yak stitch along below!
Buy the Y - Yak iron-on pattern
--------------------
Zz - Zebra
The Zebra was stitched February 13-16, 2023. This was the first time I ever stitched this zebra pattern in classic black and white. The stripes of the zebra are stitched with chain stitch. But of course we had to add some color. So, we chose to satin stitch the letter Zz's with random colors we picked from our leftover embroidery floss. Catch up on the Zebra stitch along below!
Buy the Z - Zebra iron-on pattern
--------------------
The Scraps & Leftovers
After stitching all 26 letters, we had a good pile of scraps and some leftover embroidery floss. With all the little scrap bits and ends (some may call this trash), we put them into a clear ornament to create a colorful and fun decoration. Then, for the leftover floss that was on the spools or in our "cloud" of scraps, we created a pom-pom! Check out the finished products below.
--------------------
Quilted Blocks
On March 15th, 2023 we finished quilting all the individual ABC blocks! Each block has its own scene or corresponding quilting, and they all turned out so fun. Check out the overview of the blocks below!
Learn more about the ABC Stitch Along and get your supplies
2 comments
Catharine Youngman
Love this!
Betty
beautiful work and wonderful instructions. we are blessed to have you as our instructor thank you.