Rainbow zig zag hand embroidered bib

I have made yet another hand embroidered bib! After this classic design and this pastel one, I wanted something that felt more modern, and I am very happy with how this one turned out. You’ll never guess where I found my inspiration for this rainbow zigzag design!

At the end of my visit of the Tate Modern in London in October, my brother Greg and I had a walk around the book shop that was bursting with fun and interesting finds that made you wonder what the artist/writer was thinking when they created their project!

Of course, I gravitated towards the sewing section and found Subversive Cross Stitch: 50 F*cking Clever Designs for Your Sassy Side, a book that really made me laugh as I flipped through the outrageous cross stitch patterns. The contrast between the very granny-ish hobby and the sarcastic messages themselves suited my sense of humour perfectly.

I found one design in particular that I particularly liked because of the brightly coloured border around the less than polite message in the middle. I took the book over to my brother Greg to show him the design, and he had a chuckle before snapping a not-so-discreet photo of that one page. I’m pretty sure one of the girls stacking the shelves saw us: thanks to her for not asking us to delete the photo!

Greg sent me the photo some time later and I kept the idea in a corner of my mind until the time was right. I eventually decided to stitch just the top border across a plain white bib so as to set off the bright colours. I like the result so much that I might just use the rainbow design on something else somewhere down the line! I have a stash of tea towels, hand towels and cloth bags just waiting for me to get started. Any other suggestions?