Michal Sparks

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 Introduction
One Stitch at a Time...................................................................................3
Thread and Needles....................................................................................4
Tips for Stitching on Paper..........................................................................4
Stitches.......................................................................................................6

Project Directions
In Your Presence Is Fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11)........................................9
Search Me, God, and Know My Heart (Psalm 139:23).............................11
Be Strong and Take Heart and Wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14)................13
He Restores My Soul (Psalm 23:3)............................................................15
Be Still and Know (Psalm 46:10)..............................................................17
Bless the Lord, O My Soul (Psalm 103:1).................................................19
Create in Me a Pure Heart, O God (Psalm 51:10)....................................21
Your Love, Lord, Reaches to the Heavens (Psalm 36:5)............................23
The Lord Is Near All Who Call Out to Him (Psalm 145:18)....................25
Under His Wings You Will Find Refuge (Psalm 91:4)................................27
When I Am Afraid, I Will Trust in You (Psalm 56:3).................................29
The Lord Is on My Side; I Will Not Fear (Psalm 118:6)............................31

Templates

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 Introduction
One Stitch at a Time

T hroughout the ages, stitchwork has been used as a form of meditation. Embroider the
Psalms offers a beautiful way to refresh your spirit with much-loved Scriptures while
creating keepsakes suitable for framing. Enjoy twelve different verses, each paired with my
personal photographs and easy-to-follow stitch suggestions.

Embroidery is usually done on fabric, but it can be managed quite easily on paper
with beautiful and unique results! These softly colored photographs with verses from the
Psalms are printed on cardstock pages that have been perforated so you can easily remove
them for stitching. Each design features instructions and a finished example to act as a
guide to achieve the desired effect.

Stitching and embroidery are studies in patience—it takes time and practice to get the
stitches just right. Working with paper is very different from working with fabric, so even
if you are a seasoned embroiderer, I recommend that you try out the stitches on a piece of
cardstock before working on the designs. Keep your embroidery floss and needles in the
pocket provided in the back of the book.

Embroider the Psalms is a creative and relaxing meditation tool that offers beautiful re-
sults! Of course, you can embellish each piece as much or as little as you like, mix up the
colors, or change the stitches. The embroidered examples serve only as guides. Have fun
and make each piece your own creation!

ti tc h i n g !
Happy S
Michal

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 Thread and Needles

T he most popular type of thread used for embroidery is DMC brand Cotton Embroi-
dery Floss. This is the thread I used to embroider the pieces in this book. The floss
comes in 8.7-yard lengths. I wind my thread onto cards and keep them in an organizer.
More than 450 colors of DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss are readily available in craft and
fabric stores.
This cotton embroidery floss is made of 6 strands twisted together. These strands can
be separated to adjust the thickness of the stitches. You will notice I have indicated how
many strands I used for each stitch on all the projects.

There are three basic types of needles, but I recommend two to use on paper. The first
is a large (size 8), sharp-tipped needle. Use this needle for pre-poking the holes. To keep
each hole small, push only the tip of the needle through the paper. Pushing the needle all
the way through would make the hole too big.
Try a smaller (size 5) needle for all the stitches. I almost never use more than 3 strands,
so the eye of this needle is fairly small.

Tips for Stitching on Paper

S titching on paper is a little different from stitching on fabric. The holes in paper do
not “heal” as they do with fabric, so there is not too much room for error. You don’t
want a lot of unused holes everywhere!
Decide which stitches you want to use and their exact placement, and then pre-poke
the holes. This takes a little more time, but it also makes the stitches more accurate be-

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 cause the hole is already there. In this book I used seven basic stitches that I felt were best
for working on paper.
Because the paper can tear, make sure the holes are not too close together, especially
when using the satin stitch. If the paper starts to rip, don’t worry—use clear tape on the
back to hold everything in place.
Paper isn’t as resilient as fabric, so be careful not to pull the thread too tight.
Embroidering on paper is much slower than on fabric because the needle has to go all
the way through each stitch one at a time. With fabric embroidery, you can use your nee-
dle to make multiple simple stitches (straight stitches, for example) at once.
Below is a guide you can use to get the hang of stitching on paper. Just print the guide
on cardstock and work on your stitches. Remember, this is different from fabric embroi-
dery, and it goes slower, so take your time and enjoy your projects!

(Print on cardstock and cut out.)

Stitch Practice Guide

Back Stitch

Chain Stitch

Satin Stitch

Couching Stitch

Simple Straight Stitch

Stem Stitch

French Knot

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 Stitches
Straight Stitch
(also called Running Stitch)
This is like a basic sewing stitch. Use this
stitch for outlining or line work. It also
works well for freeform stitching and filling
in areas. If you are right-handed, work
from right to left. The needle comes up at
A and down at B, up at C and down at D.

Back Stitch
This stitch is also used for outlining or line
work. If you are right-handed, work from
right to left. The needle comes up at A and
down at B, up at C and back down at A.

Couching Stitch
This stitch uses two different threads, one
vertically and one horizontally. For the
long, vertical thread, use 6 strands. For the
crossing thread, use just one 1 or 2 strands.
Contrasting colors work well with this
stitch.

Chain Stitch
Use the chain stitch for outlining, for line
work, or for filling in. Come up through
the paper and down through the same hole
to make a loop. Come up through the loop,
across it, and down again to form another
loop.

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 Satin Stitch
Use this stitch for filling in. To create a
shiny, satin look, make sure the threads are
close together and not twisted. Come up at
A and down at B, up again very close to A
and down very close to B. Note: This stitch
uses a lot of thread!

French Knot
This stitch is playful when used as a single
knot, and clustering several together cre-
ates a beautiful statement. Bring the needle
up at A. Hold the thread tight and wrap it
two or three times around the needle. Put
needle back down very close to A and pull
it all the way through to form a knot.

Stem Stitch
Use this stitch for outlining and line work.
If you’re right-handed, work from left to
right. The needle comes up at A and goes
down at B. Bring the needle up at C—half-
way between A and B, slightly above first
stitch.

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 In Your Presence
Is Fullness of Joy
P S A L M 1 6 : 11

3052
779

677

727

972

973
S unflowers seem to be full of sunshine and joy, and the one in this photo, taken in my
garden, is no exception. On this piece I wanted to concentrate on the center of the
flower. My favorite sunflowers have a pale yellow-green face that blends into the petals.

1. Use a simple long stitch (3 strands) around the face of

the flower. Go all the way around the flower three times
with a different shade of yellow each time. Overlap the
stitches randomly and vary the lengths.
2. Blend the stitches into the center by adding French knots
in pale yellow and pale green. Place these knots randomly
too, but be sure to cover the centermost end of the long
stitches.
3. For the text, use a chain stitch (3 strands). Use yellow for
the word “joy,” and just shadow the rest of the text with a
deep brownish-plum color (2 strands).

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 Scripture quotations are taken from...

The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by
permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The New American Standard Bible®, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman
Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

The Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard
Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible, copyright ©2016, 2018 by Bible Hub. Used by permission. All rights reserved
worldwide.

Cover and interior design by Dugan Design Group

Illustrations and photography by Michal Sparks

Embroider the Psalms

Copyright © 2020 by Michal Sparks

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8072-2 (pbk.)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed
reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in China

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 / RDS / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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