May Kit - Stumpwork Swallow

I got the idea for this kit as I was wandering around the Dublin Tattoo Convention a couple of years ago. Usually at these conventions I'm concentrating on getting tattooed, or finding a design I might like to add to me body. But this time I knew I didn't have the time or money to get inked myself.

So I was looking at the place with a different set of eyes I suppose. And I realised it was teaming with inspiration! How had I never thought of stitch when I looked at these designs before!? I got ideas for a whole heap of kits that day. One of which I've already released - the tóg go bog é kit and pattern are still available. And here is the second. The Stumpwork Swallow.

The swallow is a traditional old school tattoo design. The type you would have found on sailors a hundred years ago. Swallows and sailors have a lot in common. Swallows, unlike other birds, tend to return to the same nesting site consistently after travelling long distances in extreme conditions, similar to a sailor at sea. Often seen in pairs when tattooed, it is thought that sailors would get one swallow tattoo to represent setting sail, and would get the other upon their return home.

Furthermore, by having one or more swallow tattoo, it was seen as a reflection of your sailing success. Each tattoo acquired was a reflection of the extreme distances the sailor had travelled. Not only was a swallow tattoo seen as a representation of your calibre at sea, there was also the myth that if a sailor was to drown on their journey, if they had the tattoo, the bird would lift their soul to heaven.

We're using 9 different colours in this kit - I'm pretty sure that's the most I've ever included in one kit before! But we needed a range of blues to get that lovely shading effect. The tips of the wings and tail start with a slightly off-white shade which blends into a light blue, which then blends into a darker blue, which in turn blends into a navy blue. This navy blue is what we're using to fill most of the body of the swallow too. The accents of red and yellow really stand out against these blue shades. And of course some greens for the shamrock. Then everything is outlined in black, as is the traditional tattoo style!

We're using very few stitches in this kit, but it's what this design needs. We're mostly using long & short stitch - both as a single colour filling and with the shading. That can seem a bit daunting if you haven't tried it before but honestly I think long & short id more forgiving than most stitches! You don't need to be as precise, and you certainly don't need your stitches to be the same size (quite the opposite actually).

**Just a note to say, there's one hoop but two pieces of fabric - its absolutely fine to switch your hoop between the two fabrics as many times as you need to**

The stumpwork sections - that is, the wing and shamrock on the second piece of fabric - are stitched the very same way. But we need to outline them with wire first. The wire will give them a bit more strength and structure when they're cut out. When they're both finished (and only when they're BOTH finished) is when we cut. Again, this can seem pretty daunting but it's not as scary as it looks!

Attach them to the rest of the bird and VOILA!

Now all you need to do is find somewhere nice to hang your pretty little Swallow.

So there you have it - May's Needle Nerd kit. Subscribe now to be sure you get this kit! You can find out all the info here.

If you've missed out on the subscription deadline (30th April 2025), you can also order this kit in the shop while stocks last.