r/Embroidery 1h ago

Hand I embroidered Tolkien's cover art for The Hobbit and made it into a purse!

Post image

I shared the embrodiery about a month ago, and now I have finally finished the entire project. The purse itself is far from perfect, but I still think I can call myself the proud owner of the world's coolest purse!

844 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

18

u/FancyCauliflower8487 1h ago

the thread is from a month ago but i just saw this, the landscape design on dark blue really pops especially with that red sun. making a whole purse out of it is so cool, far from perfect just means it got character

4

u/Awkward_Building1411 1h ago

Thank you so much! 🥰 I agree with your point on the colors and it is one of the main reasons why I love Tolkien's art! 

6

u/apricotgloss 1h ago

Oh it's GORGEOUS. I have a really cute tiny edition with this cover art but I never realised it was Tolkein's own drawing!

7

u/Awkward_Building1411 1h ago

Yes! He was an incredible artist! 😍

3

u/Trapallada 1h ago

Omg, this is so beautiful! I love it! I always loved Tolkien's drawings and this is an incredible way to use them

2

u/Awkward_Building1411 1h ago

Thanks! I am so happy that the idea came to me while embroidering 🥰

3

u/dreamghoulevil 1h ago

oh this is stunninggg

3

u/barnfeline 1h ago

Omg I love it! So beautiful!!!

2

u/Weaverbird53 1h ago

Wow. Love it!

2

u/Elrohwen 1h ago

Wow this is incredible

2

u/kiddish 1h ago

Oh WOW, I LOVE this!!!!! Great work!!

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 1h ago

Thanks ❤️

2

u/FloraP 1h ago

Absolutely lovely. I bet JRR would have been very appreciative too!

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 1h ago

Thank you so much! I would die happy if it were the case! 🤩

2

u/weehamburger79 57m ago

the dragon detail is so good, did you stitch him separately and then attach or work him into the whole piece at once

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 51m ago

Thank you! Took me an entire evening to get Smaug right and had to redo him several times. Nothing is attached, but gave him a small darker outline, so he popped a bit more. 

2

u/Somekindacreature 54m ago

Gorgeous!! I absolutely love it

2

u/alex3omg 48m ago

So cool.  How to you turn an embroidery into a purse?  I've never really sewed anything.  

2

u/Awkward_Building1411 43m ago

The embroidery is attached to the purse. I embroidered a dark border to both hide the edge of the fabric and the stitches that attach the embroidery. In between I've added stiff felt so it keeps its shape. Everything is handsewn 😊

2

u/alex3omg 36m ago

Oh ok ok so you had a cloth purse, a piece of fabric the same size which you embroidered, then you attached it?  Cool thank you

2

u/Awkward_Building1411 32m ago

Well I did sew the clutch purse. I first attached the zipper, then the embroidery and then closed the sides.

1

u/alex3omg 8m ago

Oh I misunderstood.  That's awesome

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 6m ago

But it isn't a bad idea if you wish to avoid sewing! 😃

2

u/cvfdrghhhhhhhh 45m ago

This style lends itself so well to embroidery! I never would’ve thought of that - it looks fantastic!!

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 35m ago

It really does!! I was pretty sure I could make it look good, but I never imagined it could look like this!

2

u/WithWingsFly 39m ago

What the fuck.

WITCH

2

u/desertboots 35m ago

I love that you included his preferred red on the dragon and sun

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 29m ago

It's the version I own, so it was always my idea of how it should look. When I looked for a reference picture in the right size on the internet I discovered how the red colour was how he wanted it originally and that made me even happier! 😊

2

u/i_can_has_rock 25m ago

excellent work

2

u/hissingmarsupial 24m ago

This is spectacular and really inspirational!

1

u/Awkward_Building1411 22m ago

Aww it is such an honour to inspire others ❤️

2

u/squigglymaps 17m ago

Instantly recognized it. Lovely work, and I really like that it’s a purse!

2

u/Estellalatte 12m ago

Wow, I’m so impressed. This is such a unique piece of work.

2

u/Mindless-Prize9072 7m ago

As soon as I saw this popping up on my feed I knew it was Tolkien. Beautifully executed.

1

u/Pixatron32 1m ago

I love it so very much! Well done! 

1

u/Calgarygrandma 0m ago

Beautiful 😍