The story of Modern Folk Embroidery begins with me (Jacob de Graaf) seeing a small antique cross-stitch piece at my mum's house. As I wanted to stitch it for myself I decided to chart it. The process of charting inspired me so much that I started creating my own designs, influenced by the artistic expressions of many stitchers before me in the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries.
I have always loved monochrome designs, and I'm particularly influenced by the redwork embroidery from Scandinavia and the beautiful minimal designs found on antique samplers in the Netherlands. As most of my original designs are monochrome, stitchers can choose to pick their own colours and ground-cloth, and make their work as plain or colourful as they see fit.
In the years since I have built up a large portfolio of work, and have been very fortunate that my work has found its way to stitchers across the globe. I'm very excited that you have now discovered my work also. If you decide to share your stitching on Instagram, make sure to use the hashtag #ModernFolkEmbroidery so the stitching community can follow your work as well!
