Avlea Thessaly Floral Embroidery Workbag

$38.00

• Designer: Avlea Folk Embroidery
• Project Type: Embroidered Project Bag
• Finished Size: 12" x 15"
• Material: Cotton
• Design: Thessaly Floral
• Stitches Used: Backstitch, Satin Stitch, Romanian Couching, French Knot, Chain Stitch, Pekinese Stitch, Seed Stitch Fill
• Skill Level: Beginner
• Available As: Workbag Kit or Individual Workbag

Workbag Kit Includes

• One 12" x 15" Cotton Project Bag Printed with Thessaly Floral Design
• DMC 6-Strand Embroidery Floss
• John James Size 7 Embroidery Needle
• Pumpkin Seed Needleminder from the Avlea Byzantine Collection
• 6" Beechwood Hoop
• 8 Floss Organizers
• Stitch Diagram
• Basics of Hand Embroidery Instruction Booklet

Individual Workbag

Includes the finished 12" x 15" cotton project bag printed with the Thessaly Floral design, ready to use as a project bag or embroider with supplies from your own stash.

Product Description

Avlea’s Thessaly Floral Embroidery Workbag turns an everyday project bag into a piece of handwork in its own right. The finished 12" x 15" cotton bag comes printed with the Thessaly Floral design, allowing you to embroider it gradually while continuing to use it to carry your knitting, embroidery, or other handwork.

Thessaly Floral is inspired by a brass tray found in a flea market in Thessaloniki. Its folk-inspired floral forms are worked in antique gold, two shades of green, and alizarin pink with accents of blue and garnet, translating the beauty of traditional metalwork into thread.

Choose the Workbag Kit for the complete experience. Along with the printed cotton bag, it includes DMC embroidery floss, a John James needle, 6" beechwood hoop, eight floss organizers, stitch diagram, embroidery instructions, and a Pumpkin Seed needleminder from Avlea’s Byzantine collection. Just add your current project and a pair of scissors.

Already have plenty of embroidery supplies? Choose the Individual Workbag and use your own floss, needle, and tools. The printed bag can be embroidered at your own pace—or simply enjoyed as a practical project bag just as it is.

Why We Love It at A Show of Hands

We especially love the idea behind this one: instead of completing a project and then finding a use for it, the workbag becomes more beautiful while you use it. Carry it around the house, take it outside, or pack it for a trip and add a little more embroidery whenever the mood strikes.

It also brings together so many things we appreciate about Avlea—the connection to historic decorative traditions, beautiful color, useful objects, and the idea that handwork can become part of everyday life rather than something saved only for special occasions.

Perfect For

• Embroidery and needlework projects
• Knitting and crochet project storage
• Beginning embroiderers
• Folk art and textile lovers
• Slow stitching and handwork
• Travel projects
• Embroiderers with an existing supply stash
• Gifts for knitters and stitchers
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Order online, collect in-store Choose in-store collection at checkout to pick up your order at select Fresh locations.
Gather and craft Join us in our store for crafting, to ask questions, or dream up new projects!
Pay with Apple Pay We offer Apple Pay as a swift and secure way to make a payment at checkout.
Order online, collect in-store Choose in-store collection at checkout to pick up your order at select Fresh locations.
Gather and craft Join us in our store for crafting, to ask questions, or dream up new projects!

We’re here for the love of it and the fun of it. For the craft that connects us to something older than any of us.

Fiber Information

Yarn Weight + WPI

Yarn weight refers to the thickness of a yarn. Thickness determines appropriate needle or hook size, finished fabric density, and yardage requirements. Standard weight categories from thinnest to thickest: lace, fingering, sport, DK, worsted, bulky, super bulky.


Weight labels on yarn are approximate. Wraps per inch (WPI) gives a more precise measurement. To measure WPI: wrap yarn snugly around a ruler for one inch, without overlapping strands or stretching. Count the wraps.


WPI reference:

  • 30+ WPI: lace
  • 20–28 WPI: fingering
  • 14–18 WPI: sport
  • 11–14 WPI: DK
  • 9–11 WPI: worsted
  • 7–8 WPI: bulky
  • Fewer than 7 WPI: super bulky

WPI is most useful when a label is missing, when substituting yarns, or when working with handspun yarn.

Gauge and Sett

Gauge is the number of stitches and rows per inch in a knitted or crocheted fabric. It is determined by yarn weight, needle or hook size, and individual tension. A pattern’s gauge is the measurement the designer used to calculate sizing. If your gauge does not match the pattern, your finished dimensions will differ. A small difference over many inches makes a big difference in fit.

To adjust gauge: a smaller needle or hook produces more stitches per inch; a larger needle or hook produces fewer. The goal is to match the pattern’s gauge, not its suggested needle size.


Sett is the weaving equivalent of wraps per inch (WPI). Sett controls how open or dense the finished woven cloth will be. A standard starting point for sett is half the WPI for a balanced plain weave. Twill structures generally require a slightly closer sett; lace structures a more open one.


Both gauge and sett are starting points that need to be confirmed by sampling. Calculate first, then verify with a swatch. Record what you find; your future self will thank you.

Wet Blocking

Blocking is the process of wetting a finished piece, shaping it, and allowing it to dry. It evens out stitches, sets the final dimensions, and for lace, opens the pattern fully.


For protein fibers (wool, alpaca, cashmere): soak in cool water with a small amount of wool wash until fully saturated, typically 15 to 20 minutes. Gently press out water without wringing. Roll in a towel to remove excess moisture. Lay flat, shape to finished measurements, and pin if needed. Allow to dry completely before moving.


For lace pieces, blocking wires threaded through edge stitches produces cleaner lines than pins alone.


Fiber-specific notes:

  • Wool holds its blocked shape well once dry.
  • Silk and silk blends block well and dry quickly.
  • Linen and cotton do not respond to blocking the same way protein fibers do, but wet finishing still softens and settles the fiber.
    Steam blocking is appropriate for fibers that should not be fully saturated. Hold the iron several inches above the surface. Do not press down on wool -- direct pressure and heat flatten the fiber's loft.

    Block to finished measurements, not to the dimensions of the piece as it came off the needles or loom.