There are too many things to love about today’s stitch. It’s cute. It has personality yet allows other stitches to shine. And, it is a quick stitch. Win-win all the way around.
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The stitch is a sky from the Stitch Guide I created for Pumpkin Village by Melissa Shirley. (Full disclosure: it is also known as Pumpkin Lane.) I used blue Elegance on 18-mesh. I included numbering in the left column of the stitch diagram to illustrate specific guidance on the snowflakes. Stitch the snowflakes (also known as eyelet stitches) from the outer edge to the shared center hole. This minimizes wear and tear on the thread. In addition, the lines connecting the snowflakes are nothing more than single darning stitches.
Skies and backgrounds are obvious choices for this stitch. I would love to see it stitched with a lightweight metallic, such as Petite Silk Lame or Kreinik, for a night sky. Alternate columns between a matte, such as Elegance, and a shiny metallic like Fyre Werks or Kreinik Braid, to draw more attention to your sky or background. The only thread I don’t recommend for this stitch is Flair, as it has a tendency to spread when used in longer stitches.
Feel free to adjust the length of the connectors as needed for your piece. The connectors are ten rows tall and the tiny snowflakes are four rows tall. The snowflakes are centered against the connector, so adjust the position of your snowflake(s) accordingly.
This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here. Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.
IIf you like what you see on this blog, there's more: Mary’s Whimsical Stitches Volume 1 is a contemporary how-to collection of more than 250 stitches for stitchers regardless of skill level. The book includes updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog, all-new stitches, and a chapter on the basics of needlepoint; Mary’s Whimsical Stitches Volume 2 features chapters on Balanced, Beading, Diagonal, Layered, Oblique, Small, and Straight stitches.
Also, you can download for free the first chapter from my first book which covers basic needlepoint stitches and stitch compensation techniques along with new top-line information on needlepoint materials and tools, how to handle threads, and other helpful needlepoint resources.
whimsicalstitch.com also sells Stitch Guides and Stitch Concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, Sandra Gilmore, Purple Palm, Maggie, and Penny MacLeod, and many more. Click here to see the newest guides and click here to see the entire collection.
I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Please enjoy! Have a wonderful #whimsicalwednesday!
A Note about Diagrams
I use color in diagrams to make them as clear as possible. The primary function of different colored lines is to illustrate a stitch sequence. For example, layering of colors demonstrates you add them in that order. They can also provide ideas on how to integrate additional threads (one line for each color). Or, you can use the same thread for all color lines. That's where I encourage you to use your imagination for the space you are stitching!