Today’s stitch is nowhere near what I planned on sharing this morning. And that’s a good thing because the journey took me to four different places and I’m sharing two of them with you.
Click on image to see on pinterest. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.
Click on image to see on pinterest. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.
Click the image to see #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday Stitched Sample Gallery on Instagram
The diagram on the left shows the final stitch, and I love its scale. Oblique crosses make simple squares with the corners covered by an X. I used four plies of Soie Cristale for the yellow lines and gold Radiance 18 for the gray lines on 13M. The middle diagram uses four plies of the same Soie Cristale and is reflected on the right-hand side of the stitched sample. (Yes, there were two other steps/stitches in this journey, but these two were my favorites.)
The metallic in the stitched sample for the first stitch draws more attention to it. Turning that into a matching color would bring it down a smidge and help it make a great background or tabletop. The stitch in the middle is a variation of a t-stitch that almost mimics diamonds in motion. (It is also possible I haven’t had enough coffee this morning.) I love that stitch for a simple sky or water with a lightweight metallic, such as Petite Entice or Radiance Mini. As with most stitches, it is scalable. You could switch the X’s to cross stitches in between the corners for a more delicate stitch or you could make the oblique crosses longer for a more open grid. Have fun with it!
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, the layering of colors demonstrates that you add them in that order. They can also provide ideas on integrating 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.
Click on image to see the whimsicalstitch.com Stitch Library on pinterest.com. Includes all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.
Evaluating Stitches for Your Project
As you are auditioning stitches (from any stitch source), count the number of canvas threads on the diagram that match your mesh size. And there you have what an inch of the stitch will look like. Evaluate it against the area where you plan to use the stitch, then make your final decision. If you start integrating this step into your stitch selection process, you may be surprised at how many stitches you think are large are much smaller than you realize.
A Note about Stitch Names
I am absolutely loving the rising popularity of needlepoint, and if you are new to the blog, I want to take a second to chat about stitch names (again). TLDR: Don’t overthink them.
Most of the names for the stitches you see here are made up out of whole cloth. When I started needlepointing 30+ years ago, a teacher would draw or describe what she recommended, and off I went. Seriously. When I started my blog, an industry friend told me stitch names were crucial. I searched high and low for proper stitch names. What I found was stitches with no names or, even worse, identical stitches with two+ names from different sources. On top of that, some of my favorite stitches had generic names, such as Rug 1 and Rug 2. I quickly learned to focus on the diagrams, which are prettier. A stitch by any other name is still just as interesting!
There are some commonly understood stitch names, such as basketweave, continental, Scotch (3X3 and above squares), Mosaic (2X2 squares), Smyrna Crosses, and Hungarian (groups of diagonal stitches over 2-3-2 rows). It feels like it ends there. When naming stitches for my blog and books, I make every attempt to integrate generally accepted names, but also feel that a legible diagram is more important.
I’ve also learned that there is a very good chance that a stitch pattern that I come up with may not be new. But it is new to me. I spent almost an entire afternoon at a stitching friend’s home, poring through binders of stitches she gathered over five decades. Not only were many of them drawn by hand (whoa!), I discovered stitches that I thought were created decades later, with a different name, in a different presentation, from a different source. So, a stitch doesn’t belong to a single person or teacher. They are all part of a huge and decades-old network of really creative people.
Today’s 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, and Instagram.
More from whimsicalstitch.com
If you like what you see on this blog, there's more. Mary’s Whimsical Stitches is a series of four books offering contemporary how-to collections of more than 200 stitches (in each volume) for all stitchers, regardless of skill level. All books include updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog, plus a collection of all-new stitches from private lessons and other class projects. Visit here to find a needlepoint retailer that carries my books.
New to needlepoint or looking for a refresher? Please download a handy how-to guide covering 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.
