making

Originally posted 2006-10-23 07:18:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The order you stitch a canvas can make a huge difference in the finished result. This is especially true when you are using open stitches of any kind.

When there is open canvas, even something as simple as pattern darning or T Stitch – seen here, threads can be seen behind the stitching. Or at least that possibility exists.

When does this happen? It happens when travelling stitches (thread moving frm one area to the next on the back of the canvas) is under the threads of the open stitch. The threads of the open stitch hold the travelling thread close to the canvas and it can show.

Needlepoint Ornament - Our Lady of Guadelupe unfinished

This was a potential problem in this Our Lady of Guadelupe from Petei. The background is T Stitch, an open stitch, but the gold rays would have travelling threads.

The solution is a simple one, stitch the open stitch first and then stitch the thread which will have travelling threads. This will hold those travelling threads above the threads of the open stitch and away from the canvas.

This does not work with really open stitches, like Blackwork. In that case, find some organza in a color to coordinate with the canvas and stitch everything through that. The fabric keeps all the travelling threads away from the canvas so they can’t be seen.

And yes, you can still use a tapestry needle!

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Stitching Order & Open Stitches

Shadow Stitching example

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2006-08-22 06:58:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

SuZy Murphy has a book about it (SuZy’s Lite Stitching), dede Ogden teaches it, but I had never tried Shadow Stitching.

Shadow Stitching is a technique where extremely thin threads are used, often with open stitching to create needlepoint where the painting shows through.

This technique works extremely well on canvases which are heavily shaded or detailed.

And, I’m finding it can make pretty cool backgrounds.

I bought this HP Designs canvas because I’ve been wanting to do one of their canvases and I am challenged by the delicacy of their painting. I worry that stitching it will ruin the delicacy.

So I made some decisions at the outset. The background would be shadow stitched (more on this in a minute). And I’d use shading for the cherries (see the picture) and overstitching for the leaves and branch (still unstitched).

The background is stitched entirely in T Stitch using a single strand of floss. The background below the branch is done and above the branch partially done (one direction complete). You can see the lighter color next to the branch and leaves and the darker color around the moon through the stitching. In addition, shadow stitching is much lighter in feeling than the bird and cherries, which helps preserves the delicacy of the design

For most people the entire background, including the moon, would be stitched in the same color. But I can’t help but tinker, so while the moon will be the same stitch, it is going to be stitched using a color closer to the color of the moon. I want the moon to be accented, so I think this will emphasize it a bit more.

On a personal mote, we’ve been having MAJOR maintainance done on our roof. They come at 7 and stay until about 6, so it makes for plenty of time to work or stitch. They are starting to put the tiles back on today, so the end is almost in sight.

The rest is here:
Shadow Stitching example

How to Make Wired Flair

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-09-28 06:50:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Finding a way to make realistic smoke or other curved items in needlepoint is a real challenge.

Usually I couch things down or make Whipped Backstitch.

However Jane Wood (of Chilly Hollow) had a recent post on her blog, which went over the technique to make wired Flair.

Because Flair is translucent, it’s perfect for smoke or fog. You can make all kinds of wonderful curves by curving the wired ribbon and you won’t have to couch one bit.

I can’t wait to try it.

Continued here:
How to Make Wired Flair

Making Time for Stitching

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2002-12-16 08:36:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

People often ask me about how I can get so much stitching done, one answer is that I spend lots of time on it, but more importantly, I make time for stitching because it is so good for my soul. It relaxes and refreshes me, it’s a comfort when life is difficult and it gives me something to do when life is boring.

A key to making time for stitching is preparation. Do you have your tools, projects, and materials organized enough so you can find what you need? It’s hard to get up and go with your stitching when you can’t find a needle, or the scissors.

Some people store threads, needles, canvas, charts, and even scissors in one bag per project. So they are always ready to go. I’m not that organized, but I do have several pieces in my current rotation which have the threads with them waiting to go. They are all on stretcher bars and can come with me. I don’t even need to find a new needle most of the time.

A second key is knowing what you have. A big unorganized stash is not an invitation to stitch. I go through the wire baskets with projects in them at least once a year, picking a rainy day. That lets me get rid of projects I won’t ever do, find things which are almost done, and rank what’s left. It always gives me renewed desire to stitch.

You might think about rotating your projects to get things done. Some people work on any project a certain amount of time. I am more flexible. I always have what I call a “car project” These are small projects which I work on while I wait in the school parking lot. They aren’t hard, the threads are cut, and I don’t need them for anything.

When I traveled for work I always had an “airplane project” with me. Usually these were ornaments. If I got stuck at an airport (and this happens lots more these days), I had something to do which was small.

I also have a piece which is just background. Sometimes you don’t want to think when you stitch so having a project like this is great. In fact, it’s the project going with me to the orthodontist today, as I don’t have a car project at the moment. My daughter’s wire change takes about 45 minutes, I’m stuck there, so I stitch. These projects, especially if they are worked “in hand” are also great for car rides.

And then there are the big pieces which stay at home. I work on the current one a bit every day. For me it’s while I watch decorating shows on TV. For you it might be for half an hour after work, or just before bed.

Needlework gets accomplished one stitch at a time. If you are ready to stitch, you can get lot done, filling in the corners of your day.

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Making Time for Stitching

Starting Your Own Scrapbook

in Scrapbooking

Material prices for day to day use have gone up. The popular hobby of maintaining a scrapbook has also become costly. There is no shortage of any materials that go in the making of a scrapbook.

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Starting Your Own Scrapbook

Making Memories Sets Trend With the Slice in Home Decor

in Scrapbooking

Since its 1997 inception, Making Memories has become one of the nation’s fastest growing manufacturers of craft and scrapbooking supplies. They attribute their amazing growth to sourcing innovative product, establishing an intimate relationship with customers, and providing an unending supply of inspirational ideas. With the combination of design talent, a bit of Fortune 500 leadership, sprinkle in a passion for scrapbooking memories, and you have the ingredients for creating one of the country’s leading memory preservation companies. Based in Utah Making Memories is a well-recognized paper craft vendor all over and a definite trend setter among the crafting industry. But the newest buzz is surrounding the Slice tool for the use in home decor.

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Making Memories Sets Trend With the Slice in Home Decor

Are You Making any Needlepoint Resolutions?

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

I am NOT going to make any needlepoint resolutions for 2011. Last year I resolved to work on using my stash and that went very well.

I try with resolutions not to make them again if they have become habits. Since using up the stash is now firmly ingrained, I’m not going to make that one again.

I also resolve every year to finish some UFO’s. And I am going to work on doing that as well. I make this resolution every year and most of the time I manage to finish three or so, but some years I finish none, so clearly this one isn’t a habit yet.

Sometimes I also resolve to learn something new. This year I think I’m going to work on two areas where I’m not very good — reading charts and adding embellishments. So, although I’m not making any resolutions (i.e. promises) I hope by the end of the year to be doing better on both of these.

What resolutions are you making?

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Are You Making any Needlepoint Resolutions?

Trimming the Tree — Stitching the Tree and Background

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Even though the finished piece will be loaded with lots to trim, it will look better if the untrimmed tree looks more realistic.

It’s a small thing, but having a variety of colors as the background for the trim will make it pop just that much more. With the changes in color your attention will be directed to the trim because the tree looks dimensional and “right.” The flat coloring of a solid thread will draw more attention to itself. Maybe not consciously, but unconsciously you will pause because it isn’t quite right.

With this in mind I decided to use two shades of Lorikeet wool. The varied tones and soft texture will look good against the harder surfaces of the embellishments.

Beginning with the lighter color I stitched modified “clumps.” Instead of being discrete clumps, the color does change and they snake down the tree in longer curves. I tried to have some of them stop behind ornaments or continue on both sides of an ornament.

While I did not stitch behind tinsel hanging on the edges of the tree, I did switch the slant so that all the branches were solid. You can see the result on the bottom part of the tree.

Once I had stitched about half the tree I switched to the darker color. Here I did more clumping. I would stitch around in an area until the color changed and then move to another area. You can see this on the top of the tree.

I really love the result. I like how the color changes.

Finally I traced the shape for the background. I used a small ramekin for the top The left half of the inner line shows the actual shape of the ramekin, which I then moved over to make the round top big enough. Since the background will be solid stitching, this isn’t a problem.

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Trimming the Tree — Stitching the Tree and Background

Stitching Curves – a Guest Post

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

from Needlepoint for Fun & used with permission

Brenda Stimpson of Needlepoint for Fun has written another wonderful and useful blog post, this one giving us three great ways to stitch curves. While I usually use number 3 (wrapping),k all of these work really well.

Thanks again to Brenda for letting me republish this.

I am really enjoying working on my current needlepoint project because it is bringing up lots of needlepoint stitching “issues” that I can share with you. For example, this design has a lot of curves in it and it struck me while I was stitching it, that like throwing a curve ball, stitching a curve can be quite tricky!

This got me thinking (don’t worry, it feels as though it won’t be for much longer), that there are three good ways to stitch a needlepoint curve. Actually, there’s probably more, but I usually use one of these three methods:

1. The Zig-Zag Approach (pictured at top of post)
This is the one most of us use, I am sure. It’s where you use a tent stitch to follow the curved line as closely as you can, in a step-wise or zig-zag fashion.
This is the approach I used with this design, but now I wish I hadn’t because I think one of the other methods would have looked better on this canvas.
Let’s face it, needlepoint is for squares! No, I don’t mean nerds (although I will happily confess to being a needlepoint nerd), what I mean is that needlepoint tent stitches work best on square shapes and straight lines. Throw in a curve and it is harder to navigate this curve with a tent stitch.
The zig-zag approach is a perfectly acceptable way of stitching a curve, and it creates a strong-looking line, but it is not a very smooth curve.

from Needlepoint for Fun & used with permission

2. Back The Stitch Up!
A needlepoint backstitch is a great way to stitch a curve. You use a long stitch over two or more stitch intersections to follow the arc of the curve. You can see in this photo (where I have used white thread on a green curve so you can see the stitches), that I have used stitches of varying lengths and directions to hug the curve. You can find directions on our website for how to do a needlepoint backstitch. It can be done as surface embroidery (stitched on in a finer thread after the canvas is completed), or you can do what I have done here and stitch it directly onto the canvas. See how much smoother the arc of the curve is?

But wait, there’s more…

From Needlepoint for Fun & used with permission

3. Wrap It Up!
If you decide to use a backstitch to define your curve, you can get a thicker, smoother, more defined line by wrapping the stitches. This is called a Wrapped Backstitch. What you do is, when you have placed the last backstitch on the curve, you go back and wrap the thread around each stitch. So, you bring the needle up at the start of the last backstitch you placed and then you slide the needle under this last stitch, working from the outside of the curve toward the inside. The needle stays on top of the canvas and just slides under the stitches. You can see in this photo how I am sliding the needle under the stitch.
Wrapping the backstitch forms a thick, ridged curve, and I think this is what I should have done with the design I am working on as it gives the curve a nice curvy shape! You can imagine that when all the other tent stitches come in around it that this curve will be standing out nicely.

This photo above the description shows what backstitch and wrapped backstitch look like side by side as this curve has only been half wrapped.

Maybe you will consider using one of these techniques next time you’re thrown a curve!

Read the original here:
Stitching Curves – a Guest Post

Symmetry and the Needlepoint Line Problem

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint charley harper four-leaf clover

There is a problem (opportunity if you’re a glass half full person) lurking in the heart of every piece of needlepoint. It catches new stitchers and old, it can make a modern edgy piece look “needlepointy” and dull. And it cannot be avoided.

Tent Stitches, the basic needlepoint stitch, are asymetrical. They have a direction, like little arrows. If you have done cross stitch in the past, it doesn’t have this problem (cross stitches are squares). The as=symmetry of needlepoint sneaks up and surprises many stitchers. You can’t get a curve to look even, a line that slants the wrong way becomes a dotted line.

Older needlepoint that was done entirely in Tent Stitch didn’t worry about this problem, so modern needlepoint that has the problem tends to look dated; today we go for a more realistic line and more elaborate stitches.

This problem drives me mad, because I like symmetry in my needlepoint.And I’ve found several ways to solve it, two of which you can see in the four-leaf clover above. The first method, seen on the leaves, is to change the slant of the stitch. If the slant of the line matches the slant of the stitch, the line will be solid. If they are opposite, the line will look dotted. I changed the slant at each of the black lines, making the white line of the clover solid all around. The black line meant that the two slants didn’t meet, but I have done that as well; your eye tends not to see the change if you either use a soft thread or make the center stitch a cross stitch, or both.

I further reinforced the symmetry of the white lines by having all the other stitches above and below it slant the same way. This made the whole clover nicely reflective.

The other method is to use Whipped Stitches to make curved lines. Whipping is the process of wrapping an existing line of stitches with the same or another thread. Begin by making the line. To do thin whipped lines, use Backstitch. Two adjacent lines of backstitch make a slightly thicker line and chain stitch, used here, makes a bold line.

Wrap the stitch by beginning at one end of the line, going over the first stitch and under the second, repeating this over-under process until the line ids wrapped. Magically the line curves and looks smooth.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about textured stitches and stitch direction.

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Symmetry and the Needlepoint Line Problem

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