Friday Revision Homework - Stitches 366 - 370

If one stitch is called Balloon Stitch and another Whipped Stem, it is easy to come up with a design idea for this Sunbonnet Sue stitch sampler - child's play. 

Sunbonnet Sue is about 10 or 11 years old and enjoys her new striped hula hoop and the quaint balloons. One is like a woven rose, while the two others are square-ish and could be taken for kites...

The Colcha Stitch made a very nice stretchy top that clings to Sue's skinny body. What happened to her puppy fat? 

The same stitch made beautiful hair and a ponytail. The rest of the hair was woven into a Spider's Web bun.

 I quite like the Single Wave Stitch for her skirt. The waves make the skirt swing.

Stem Stitch and Straight Stitch were used for the outlines, socks and shoes.

World Embroidery Day

 I hope you have remembered that July 30th is World Embroidery Day. Let's all take a few, or a LOT of, stitches today. 

For the background of World Embroidery Day and inspiration, why not have a look at Piecework Magazine's article.

I am celebrating by working on two projects, one is the Canvas Sampler, which is old and one I am lagging behind with. 

The other is new - a small kit of Japanese Sashiko. I was inspired by Pamela of Hokkaido Kudasai, who had bought her kits at the Seria 100 Yen shop. These kits are really good value for money and I will enjoy making a small cloth for the kitchen with my kit. When I first came to Japan, these small dish cloths or tea towels were found in every kitchen. 46 years later, kitchens now often have dishwashers and disposable microfibre cloths. Let's get some charming items back into the kitchen!

HAPPY STITCHING!

WIPW - Row 16 Secured

Work In Progress Wednesday. As I recovered strength, I managed to speed up my stitching progress.

Hexablooms

I have now stitched row 16 securely to the flimsy. Sorry, no photo.

Furthermore, I have made 18 new blocks for Row 17. SOON, I will have made all the Hexablooms I need for the tapestry - 459.

Sunday Stitch School Indigo Stitch Sampler

A #370 Colcha Stitch heart found its way into the ring of #367 Whipped Stem Stitch.

Isn't the surface beautifully rough?

Sunbonnet Sue

I was even able to complete the Sunbonnet Sue sampler! The full picture and details will be shown on Friday.

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 366 - 370

It was good to take a week off! The heat is hard to beat, but I am feeling much better now.

So, let's get on with our revision of the latest five stitches. Click on the title to get to the instructions.

366 Spider's Web Stitch

This is also known as Woven Wheel and is useful when you have bulky threads that can't easily go through the fabric, but slip smoothly over and under the spokes of a wheel.

367 Whipped Stem Stitch

The same goes for this stitch. For the basic Stem Stitch, you need to have a reasonably smooth thread. For the whipping part, where the thread only goes over and under the foundation stitch and does not pierce the fabric, you can use about any thread you like, however troublesome.

368 Balloon Stitch

Here is a Canvas stitch that can make a nice chessboard if only stitched in two colours, or you can play around with a number of shades for a more colourful look.

369 Single Wave Stitch

This is the single version of #355 Double Wave Stitch.

370 Colcha Stitch

was traditionally used to assemble blocks of wool fabric and then decorate it with embroidery motifs. The result would be a thick and warm bedcover or blanket. 

It is a self couching stitch without the strict rules for even placement, angle and length of the couching stitches of its relatives, the  #36 Rumanian Stitch,  #50 Bayeux Stitch and #82 Bokhara Couching Stitch.

Enjoy casual, stress-free stitching!

Homework: Make a picture where Sunbonnet Sue is making good use of the stitches.