Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 212: Loose French Knot Stitch

After last week's complex stitch, I want to give you an easy one. Loose French Knot is, as the name suggest, a French Knot that has more slack than the usual one, so it is loose and also sits loosely on the fabric.

I came across it on Janie's blog Crazy Victoriana crazy for quilts. Janie is a fabulous quilter with a unique sense of colour. We used to learn TAST stitches together, long ago, and Janie has recently taken up embroidery stitching again. (TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday - an online project to promote and teach embroidery stitches run by Sharon Boggon. Highly recommendable.)

Back to today's stitch. It is a challenge to get the same tension on all (ordinary) French Knots in a project, so the Loose French Knot is perfect for freeform and wonky embroidery. 100% stress free stitching!

Here are my photo instructions:

Wind the thread around the needle twice.

Insert the tip of the needle near where the thread came out.

Don't tighten the thread too much.

Pull through without too much tension.

Let the knot sit and wobble on the fabric.

In a group you will have all these different sizes and shapes. 

Aren't they just charming?

Homework:

Add to the samplers.

Friday Homework for Lesson 211: Holly Braid Stitch

There is no doubt about it, Holly Braid Stitch IS a difficult stitch. I have the feeling, though, that the more you stitch, the better the result will be. So practice makes, if not perfect, at least better.

Also, once you get into the flow, the stitch is quite relaxing. Again, I guess that the more you use it, the better the flow will get and you end up having an enjoyable and relaxing time.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

The purple cotton thread was a nightmare to stitch with. If you look closely you can see it has a Z-twist, unlike the red DMC perle with its S-twist. This Z-twist made the purple thread behave badly, so I will make sure to use an S-twisted thread in the future, and please notice that I obviously will need more practice, instead of putting the blame for any wonky stitch on the directions the thread is twisted!

WIPW - Zipper

 Work In Progress Wednesday - the progress this week is limited.

Velveteen Cushion

I am in the process of applying a zipper for the opening of the cushion.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

I worked on the appliquéd circles.

#7 Gate Stitch (blue crepe fabric), #9 Interlaced Running Stitch (orange Shantung silk) and #44 Mille Fleur Stitch (floral print fabric).

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 211: Holly Braid Stitch

It is time to set out on another stitch adventure - I have five new stitches for us to explore.

The first one will be a challenge, but is it well worth the effort of trying. It is called Holly Braid Stitch. 

I first spotted it in Jacqui Carey's excellent book 'Elizabethan Stitches' (a fantastic study of historic stitches)

where today's stitch is shown as a true BRAID stitch. With that I mean a stitch made with a stiff 'thread' like gimp, purl, wire or similar. Such threads are suitable when you make a wide stitch and the result will be similar to a length of upholstery braid.

My second encounter with Holly Braid Stitch was on a blogpost at VirtuoSew Adventures where Rachel had experimented with different threads, some that made, not a wide braid, but a narrower line. I now really wanted to try the stitch with Perle Cotton, one of my favourite threads, to see if it could be a useful linear stitch for freeform embroidery.

Proof that that is possible I found in a floral design Rachel made on this blog post. DO check it out as it also contains an excellent video Rachel has created of how the stitch is worked.

THANK YOU Rachel for the help and constant inspiration you give me.

Following is my set of photo instructions for Holly Braid Stitch:

You need to follow this diagram to start the stitch line.

Don't pull the thread too tight, instead leave a loop.

When you take a bite of the fabric (F-G) lead the needle through that loop.

Now tighten the loop over the needle.

Pull the needle through and stretch the working thread upward to the left.

For the next step, take the needle underneath the three threads on the right (without biting the fabric).

Pull the working thread downwards, pull the needle through to create another loop.

Once again, you need to stretch the working thread up to the left.

Take the bite of fabric, and lead the needle through the loop.

Pull the thread to 'strangle' the needle, and take the thread to the left,

and then down underneath the needle.

Pull the needle through, and stretch the working thread up and to the left

and hopefully you now remember what to do. Yes, go through those three threads

pull through until you have a loop...

bite and through the loop...

'strangle' the needle...

lead the thread down under the needle...

three threads

loop

bite and through the loop....... and so on.

Anchor the final stitch at the top for a pointed tip.

As you can see, I still have to work on tension and evenness. I also want the group of stitches at the start (that diagram) to be closer together.

Isn't this a real stitch adventure?

Homework:

Friday Revision Homework - Stitches: 206 - 210

 I like monochrome prints, you know, blue on blue, yellow on yellow, blue on blue. That is why I first coloured Sunbonnet Sue's clothes with wax crayons, set the wax with a hot iron and then embroidered on top of in the same colour as the crayon.

Sue is walking with heavy steps into a future of uncertainty ... Hopefully she will find solidarity, hope and peace along the way.

Other stitches used: 

Stem Stitch for the outlines and movement of skirt and scarf, 

Straight Stitch to add extra petals on the sunflower, 

a triple Star Filling Stitch for the centre of the flower.

WIPW - Slow Progress

It has been another week of slow progress, so not much to report on for Work In Progress Wednesday.

Velveteen Cushion

The assembly has started, and one seam connects the front with the back of the cushion. Only hand stitching on this cushion so the seams will take some time.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

There are five more circles, all appliquéd, among the previous circles. They are still bare, but ready for being decorated with embroidery stitches from the SSSS collection.

One of the circles has been edged with a machine-made braid.

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 206 - 210

Time to look back at the five most recent stitches and then make a Sunbonnet Sue sampler.

Click on the title to get the instructions.

206 Rapid Stitch

Great on Canvas, but can also be used for individual stitches

207 Plaited Edge Stitch

This really is a great stitch to strengthen and/or adorn an edge, even a raw and fraying one.

208 Star Filling Stitch

I have used this stitch on endless projects, yet for years I failed to add it to the Sunday Stitch School's collection. Why, I wonder...

This is such a pretty stitch. Play around with different thread!

209 Padded Cross Stitch

I called this cheating, because it is so easy just to double the stitch. 

Actually I should  say it is well within 'legal limits' of what we can do to a stitch, in my opinion anyway. Or is there a stitch police out there who disagrees?

After all a Berry Stitch is just a doubling of a Lazy Daisy Stitch, isn't it? We really should be able to do a 'Padded' Running Stitch, Fly Stitch, Wheatear Stitch... Indeed any stitch could be 'padded'!

210 Closed Fly Stitch

Here is another stitch that should have been introduced LONG ago. 

Dear Closed Fly Stitch, please accept my apologises for keeping you in the shadow for such a long time. Please come out and SHINE!

Homework:

Let Sunbonnet Sue show off these five stitches as best she can.

 

Friday Homework for Lesson 210: Closed Fly Stitch

It is nice to have Closed Fly Stitch added to the collection of stitches at Sunday Stitch School. I have used this stitch so often I had taken for grated it was already covered! 

They say you can't see the woods for all the trees, well obviously you can't see the individual stitch in a large collection either.

Aida Sampler

This is a stitch you can twist and tweak a lot.

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Sampler