Friday Homework for Lesson 300: Ring Picot

 Charming and beautiful, the Ring Picot is a beautiful version of Buttonhole Stitch. Please try it!

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

WIPW - Preparing the Finish

Here we are again, it's Wednesday and time for a Work In Progress Wednesday report.

Mandala

I added a ring of silk-covered plastic cups around the sequin waste disc. Embroidery will be the next step.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

This sampler contains 299 stitches. Next week I plan to add #300 Ring Picot and it will be the last stitch.

This is what the sampler looks like right now.

After this, it is time to prepare a finish for this wallhanging.

I know the stitching is a bit dense in some areas and too spread out in others. To make it easier to see exactly where, I changed the photo to a black and white setting and circled the areas where more stitches will need to be added.

I will find a place for #300 Ring Picot, and add more of the same stitches already in the area.

For example, there will be more of #298 Hatamusubi and #233 Whipped Fly Stitch Wheel (seen in the blue areas) inside the red areas.

Hexablooms

Another set of 10 flowers now brings the total to 90.

Sunday Stitch School: Lesson 300 - Ring Picot

In 2013, while I took part in TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday), Sharon Boggon introduced us to two versions of the Buttonhole Picot. You can see her instructions here. 

This link will show you the blog post I wrote about it, TAST #88

For today I want to introduce you to the Ring (Buttonhole) Picot as found on Arts&Design.

It is also featured in Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches.

In the instructions mentioned above, the work is done right to left. I prefer to do my Buttonholes the other way around, so please note that in MY tutorial the stitch direction is left to right.

Here is my photo tutorial:

I made six Buttonhole Stitches,

I went back three stitches, slipped the needle

between stitches number three and four,

underneath the thread ONLY, from down to up.

I tightened this loose loop and underneath it, 

without biting any fabric, I made five detached 

Buttonhole Stitches from left to right.

From here I repeated the process.

Finally, I anchored the thread after three stitches

(to have even numbers of stitches at the beginning 

and end of the line).

This stitch is often used as an edging stitch.

Homework:

Add here.

Friday Homework for Lesson 299: Backstitched Trellis

Well, if you look at the date, you can see that this ought to be SATURDAY homework for lesson 299. The work was completed just before midnight but I had neither time nor energy to write up the post, thus the delay. Sorry!

Aida Sampler

The grid I made was very narrow, but it looks neat and tidy.

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

As this fabric has no grid, I drew the crosshatch pattern and stitched on top of the lines.

I quite like the trellis in two colours - it adds depth.

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

I knew this fabric was nearly impossible to mark. That is why I used waste canvas. However, the fabric is so knobbly that when the stitches are as short as these are, the whole grid looks wonky and uneven.

During work, I checked carefully that I had inserted the needle in the right hole, yet it looks as if I have made several mistakes. Sigh!

Back Stitch seen on the top of the work is one single stitch after another. On the back, however, you have what looks like Stem Stitch - the threads are double. This means that a narrow grid like this would be very hardwearing and suitable for Canvas Work on upholstery.

WIPW - The Mandala's Centre

This week's Work In Progress Wednesday report contains work on three projects - the Mandala, the Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler and the Hexablooms. Let's look at them in that order:

Mandala

I cut out a circle of the sequin waste I showed you last week. The circle was then stitched down on top of the turquoise appliquéed circle.

Furthermore, I took out my box of small plastic cups covered with light blue fabric. These will be placed around the hub of the Mandala and fancy stitches will be added.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

Two lines of #298 Hatamusubi were worked on a void spot of the sampler.

On the top seam, I joined the threads together on the front, just to show how the stitch looks. On the bottom seam, the joints are at the back to prove how 'invisible' the joints are.

Hexablooms

I was lucky and found time to make another 10 flowers. That means that I have 80 flowers in my box.

Talking of time. I wanted to know how long it takes me to make one flower and measured every moment from 1) marking the hexagon shape on seven pieces of cardboard,  2) cutting them out,  3) punching a hole in each one, 4) selecting a piece of metallic fabric for the centre, 5) selecting a piece of fabric for the petals, 6) ironing it flat, 6) measuring it, 7) cutting six squares for the petals with a rotary cutter, 8) covering the cardboard hexagons with said petal pieces, 9) keeping the pieces in place with small Clover pegs (instead of pinning the fabric in place), 10) basting the fabric over the card, 11) Whipstitching the six petals to the metallic centre piece, 12) removing the cardboard (under the metallic), 13) Whipstitching the petals together. 

All in all, it took 45 minutes. With 80 flowers, I have spent 60 hours making my pile of flowers.

Many more hours are needed to have enough flowers to fill the whole quilt.

 

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 299: Backstitched Trellis

Today we have an easy stitch - Backstitched Trellis. As the name implies, it is a cross grid of Back Stitch, done on the bias.

I found it in Sharon Boggon's Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery.

Work it like this:

Think! Of all the wonderful things you can do with the empty squares in the grid, French Knots, beads, ribbon weaving, small Cross stitches... The Backstitched Trellis is a good base to play with.

Beware! It is, like all Back Stitch variations, a thread eater!

Homework: Add to the samplers.

Friday Homework for Lesson 298: Hatamusubi

Making this knot to join two ends of thread is a bit fiddly if the ends are short. I recommend changing the thread while there is still enough left to hold on to.

I worked both the back and front of the stitches in these samplers, to show how they look both ways. Sometimes I cut the thread ends very close to the knot, sometimes I left the ends in takt.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

WIPW - Saying Goodbye to Trapped Tassels

 Work In Progress Wednesday for mid-August 2024.

Mandala

On the Mandala project, I have only done some planning. 

I will adorn the round discs in the 'hub' of the Mandala 

with Punchinella, or Sequin Waste. (Fancy) stitching will hold it in place...

Hexablooms

So another ten flowers were made. The total is now 70.

The Leaning Tower of Hexi.

Kumihimo Braiding

On the braid I made recently for my reading glasses, I had left a tassel of thread ends on each side. I thought they looked nice, reminding me of bicycle handles or hippie style hair braids.

However, the stray threads got trapped in the hinges of the eyeglasses and turned out to be a bother.

Therefore I winded the ends up like this. I now look like a sober and proper librarian!

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

Two more stitches were added, #296 Rhodes Rectangle and #297 Raised Cup with Twisted Chain.

This sampler is now so crowded that after adding the remaining three stitches (#298 - #300) I will fill in a few gaps and empty spots. Then I will call it a day and start the construction into either a wallhanging or a cushion... Watch this space.